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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED March 31, 2004

Commission file number 1-3433

THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

2030 DOW CENTER, MIDLAND, MICHIGAN 48674
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

989-636-1000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Not applicable
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes ý    No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ý    No o

The Dow Chemical Company
Table of Contents

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PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1.    Financial Statements

The Dow Chemical Company and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Income

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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The Dow Chemical Company and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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The Dow Chemical Company and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Dow Chemical Company and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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The Dow Chemical Company and Subsidiaries
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

NOTE A—CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

        The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of The Dow Chemical Company and its subsidiaries ("Dow" or the "Company") were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) which, in the opinion of management, are considered necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the periods covered. Certain reclassifications of prior year amounts have been made to conform to current year presentation. These statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003.

NOTE B—ACCOUNTING CHANGES

        In June 2001, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards ("SFAS") No. 143, "Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations," which requires an entity to record the fair value of a liability for an asset retirement obligation in the period in which it is incurred and a corresponding increase in the related long-lived asset. The liability is adjusted to its present value each period and the asset is depreciated over its useful life. A gain or loss may be incurred upon settlement of the liability. SFAS No. 143 was effective for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2002. Adoption of SFAS No. 143 on January 1, 2003 resulted in the recognition of an asset retirement obligation of $45 million and a charge of $9 million (net of tax of $5 million), which was included in "Cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles."

        In accordance with SFAS No. 143, the Company has recognized asset retirement obligations related to demolition and remediation activities at manufacturing sites in the United States, Germany, France and The Netherlands. In addition, the Company has recognized obligations related to capping activities at landfill sites in the United States, Canada, Italy and Brazil. The aggregate carrying amount of asset retirement obligations recognized by the Company was $48 million at March 31, 2004 and $46 million at December 31, 2003. These obligations are included in the consolidated balance sheets as "Other noncurrent obligations."

        In the first quarter of 2003, Dow adopted the fair value provisions of SFAS No. 123, "Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation," for new grants of equity instruments (which include stock options, deferred stock grants, and subscriptions to purchase shares under the Company's Employees' Stock Purchase Plan) to employees. As required by SFAS No. 148, "Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation—Transition and Disclosure," the following table provides pro forma results as if the fair value based method had been applied to all outstanding and unvested awards in each period presented:

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        In December 2003, the FASB issued revised FASB Interpretation ("FIN") No. 46, "Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities," which replaced FIN No. 46 issued in January 2003. Revised FIN No. 46 clarifies the application of Accounting Research Bulletin No. 51, "Consolidated Financial Statements," to certain entities in which equity investors do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest or do not have sufficient equity at risk for the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support. The Company adopted the original FIN No. 46 during 2003. The application of revised FIN No. 46 did not have an impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements. The Company's disclosures related to variable interest entities can be found in Note M to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003.

        In December 2003, the FASB revised SFAS No. 132, "Employers' Disclosures about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits." The revised standard requires new disclosures in addition to those required by the original standard about the assets, obligations, cash flows and net periodic benefit cost of defined benefit pension plans and other defined benefit postretirement plans. As revised, SFAS No. 132 is effective for financial statements with fiscal years ending after December 15, 2003. The interim-period disclosures required by this standard are effective for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2003. See Note G for the Company's interim disclosures regarding pension plans and other postretirement benefits.

        In January 2004, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position ("FSP") No. 106-1, "Accounting and Disclosure Requirements Related to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003." The FSP permits a sponsor of a postretirement health care plan that provides a prescription drug benefit to make a one-time election to defer accounting for the effects of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. Regardless of whether a sponsor elects that deferral, the FSP requires certain disclosures pending further consideration of the underlying accounting issues. The Company has elected to defer financial recognition of this legislation. See Note G for additional information.

        In March 2004, the FASB ratified consensuses reached by the Emerging Issues Task Force ("EITF") with respect to EITF Issue No. 03-1, "The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and Its Application to Certain Investments." EITF Issue No. 03-1 addresses recognition, measurement and disclosure of other-than-temporary impairment evaluations for securities within the scope of SFAS 115, "Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities," and equity securities that are not subject to the scope of SFAS No. 115 and are not accounted for under the equity method according to Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 18, "The Equity Method of Accounting for Investments in Common Stock." The recognition and measurement guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after June 15, 2004. Certain qualitative and quantitative disclosures for SFAS 115 securities were effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2003. Disclosures for cost method investments are required to be included in annual financial statements prepared for fiscal years ending after June 15, 2004. The Company has determined that its practices are substantially consistent with the application guidance of EITF Issue No. 03-1; therefore, adoption of EITF Issue No. 03-1 is expected to have an immaterial impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

        In March 2004, the FASB ratified the consensus reached by the EITF with respect to EITF Issue No. 03-16, "Accounting for Investments in Limited Liability Companies." According to EITF Issue No. 03-16, a limited liability company ("LLC") that maintains a "specific ownership account" for each investor should be viewed similar to a limited partnership for determining whether a noncontrolling investment in an LLC should be accounted for using the cost or equity method. The consensus applies to all investment in LLCs (except those required to be accounted for as debt securities) and is effective for reporting periods beginning after June 15, 2004. The Company is currently assessing the impact of adopting EITF Issue No. 03-16.

NOTE C—IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS

        In the first quarter of 2003, certain studies to determine potential actions relative to non-strategic and under-performing assets were completed and management made decisions regarding the disposition of certain assets. These decisions resulted in the write-off of the net book value of several manufacturing facilities totaling $37 million (the largest of which was $16 million recorded in "Cost of sales" in the Hydrocarbons and Energy segment associated with the impairment of Union Carbide Corporation's ("Union Carbide") Seadrift, Texas, ethylene cracker, which was shut down in the third quarter of 2003), the impairment of Union Carbide's chemical transport vessel (sold in the second quarter of 2003) of $11 million recorded in "Sundry income (expense)—net" in Unallocated and Other, and the write-off of cancelled capital projects totaling $12 million recorded in "Cost of sales" and reflected in Unallocated and Other.

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        In the first quarter of 2004, Dow continued to evaluate non-strategic and under-performing assets, and management made decisions regarding the disposition of certain of the Company's assets. These decisions resulted in charges totaling $39 million. The two largest items were: a manufacturing facility for the production of polyols and propylene glycol in Priolo, Italy, and a manufacturing facility for the production of HAMPOSYL surfactants in Nashua, New Hampshire. On April 1, 2004, the Company announced the permanent closure of the Priolo plant; therefore, in the first quarter of 2004, the net book value of $22 million was written down, with a charge to "Cost of sales" in the Performance Plastics segment. In the first quarter of 2004, the Company made the decision to discontinue production of HAMPOSYL surfactants (manufactured by Hampshire Chemical Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company). The manufacturing facility for this line of business is expected to be closed in the third quarter of 2004; the plant will subsequently be demolished. As a result, in the first quarter of 2004, the Company wrote down the net book value of $9 million against "Cost of sales" in the Performance Chemicals segment. See Note E regarding the write-off of goodwill associated with this line of business.

NOTE D—INVENTORIES

        The following table provides a breakdown of inventories at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003:

        The reserves reducing inventories from the first-in, first-out ("FIFO") basis to the last-in, first-out ("LIFO") basis amounted to $393 million at March 31, 2004 and $330 million at December 31, 2003.

NOTE E—GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

        The following table shows changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the three months ended March 31, 2004, by operating segment: