Ashland (ASH)
NYSE:ASH
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Ashland
(NYSE:ASH)
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Rating:54Neutral
Price Target:
$56.00
▼(-4.31% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/19/26
The score is held back primarily by sharply deteriorated profitability and negative returns on equity, despite strong TTM cash generation providing some cushion. Technical signals are neutral and valuation is relatively demanding given current earnings pressure, while the earnings call supports a cautious recovery narrative but includes trimmed guidance and execution-driven margin headwinds.
Positive Factors
Strong cash generation
Sustained, sizable operating and free cash flow provides durable financial flexibility to fund operations, invest in R&D, de-lever or withstand cyclical weakness. Strong cash conversion cushions the company while margins and earnings recover, supporting long-term strategic initiatives.
Negative Factors
Deep profitability deterioration
Severely negative net and EBIT margins signal structural earnings weakness beyond one-off items; persistent losses erode returns, limit reinvestment capacity, and strain investor economics. Even with revenue gains, recovery requires sustained margin improvement to restore ROE and capital flexibility.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Strong cash generation
Sustained, sizable operating and free cash flow provides durable financial flexibility to fund operations, invest in R&D, de-lever or withstand cyclical weakness. Strong cash conversion cushions the company while margins and earnings recover, supporting long-term strategic initiatives.
Read all positive factors
Ashland (ASH) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$2.56B
Dividend Yield2.79%
Average Volume (3M)632.18K
Price to Earnings (P/E)39.8
Beta (1Y)1.01
Revenue Growth-7.23%
EPS Growth-594.66%
CountryUS
Employees3,200
SectorBasic Materials
Sector Strength58
IndustryChemicals - Specialty
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-15.34
Shares Outstanding45,787,777
10 Day Avg. Volume536,791
30 Day Avg. Volume632,178
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio<0.01
Price to Book (P/B)1.16
Price to Sales (P/S)1.21
P/FCF Ratio-550.97
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.44
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.04
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit8.11
Enterprise Value/Ebitda10.05
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$62.13Price Target Upside6.16% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering8
EPS Forecast (FY)3.64
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.85B
Ashland Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Ashland Inc. provides additives and specialty ingredients worldwide. It operates through Life Sciences; Personal Care & Household; Specialty Additives; and Intermediates and Solvents segments. The Life Sciences segment offers pharmaceutical soluti...
How the Company Makes Money
Ashland makes money primarily by manufacturing and selling specialty chemical ingredients and additives to business customers (B2B) that incorporate these materials into finished products (e.g., shampoos and lotions, tablets and other pharmaceutic...
Ashland Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 28, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 28, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call presented a mixed picture: underlying end‑market demand in consumer‑facing businesses (Life Sciences and Personal Care) and innovation/globalization momentum are clear positives — innovation has already exceeded targets and cash generation was strong. However, material internal execution issues (Calvert City outage, weather disruptions and the Hopewell HEC ramp) and margin compression meaningfully pressured near‑term results and led to a prudent trimming of guidance. Management emphasizes these operational items are internal and actionable while maintaining longer‑term cost‑saving targets and strategic paths to growth.Positive Updates
Consolidated Sales Growth
Second quarter sales of $482 million, up 1% year-over-year; foreign exchange was a meaningful tailwind of approximately $16 million (~3% of sales).
