At a glance
Ashland Global Holdings Inc is worth $3.33B. Revenue fell 13.7% to $1.82B in fiscal 2025, at a loss; over 5 years it has grown 2.0% a year. It pays a 2.31% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 7 years, and returned $1.80B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +49.1% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −3.4% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 50.9% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 19.8% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 8 months and 1 month after the lows.
The business in plain English
Ashland makes specialty additives and ingredients: the materials that thicken paint, bind and coat drug tablets, and give toothpaste and skin care products their texture. Its customers are other manufacturers. They include drug and food companies, paint makers, construction-material producers, oilfield service firms and personal care brands. Ashland earns money by supplying ingredients that change how those products flow, bind, hold water or form a film. It has about 2,900 employees and serves customers in more than 100 countries.
It reports four segments. Life Sciences supplies excipients, the inactive ingredients that bind, coat and control the release of medicines in tablets. It also makes thickeners and stabilizers for foods and drinks. Personal Care provides ingredients for skin, sun, hair and oral care and for household cleaners. Specialty Additives offers rheology modifiers (thickeners that control how a liquid flows) for architectural paint, plus additives for construction mortars and oil and gas drilling fluids. Intermediates makes BDO, a chemical building block for plastics and solvents, and also supplies it to the other segments as a raw material.
Two product families account for most sales. In fiscal 2025 (ended September 30, 2025), cellulosics, which are made from plant cellulose, were 39% of total sales. PVP, a synthetic polymer widely used in tablets, was 25%. Revenue was $1.82 billion, down 13.7%, and 74.6% came from outside the United States.
Price history
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ASH +49.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By geography
| Non Us | $1.36B | 74.6% |
| US | $464.0M | 25.4% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $497.0M, up 7.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $16.0M.
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.82B (-13.7% year over year; -2.0% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a -46.3% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | -2.0% weak |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | -42.5% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | 2% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | -44.4% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | -18.3% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-934.0M weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $2.02B | $-508.0M | $94.0M |
| FY2021 | $2.11B | $220.0M | $361.0M |
| FY2022 | $2.39B | $927.0M | $80.0M |
| FY2023 | $2.19B | $178.0M | $124.0M |
| FY2024 | $2.11B | $169.0M | $325.0M |
| FY2025 | $1.82B | $-845.0M | $36.0M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $3.33B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | — |
| Dividend yield | 2.31% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Ashland Global Holdings’s market value went from $4.42B at the end of 2017 to $3.33B on Oct 28, 2026, down 25%; since the end of 2025 it is up 24%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $3.33B | +23.9% |
| 2025 | $2.68B | -20.4% |
| 2024 | $3.37B | -22.0% |
| 2023 | $4.32B | -25.8% |
| 2022 | $5.82B | -5.0% |
| 2021 | $6.13B | +27.5% |
| 2020 | $4.80B | +4.2% |
| 2019 | $4.61B | +3.8% |
| 2018 | $4.44B | +0.5% |
| 2017 | $4.42B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASH price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +26.3% | +49.1% | +1.2% | -3.4% | +4.3% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +26.3% |
| 2025 | -15.4% |
| 2024 | -13.7% |
| 2023 | -20.2% |
| 2022 | +1.2% |
| 2021 | +37.7% |
| 2020 | +5.1% |
| 2019 | +9.4% |
| 2018 | +0.9% |
| 2017 | +31.3% |
| 2016 | +8.0% |
| 2015 | -13.2% |
| 2014 | +25.0% |
| 2013 | +22.4% |
| 2012 | +42.5% |
| 2011 | +13.8% |
| 2010 | +29.7% |
| 2009 | +284.3% |
| 2008 | -77.2% |
| 2007 | -30.1% |
| 2006 | +41.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 90.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 91.3%, back to its old high 26.9 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 50.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 50.9%, back to its old high 7.7 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 10.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 19.8%, back to its old high 1.2 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 0 sales ($0.00).
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 12.3% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Franklin Resources, Inc. | 7.9% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| COOPERMAN LEON G | 6.4% | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Franklin Templeton, Inc. | 5.6% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 5.5% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.42% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| AQR Capital Management, LLC | 4.95% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 4.92% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Massachusetts Financial Services Company | 4.5% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in ASH
| FXZ First Trust Materials AlphaDEX Fund | 2.73% |
| GSC Goldman Sachs Small Cap Core Equity ETF | 0.73% |
| SMCO Hilton Small-MidCap Opportunity ETF | 0.68% |
| RFV Invesco S&P MidCap 400® Pure Value ETF | 0.49% |
| HSMV First Trust Horizon Managed Volatility Small/Mid ETF | 0.33% |
| SMLV SPDR SSGA US Small Cap Low Volatility Index ETF | 0.32% |
| DES WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund | 0.27% |
| FYT First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 0.24% |
What could go wrong
- Asbestos injury claims. Ashland faces pending and threatened lawsuits that allege personal injury from asbestos exposure. Defending or paying these claims could hurt its results and cash flow.
