At a glance
Element Solutions Inc is worth $8.68B, about 45 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 3.8% to $2.55B in fiscal 2025, with 7.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 6.6% a year. It pays a 0.89% dividend yield, and returned $569.3M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +37.8% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +11.0% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 48.3% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 34.6% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 7 months and 17 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Element Solutions makes specialty chemicals and materials for other manufacturers. Electronics makers use them to build circuit boards and package chips. Industrial firms use them to plate and protect metal and plastic parts, and offshore energy producers use its hydraulic fluids. The products get used up during production, so customers keep reordering, which gives the company recurring revenue. The company says changing suppliers is risky for customers, which helps it keep them.
Sales were $2.55 billion in 2025. The Electronics segment brought in about 70%. Within it, Assembly Solutions, which sells solder pastes, fluxes and other materials that join electronic parts under brands such as Alpha and Kester, was about 51% of segment sales. Circuitry Solutions, chemicals for making printed circuit boards, was about 29%, and Semiconductor Solutions, materials for chip making and packaging, about 20%. The Specialties segment supplied the other 30%, mostly industrial coatings such as chrome plating for car shock absorbers.
About 79% of 2025 sales came from operations outside the US. By region, China made up about 22% of sales and the US about 21%. The company also buys and sells businesses. It sold its printing plate unit for $320 million in February 2025, then bought specialty gas supplier EFC Gases & Advanced Materials in January 2026 and electronics inks supplier Micromax in February 2026.
Price history
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ESI +37.8% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Electronics | $1.79B | 70% |
| Specialties | $765.0M | 30% |
By geography
| Other countries | $1.47B | 57.6% |
| China | $557.9M | 21.9% |
| UNITED STATES | $524.3M | 20.6% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $995.3M, up 51.7% from a year earlier, and net income was $65.7M (+67.2%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.55B (+3.8% year over year; +6.6% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 7.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +6.6% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 13.4% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 8.9% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 7.1% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 3.7% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.86B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.85B | $75.7M | $247.2M |
| FY2021 | $2.40B | $203.3M | $279.7M |
| FY2022 | $2.55B | $187.2M | $248.1M |
| FY2023 | $2.33B | $118.1M | $280.9M |
| FY2024 | $2.46B | $244.2M | $293.6M |
| FY2025 | $2.55B | $190.8M | $227.6M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $8.68B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 45.3 |
| Dividend yield | 0.89% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Element Solutions’s market value went from $2.73B at the end of 2016 to $8.68B on Oct 28, 2026, about 3.2 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 44%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $8.68B | +43.6% |
| 2025 | $6.05B | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $6.16B | +10.2% |
| 2023 | $5.59B | +26.9% |
| 2022 | $4.40B | -26.7% |
| 2021 | $6.01B | +37.1% |
| 2020 | $4.38B | +49.4% |
| 2019 | $2.93B | -1.5% |
| 2018 | $2.98B | +4.6% |
| 2017 | $2.85B | +4.3% |
| 2016 | $2.73B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESI price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +44.2% | +37.8% | +27.3% | +11.0% | +18.3% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +44.2% |
| 2025 | -0.4% |
| 2024 | +11.3% |
| 2023 | +29.3% |
| 2022 | -23.9% |
| 2021 | +38.5% |
| 2020 | +52.3% |
| 2019 | +13.1% |
| 2018 | +4.1% |
| 2017 | +1.1% |
| 2016 | -23.5% |
| 2015 | -44.8% |
| 2014 | +65.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 46.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 48.3%, back to its old high 6.9 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 33.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 34.6%, back to its old high 16.8 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (23 read): 0 open-market purchases and 7 sales ($25.7M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 5, 2025 | Ian G H Ashken Director | sell | $7.9M |
| Feb 24, 2026 | Benjamin Gliklich CEO, Director | sell | $6.3M |
| Feb 20, 2026 | E Stanley Oneal Director | sell | $5.1M |
| Feb 23, 2026 | Carey J. Dorman Pdt Enterprise Ops and CFO | sell | $3.4M |
| Feb 20, 2026 | E Stanley Oneal Director | sell | $1.0M |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 10.7% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| FMR LLC | 7.6% | Dec 31, 2024 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.62% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Invesco Ltd. | 5.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.12% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 4.1% | Dec 31, 2024 |
ETFs with the most weight in ESI
| PSCM Invesco S&P SmallCap Materials ETF | 7.51% |
| MID American Century Mid Cap Growth Impact | 4.61% |
| CGMM Capital Group U.S. Small and Mid Cap ETF | 0.69% |
| FFSM Fidelity Fundamental Small-Mid Cap ETF | 0.55% |
| FMAT Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF | 0.36% |
| SLYG SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF | 0.33% |
| JHSC John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF | 0.33% |
| MCDS JPMorgan Fundamental Data Science Mid Core ETF | 0.33% |
What could go wrong
- Electronics demand drives most sales. About 70% of 2025 sales came from electronics. Shifts in demand for phones, computers, data centers and cars can cause large swings in orders, and the company says results are hard to forecast.
