Cabot (CBT) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $3.96B
• Dividend Yield: 2.72%
• Average Volume (3M): 471.29K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 13.1
• Beta (1Y): 0.88
• Revenue Growth: -7.04%
• EPS Growth: -11.28%
• Country: US
• Employees: 4,151
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 58
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 1.53
• Shares Outstanding: 52,221,603
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 721,547
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 471,289
• PEG Ratio: -1.16
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.63
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.10
• P/FCF Ratio: 10.44
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.23
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.35
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 5.30
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 6.28
• 1Y Price Target: $70.00
• Price Target Upside: -7.59% Downside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Sell
• Number of Analyst Covering: 3
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 74 Outperform
• Price Target: $88.00 ▲(16.17% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/05/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/05/26

CBT scores well on solid financial quality (healthy margins, improved leverage, strong free cash flow) and supportive valuation (moderate P/E plus dividend). The score is held back by mixed earnings-call operating outlook—material weakness and pricing pressure in Reinforcement Materials despite cost actions—and technically the stock is strong but near overbought.

Positive Factors

Strong cash generation and FCF

Consistent multi-hundred-million operating cash flow and meaningful free cash flow support funding for growth, dividends and buybacks without relying on new debt. This durable cash generation underpins financial flexibility and capital allocation over the next several quarters.

Materially improved leverage and liquidity

A sharply lower debt-to-equity ratio and sizable liquidity cushion reduce refinancing and solvency risk, enabling the company to invest in strategic projects while maintaining shareholder returns. Strong balance-sheet positioning is a durable buffer through cycles.

High-growth Battery Materials franchise

Rapid revenue and margin expansion in Battery Materials plus a multiyear supply agreement with a major OEM create a structurally higher-growth, higher-margin business line. This diversification reduces reliance on legacy segments and supports sustainable earnings growth.

Negative Factors

Reinforcement Materials profit deterioration

A steep EBIT decline in the core Reinforcement Materials unit signals persistent demand and pricing pressure in the tires/rubber end market. Given this segment's size, prolonged weakness can materially depress consolidated operating profit and limit margin recovery over multiple quarters.

Sustained top-line softness

A multi-period revenue downtrend indicates end-market softness or lost volumes that are not fully offset by price or mix. Sustained top-line pressure constrains operating leverage and may limit the durability of margins and free cash flow if volumes don't recover.

Structural trade and demand risks in core markets

Ongoing import competition and weak Western tire production create a structural headwind to pricing and volumes in primary end markets. These macro and trade dynamics can persist across multiple quarters, forcing capacity rationalizations and margin compression in core product lines.

Cabot Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Cabot Corporation operates as a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. It operates through three segments: Reinforcement Materials, Performance Chemicals, and Purification Solutions. The company offers reinforcing carbons used in tires as a rubber reinforcing agent and performance additive, as well as in industrial products, such as hoses, belts, extruded profiles, and molded goods; and engineered elastomer composites. It also provides specialty carbons used in inks, coatings, plastics, adhesives, toners, batteries, and displays applications; masterbatch and conductive compound products for use in automotive, industrial, packaging, infrastructure, agriculture, consumer products, and electronics industries; inkjet colorants used in the inkjet printing applications; fumed silica used in adhesives, sealants, cosmetics, batteries, inks, toners, silicone elastomers, coatings, polishing slurries, and pharmaceuticals; fumed alumina used in various products, including inkjet media, lighting, coatings, cosmetics, and polishing slurries; and aerogel, a hydrophobic, silica-based particle for use in various thermal insulation and specialty chemical applications. In addition, the company offers activated carbon products used for the purification of water, air, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, and other liquids and gases; and activated carbon solutions for activated carbon injection in coal-fired utilities, mobile water filter units, and carbon reactivation services. The company sells its products through distributors and sales representatives in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Cabot Corporation was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

How the Company Makes Money

Cabot generates revenue through multiple key streams, primarily by manufacturing and selling specialty chemicals and performance materials. The company's largest revenue source comes from its carbon black segment, which supplies high-performance carbon blacks used in tire manufacturing and other rubber applications. Additionally, Cabot earns revenue from its performance chemicals segment, which includes products like fumed silica and specialty compounds that cater to a variety of industrial applications. Strategic partnerships with major players in the automotive and electronics industries further bolster its earnings, as they provide consistent demand for Cabot's innovative solutions. The company's focus on sustainability and developing environmentally-friendly products also positions it favorably in a market increasingly driven by eco-conscious consumer behavior.