- Acquisitions can lead to large write-downs. Ashland has set aggressive growth goals and looks at acquisitions. When deals disappoint, it may have to write down goodwill (the extra amount paid for acquired businesses) or other intangible assets, as it did in 2025.
- A substantial debt load. Ashland's 10-K calls its debt substantial. Total debt was $1.37 billion against $440 million of cash and investments as of June 30, 2026. That could limit acquisitions and flexibility when markets change.
- Environmental costs could exceed reserves. Ashland spends heavily to comply with environmental, health, safety and hazardous-substance rules. If these costs exceed the amounts it has set aside, earnings and cash flow would suffer.
- Customers could change their recipes. Makers of paint, drugs, food and personal care products could reformulate in ways that use fewer of Ashland's thickeners, binders and other ingredients, which would cut demand for its products.
- Raw material and supply disruptions. Ashland sources raw materials made from plants, animal products and petroleum from suppliers worldwide. Climate events, wars or other disruptions could raise costs, limit product availability and reduce sales.
Recent events
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Major agreement signed; Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Shareholder vote results
For income and retirement investors
Ashland has raised its regular dividend for seven straight years. It went from $1.10 per share in fiscal 2020 to $1.64 in fiscal 2025, growth of about 8.3% a year. The yield was 2.31% as of October 28, 2026. But Ashland had a net loss in fiscal 2025, so earnings did not cover the dividend. The $76 million it paid equaled 211% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). Ashland has favored buybacks. It spent $1.43 billion on them from fiscal 2021 to 2025, compared with $370 million on dividends, and the share count fell 19.4% from October 2021 to June 2026. Buybacks slowed to $100 million in fiscal 2025.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns. It dropped 91.3% in the 2008 financial crisis and did not regain its prior peak until May 2011. It fell 50.9% in the 2020 COVID crash, recovering by November 2020, and 19.8% in the 2022 bear market. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Ashland make money?
Ashland makes money by supplying specialty additives and ingredients to other manufacturers. Its products thicken paint, bind and coat drug tablets, stabilize foods, and give skin, hair and oral care products their texture. It reports four segments: Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives and Intermediates. In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, revenue was $1.82 billion, and 74.6% came from outside the United States. Two polymer families, cellulosics and PVP, made up 39% and 25% of sales.
Does Ashland raise its dividend every year?
Yes, for seven straight years through fiscal 2025. Ashland raised its regular dividend from $1.10 per share in fiscal 2020 to $1.64 in fiscal 2025, about 8.3% a year. The yield was 2.31% as of October 28, 2026. Past increases do not guarantee future ones. Ashland had a net loss in fiscal 2025, and the $76 million it paid in dividends was more than twice its $36 million of free cash flow.
Why did Ashland lose money in fiscal 2025?
Ashland's $845 million net loss in fiscal 2025 came in a year when revenue fell 13.7% to $1.82 billion. The company also recorded an impairment, which is a write-down in the value of goodwill or other intangible assets from past acquisitions. Write-downs reduce reported earnings without using cash, and free cash flow stayed positive at $36 million. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue rose 7.3% from a year earlier to $497 million, and net income was $16 million.
How much debt does Ashland have?
Ashland had $1.37 billion of total debt and $440 million of cash and investments as of June 30, 2026, so its net debt was about $934 million. Shareholders' equity was $1.87 billion. Its 10-K calls the debt substantial and warns that it could limit acquisitions and flexibility when markets change. Ashland also reported new debt or financial obligations in filings dated May 29, July 31 and September 25, 2026.
How has Ashland stock performed over the long term?
Modestly and unevenly. Based on the share price as of October 28, 2026, the stock gained 4.3% a year over 10 years and lost 3.4% a year over five years. Those figures include a 49.1% rise over the prior 12 months. The stock fell in each calendar year from 2023 to 2025, by 20.2%, 13.7% and 15.4%. Its largest peak-to-trough drop in about 21 years of price history was 91.6%.