At a glance
Quaker Chemical Corporation is worth $2.70B. Revenue grew 2.7% to $1.89B in fiscal 2025, at a loss; over 5 years it has grown 5.9% a year. It pays a 1.31% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $248.7M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +19.8% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −7.6% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 34.8% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 44.6% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Quaker Chemical, which operates as Quaker Houghton, makes industrial process fluids: specialty liquids that factories use to cut, roll, shape, clean and protect metal. Its customers include thousands of steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, can, mining and metalworking companies, served from operations in more than 25 countries. The biggest product lines in 2025 were metal removal fluids (19.0% of net sales), rolling lubricants (18.3%), hydraulic fluids (12.2%) and surface solutions (10.9%).
Most sales are made directly by its own employees. They regularly visit customer plants and often work on site, spotting production problems and solving them with existing products or new formulas from the company's labs. Through its Fluidcare program, it also manages customers' chemicals, including some products made by other suppliers. It holds few patents and relies mainly on proprietary formulas and know-how. No single customer dominates: the five largest made up about 11% of 2025 sales.
Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2025 were $1.89 billion: 67.7% from Metalworking and Other and 32.3% from Metals. The company reports three regional segments: Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Asia/Pacific. It also grows through acquisitions. In April 2025 it bought Dipsol, a Japanese supplier of surface treatment and plating products. Between 2024 and 2025, surface solutions grew from 5.2% of sales to 10.9%.
Price history
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KWR +19.8% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Metalworking and Other | $1.28B | 67.7% |
| Metals | $610.5M | 32.3% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $544.5M, up 10.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $30.0M (-1.6%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.89B (+2.7% year over year; +5.9% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a -0.1% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +5.9% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 2.8% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | 4.3% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | -0.2% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | -0.1% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-725.0M weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.42B | $39.7M | $160.5M |
| FY2021 | $1.76B | $121.4M | $27.5M |
| FY2022 | $1.94B | $-15.9M | $13.3M |
| FY2023 | $1.95B | $112.7M | $240.2M |
| FY2024 | $1.84B | $116.6M | $162.8M |
| FY2025 | $1.89B | $-2.5M | $80.6M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $2.70B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | — |
| Dividend yield | 1.31% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Quaker Chemical’s market value went from $1.70B at the end of 2016 to $2.70B on Oct 28, 2026, up 59%; since the end of 2025 it is up 13%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $2.70B | +13.3% |
| 2025 | $2.38B | -4.9% |
| 2024 | $2.50B | -34.8% |
| 2023 | $3.84B | +28.3% |
| 2022 | $2.99B | -27.5% |
| 2021 | $4.13B | -8.6% |
| 2020 | $4.52B | +54.9% |
| 2019 | $2.92B | +23.1% |
| 2018 | $2.37B | +18.2% |
| 2017 | $2.01B | +18.2% |
| 2016 | $1.70B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KWR price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +15.9% | +19.8% | +5.5% | -7.6% | +5.1% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +15.9% |
| 2025 | -0.8% |
| 2024 | -33.4% |
| 2023 | +29.1% |
| 2022 | -26.9% |
| 2021 | -8.3% |
| 2020 | +55.5% |
| 2019 | -6.7% |
| 2018 | +18.9% |
| 2017 | +19.1% |
| 2016 | +68.1% |
| 2015 | -14.8% |
| 2014 | +21.2% |
| 2013 | +45.4% |
| 2012 | +41.6% |
| 2011 | -4.3% |
| 2010 | +108.6% |
| 2009 | +34.6% |
| 2008 | -21.9% |
| 2007 | +3.4% |
| 2006 | +19.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 79% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 85.3%, back to its old high 13.2 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 33.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 34.8%, back to its old high 2.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 43.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 44.6%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-30 to 2026-10-30 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 2 sales ($208K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2026 | Jeewat Bijlani EVP, Glob. Spec. & CGO | sell | $107K |
| Aug 4, 2026 | William H Osborne Director | sell | $101K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 11.5% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.39% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in KWR
| PSCM Invesco S&P SmallCap Materials ETF | 2.68% |
| JPSV JPMorgan Active Small Cap Value ETF | 1.01% |
| SMDV ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF | 0.82% |
| QSML WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund | 0.32% |
| VIOV Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 0.29% |
| SLYV SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF | 0.26% |
| FYT First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 0.25% |
| IJS iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 0.25% |
What could go wrong
- Sales rise and fall with heavy industry. Demand depends on how much steel, aluminum, cars, aircraft and industrial equipment the world produces. When customers cut output, sales drop, and the company says it cannot cut costs as quickly.
