Element Solutions vs Stepan
Element Solutions reported revenue of $2.6 billion in fiscal 2025, about the same as Stepan's $2.3 billion in fiscal 2025. Element Solutions' revenue grew 3.8% in its latest year, and Stepan's grew 7.0%. Element Solutions had an operating margin of 13.4%, against 3.4% at Stepan. Free cash flow was $228 million at Element Solutions and $25 million at Stepan.
Side by side
| Element Solutions | Stepan | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $2.6B | $2.3B |
| Revenue growth | 3.8% | 7.0% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 6.6% | 4.5% |
| Gross margin | 42.0% | 11.6% |
| Operating margin | 13.4% | 3.4% |
| Net margin | 7.5% | 2.0% |
| Free cash flow | $228M | $25M |
| Free cash flow margin | 8.9% | 1.1% |
| Return on capital | 6.5% | 3.6% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.0x | 2.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $103M | $35M |
| Change in diluted share count | −0.1% | −0.2% |
| Last close | $33.54 | $64.77 |
| P/E at the last close | 39.5× | — |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $25.7 million | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Element SolutionsStepan
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Element SolutionsStepan
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Element SolutionsStepan
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Element Solutions and Stepan pages.