The Chemicals - Specialty industry today
How the Chemicals - Specialty industry stands against its own history and against the 500 largest US companies. We do not say where it goes next.
Close of Friday 6 November 2026 · updated every trading day
41 US companies of $300 million or more · $414B in total
ValuationWe compare today's value with every month since 2006. The usual range holds the middle 40% of those months. The marks show the value 1 month, 1 year and 5 years ago.
Prices against profits, sales and dividends
Price to earnings (P/E)What this measures: the total market value of the companies divided by their total profit of the last 12 months. Companies that lose money count too.
How high are prices against profits?
Far higher than usual
High · higher than in 9 of 10 months since 2006
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Last 10 yearsEach point is one month. The dot is today.
Price to sales (P/S)What this measures: the total market value of the companies divided by their total sales of the last 12 months.
How high are prices against sales?
Higher than usual
High · higher than in 8 of 10 months since 2006
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Last 10 yearsEach point is one month. The dot is today.
Dividend yieldWhat this measures: the dividends of the last 12 months divided by the total market value, in percent. A low yield goes with high prices.
How much do the companies pay in dividends for their price?
In the usual range
Normal · in the middle of its range since 2006
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Last 10 yearsEach point is one month. The dot is today.
Returns
How did the industry do against the 500 largest US companies?
| Period | This industry | 500 largest | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | +6.3% | −1.4% | 7.7 pts more |
| 1 year | +17.0% | +9.9% | 7.1 pts more |
| 5 years | +5.8% | +65.7% | 59.8 pts less |
Total returns with dividends, weighted by market value, to the close of October 2026. Past results do not show future results.
Largest companies
The three largest companies
- 01Ecolab Inc.ECL20.4% of the industry
- 02The Sherwin-Williams CompanySHW20.1% of the industry
- 03Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.APD16.4% of the industry
Show all 10
- 04PPG Industries, Inc.PPG6.5% of the industry
- 05International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.IFF5.1% of the industry
- 06RPM International Inc.RPM3.2% of the industry
- 07Albemarle CorporationALB2.8% of the industry
- 08Solstice Advanced Materials Inc.SOLS2.2% of the industry
- 09Westlake CorporationWLK2.0% of the industry
- 10Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.AXTA1.9% of the industry
Map
Its companies among the 500 largest
The map shows the industry's companies among the 500 largest US companies: 5 of its 41 companies.
The typical companyThe median of the industry's US companies. We show a figure only when 5 or more companies have it.
The typical company in this industry
- Operating margin40 companies868.0%
- Sales growth over 1 year40 companies202.0%
- Return on invested capital29 companies985.0%