- Oil-linked raw material costs. It buys about 3,000 raw materials. Many come from crude oil and natural gas, and others include animal fats and vegetable oils. Swings in those prices affected earnings in 2024 and 2025 and could again.
- A few large customer sites matter. Steel, aluminum and aerospace customers often use large volumes at a few sites. A bankruptcy, closure or production cut at one could hurt. The five largest customers were about 11% of 2025 sales.
- A large shareholder can nominate directors. Gulf and its subsidiary QH Hungary Holdings own a significant minority stake and have a contractual right to nominate certain directors, which may let them sway strategy and major corporate decisions.
- Debt and variable interest rates. As of June 30, 2026, total debt was $873 million against $155 million in cash. Some borrowing has variable rates, so rising rates raise interest costs. Breaking loan terms could strain finances.
- Currency swings, tariffs and foreign politics. A large share of revenue and earnings comes from outside the US. Moves in the euro, Brazilian real, Mexican peso, Chinese renminbi and other currencies, plus tariffs and changing trade policies, can shift results.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Executive or board change
For income and retirement investors
Quaker Houghton's regular dividend per share rose at least nine years in a row through FY2025. It went from $1.56 in FY2020 to $1.99 in FY2025, or about 5% a year. The yield was 1.31% as of October 28, 2026, which is modest for income seekers. FY2025 brought a small loss of $0.14 per diluted share, so earnings did not cover the dividend that year. Free cash flow (cash left after running the business and buying equipment) did: the $34.4 million paid used about 43% of it. The company also bought back $49.2 million of stock in FY2024 and $41.5 million in FY2025.
The share price has dropped hard in past downturns. It fell 85% in the 2008 financial crisis and was back by April 2010. It fell 35% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about 2.5 months. In the 2022 bear market it fell 45%, and it still had not regained its January 2022 peak as of October 28, 2026. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Quaker Houghton make money?
Quaker Houghton sells specialty industrial process fluids to steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, mining and other manufacturers. Its products include metal removal fluids, rolling lubricants, hydraulic fluids and surface treatment products. Its own staff make most sales directly and often work on site at customer plants. It also earns revenue by managing customers' chemicals through its Fluidcare program. Net sales were $1.89 billion for the year ended December 31, 2025.
Does Quaker Chemical raise its dividend every year?
Yes. Its regular dividend per share has gone up at least nine years in a row through FY2025, and the streak may be longer. It rose from $1.56 per share in FY2020 to $1.99 in FY2025, about 5% a year. The yield was 1.31% as of October 28, 2026. Increases are not guaranteed, and the company posted a small loss in FY2025.
Is Quaker Chemical profitable?
It made money from operations but posted a small net loss in its last full year. For the year ended December 31, 2025, it had operating income of $53.0 million on $1.89 billion of net sales, a 2.8% operating margin. Its net loss was $2.5 million, or $0.14 per diluted share. That compares with $116.6 million of net income in FY2024. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, net sales rose 10.2% from a year earlier to $532.6 million, and net income was $26.8 million.
How much debt does Quaker Chemical have?
As of June 30, 2026, Quaker Houghton had total debt of $873.4 million and cash and investments of $155.1 million. That leaves about $718 million of net debt (debt minus cash), against shareholders' equity of $1.38 billion. Some of its borrowing carries variable interest rates, so higher rates can raise its costs. It also reported major agreements involving new debt or financial obligations in filings dated April 14 and October 1, 2026.
How has KWR stock performed over the long term?
Unevenly. As of October 28, 2026, the share price was up 64% over 10 years, about 5.1% a year, but down 33% over five years. It rose 19.8% in the year to that date, after falling 33.4% in 2024 and 26.9% in 2022. Its one-year beta of 1.19 means it has tended to swing somewhat more than the overall market.