Cabot Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Fundamentals are solid: profitability remains healthy (TTM net margin ~8.6%, EBIT margin ~13.3%), leverage has improved materially (TTM debt-to-equity ~0.17) and cash generation is strong (TTM operating cash flow $667M; free cash flow $401M). Offsetting factors are a soft recent revenue trend (TTM revenue -2.9%) and some historical variability in cash conversion.

Income Statement

TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) revenue is slightly down (-2.9%), extending a flattish-to-down top-line trend after modest growth in 2024 and declines in 2023. Profitability remains solid for the group, with TTM net margin at ~8.6% and EBIT margin at ~13.3%, though margins are below the prior annual period (2025 annual net margin ~8.9% and higher EBIT/EBITDA margins). Net income has also stepped down from the 2023–2024 peak, indicating some normalization in earnings power despite still-healthy operating performance.

Balance Sheet

Leverage shows meaningful improvement: TTM debt-to-equity is low (~0.17) versus elevated levels in prior annual periods (roughly ~0.73 to ~1.61 historically), suggesting a stronger capital structure and reduced financial risk. Equity has grown versus earlier years, and returns on equity remain attractive (TTM ~22.5%), albeit below the very strong 2023–2024 levels. Overall balance sheet quality looks improved, with the main watch item being the variability versus prior reporting periods.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is a strength: TTM operating cash flow is $667M and free cash flow is $401M with positive TTM free-cash-flow growth (+2.6%). Free cash flow is a meaningful portion of earnings (TTM free cash flow to net income ~0.59), indicating decent earnings quality. However, cash conversion is not consistently strong across years (notably weak in 2022 with negative free cash flow), and operating cash flow remains below revenue in scale, pointing to some cyclicality/working-capital sensitivity.

Breakdown	TTM	Sep 2025	Sep 2024	Sep 2023	Sep 2022	Sep 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	3.61B	3.71B	3.99B	3.93B	4.32B	3.41B
Gross Profit	916.00M	940.00M	960.00M	839.00M	885.00M	799.00M
EBITDA	773.00M	794.00M	761.00M	685.00M	537.00M	615.00M
Net Income	311.00M	331.00M	380.00M	445.00M	209.00M	250.00M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	3.76B	3.81B	3.74B	3.60B	3.52B	3.31B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	230.00M	258.00M	223.00M	238.00M	206.00M	168.00M
Total Debt	1.13B	1.22B	1.33B	1.36B	1.53B	1.25B
Total Liabilities	2.03B	2.11B	2.15B	2.20B	2.49B	2.22B
Stockholders Equity	1.57B	1.55B	1.43B	1.26B	898.00M	947.00M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	401.00M	391.00M	451.00M	351.00M	-111.00M	62.00M
Operating Cash Flow	667.00M	665.00M	692.00M	595.00M	100.00M	257.00M
Investing Cash Flow	-263.00M	-298.00M	-235.00M	-214.00M	-118.00M	-186.00M
Financing Cash Flow	-404.00M	-336.00M	-415.00M	-403.00M	145.00M	-60.00M

Cabot Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 75.75
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CBT, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 75.75 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 74.34, above the 50-day MA of 71.28, and above the 200-day MA of 72.37, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.22 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 53.28 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 41.53 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CBT.

Cabot Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
CBT	74 Outperform	$3.96B	13.09	20.88%	2.72%	-7.04%	-11.28%
SSL	67 Neutral	$5.70B	43.93	4.56%	―	-6.73%	―
SXT	65 Neutral	$4.05B	29.10	12.31%	1.70%	4.25%	56.51%
PRM	64 Neutral	$3.90B	62.62	7.39%	―	19.12%	―
FUL	63 Neutral	$3.57B	23.92	7.93%	1.54%	-1.30%	-36.69%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$10.43B	7.12	-0.05%	2.87%	2.86%	-36.73%
AVNT	59 Neutral	$3.88B	47.20	3.49%	3.48%	1.03%	-24.57%

Cabot Corporate Events

Cabot Rebalances Classified Board Ahead of 2026 Meeting

Cabot Corporation, a publicly traded company, announced changes to its board structure affecting its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The terms of directors Juan Enriquez and William C. Kirby will expire at the 2026 meeting, and the board has nominated current director Thierry Vanlancker—whose term had been set to run to 2028—for election at that 2026 meeting with a new term extending to 2029; to enable this, Vanlancker submitted a conditional resignation on January 8, 2026, effective immediately before the 2026 meeting and contingent on his reappointment, a procedural move intended solely to rebalance the board into three classes of roughly equal size, which may enhance governance structure and board continuity for shareholders.

The most recent analyst rating on (CBT) stock is a Buy with a $79.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Cabot stock, see the CBT Stock Forecast page.