Negative Updates
Adjusted EBITDA Decline and Margin Compression
Consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $98 million, down 9% year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA margin approximately 20%, down ~220 basis points year-over-year. Management attributed roughly $10 million of temporary impacts (Calvert City start-up delay and weather-related disruptions) to the decline.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Consolidated Sales Growth
Second quarter sales of $482 million, up 1% year-over-year; foreign exchange was a meaningful tailwind of approximately $16 million (~3% of sales).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Ashland updated fiscal 2026 guidance to sales of $1.835–$1.87 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $385–$400 million, with adjusted EPS growth of mid‑single to high‑single digits and ongoing free cash‑flow conversion of ~50% of adjusted EBITDA; management said fiscal manufacturing‑optimization benefits were reduced by ~$10–$12 million due to Hopewell timing delays but reaffirmed a longer‑term target of $50–$55 million (opportunity to ~ $60M with China recovery). Year‑to‑date Globalize incremental contribution was ~$8–11M and Innovate delivered ~ $10M this quarter (exceeding the $15M full‑year Innovate target), supporting a combined FY revenue commitment of $35M. Q2 results: sales $482M (+1% y/y), adjusted EBITDA $98M (‑9% y/y; margin ~20%, down 220 bps), adjusted EPS ex amortization $0.91 (‑8%), operating cash flow $50M (vs $9M LY), ongoing free cash flow $29M, total liquidity ~$939M, net debt just over $1B (net leverage ~2.7x), and an FX tailwind of ~$16M to sales; segment highlights included Life Sciences $172M sales / $50M adj EBITDA (29% margin), Personal Care $150M / $43M (≈29% margin), Specialty Additives $134M / $16M (11.9% margin), and Intermediates $35M / $5M.Ashland Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
28
Negative
Balance Sheet
52
Neutral
Cash Flow
63
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Sep 2022 | Sep 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 1.81B | 1.82B | 2.11B | 2.19B | 2.39B | 2.11B |
| Gross Profit | 456.00M | 549.00M | 618.00M | 668.00M | 830.00M | 670.00M |
| EBITDA | 368.00M | -509.00M | 303.00M | 457.00M | 509.00M | 448.00M |
| Net Income | -706.00M | -845.00M | 169.00M | 178.00M | 927.00M | 220.00M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 4.50B | 4.61B | 5.64B | 5.94B | 6.21B | 6.61B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 343.00M | 215.00M | 300.00M | 417.00M | 646.00M | 210.00M |
| Total Debt | 1.48B | 1.57B | 1.47B | 1.46B | 1.38B | 2.10B |
| Total Liabilities | 2.63B | 2.71B | 2.78B | 2.84B | 2.99B | 3.86B |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.87B | 1.90B | 2.87B | 3.10B | 3.22B | 2.75B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 334.00M | -4.00M | 274.00M | 73.00M | -326.00M | 455.00M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 405.00M | 94.00M | 411.00M | 243.00M | -213.00M | 560.00M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -60.00M | -3.00M | -51.00M | -109.00M | 1.56B | -381.00M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -180.00M | -179.00M | -479.00M | -371.00M | -896.00M | -426.00M |
Ashland Technical Analysis
Positive
58.52
Price Trends
54.29
Positive
57.69
Negative
54.76
Positive
Market Momentum
0.11
Negative
52.22
Neutral
51.23
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ASH, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 58.52 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 54.86, above the 50-day MA of 54.29, and above the 200-day MA of 54.76, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.11 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 52.22 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 51.23 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for ASH.
Ashland Risk Analysis
Ashland disclosed 36 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Ashland reported the most risks in the "Production" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Ashland Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
77 Outperform | $1.94B | 14.88 | 8.54% | 2.19% | 0.25% | 325.27% | |
73 Outperform | $2.80B | 39.58 | 30.23% | 1.87% | 4.23% | -6.09% | |
66 Neutral | $2.44B | 27.35 | 0.31% | 1.37% | 6.25% | -94.37% | |
61 Neutral | $10.43B | 7.12 | -0.05% | 2.87% | 2.86% | -36.73% | |
61 Neutral | $2.30B | 10.51 | -156.14% | ― | -10.27% | 63.55% | |
54 Neutral | $2.56B | 39.79 | -37.54% | 2.79% | -7.23% | -594.66% | |
54 Neutral | $3.35B | -28.55 | -164.40% | 4.37% | 0.34% | -1414.08% |
* Basic Materials Sector Average
ASH
Ashland
55.99
7.94
16.52%
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Ashland Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Ashland Adds Independent Director, Expands Board for Growth
Positive
May 18, 2026
Ashland Inc. expanded its board of directors from eight to nine members and appointed Bertrand Loy as an independent director, effective May 15, 2026, with the move formally announced on May 18, 2026. Loy, who serves as director and executive chai...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Ashland Cuts 2026 Outlook After Mixed Q2 Results
Negative
Apr 28, 2026
Ashland reported second quarter fiscal 2026 results for the period ended March 31, 2026, with sales of $482 million, up 1 percent year over year, but net income falling to $16 million and adjusted EBITDA down 9 percent to $98 million. Performance ...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.