- Large acquisitions must deliver. The company paid about $369 million for EFC and about $500 million for Micromax in early 2026. If these businesses fall short, profits could suffer and it may need to write down their value.
- Sizable debt load. Debt was about $2.08 billion against $225 million of cash as of September 30, 2026. Loan terms limit some business decisions, and more borrowing would add restrictions and interest costs.
- Most sales come from outside the US. About 79% of 2025 sales came from non-US operations, and China made up about 22% of sales. Tariffs, trade restrictions, sanctions, wars and currency swings could cut sales or raise costs.
- Metal and raw material price swings. About half of sales in Assembly Solutions, its largest electronics unit, is metal content. It generally passes metal price changes on to customers, but raw material shortages or cost spikes could still hurt profits.
- Larger rivals and fast-changing technology. Some competitors have more resources and bigger customer bases, and rivals are merging. Its markets change quickly, so the company must keep developing new materials or risk losing market share and pricing power.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; Major agreement ended; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed; Executive or board change
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Element Solutions pays a small dividend. The yield was 0.89% as of October 28, 2026, so an income investor would rely mostly on share price gains. Dividends per share climbed from $0.05 in 2020 to $0.32 in 2022 and stayed at $0.32 through 2025, with no increase since. In 2025 the dividend used about 41% of earnings and 34% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). From 2021 through 2025 the company paid $374 million in dividends and spent $196 million on buybacks.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns. It dropped about 48% in the 2020 COVID crash and regained its prior high about 7 months after the low. In the 2022 bear market it fell about 35% and needed about 17 months from the low to recover. The company warns there is no assurance it will keep paying dividends. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Element Solutions make money?
Element Solutions sells specialty chemicals and materials that manufacturers use up on their own production lines, so customers keep reordering. About 70% of its $2.55 billion in 2025 sales came from the Electronics segment, which supplies solder pastes, circuit board chemicals and chip packaging materials. The other 30% came from Specialties. That segment mainly sells industrial coatings that protect and decorate metal and plastic parts, plus fluids for offshore energy production.
Does Element Solutions raise its dividend every year?
No. Element Solutions paid $0.32 per share in dividends each year from 2022 through 2025, after $0.25 in 2021, so it has no streak of yearly increases. The yield was 0.89% as of October 28, 2026. In 2025 the dividend took about 41% of earnings and 34% of free cash flow. The company says there is no assurance it will keep declaring dividends.
What is Element Solutions' P/E ratio?
About 45 as of October 28, 2026. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio compares the share price with profit per share. This one uses 2025 earnings of $0.79 per share, down from $1.01 in 2024. Sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 were $995 million, up about 52% from a year earlier, in a quarter that included two businesses acquired in early 2026. The company's market value was about $8.7 billion on October 28, 2026.
How much debt does Element Solutions have?
About $2.08 billion as of September 30, 2026, against about $225 million of cash and investments. That leaves net debt (debt minus cash) of roughly $1.86 billion. The company's annual report warns that its loan agreements limit its flexibility and that more borrowing would add restrictions. Early in 2026 it closed two acquisitions: EFC Gases & Advanced Materials for about $369 million and Micromax for about $500 million.
Is Element Solutions stock volatile?
Yes. Its one-year beta, which measures how much a stock moves compared with the overall market, was 2.08 as of October 28, 2026. That means it swung about twice as much as the market. At its worst, it fell about 81% from a peak during 13 years of price history. Over longer periods the price has still risen, by about 11% a year over five years and about 18% a year over ten years, as of the same date.