Clariant AG (CLN) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: CHF2.25B
• Dividend Yield: 5.97%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.10M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 1.13
• Revenue Growth: -2.40%
• EPS Growth: 38.08%
• Country: CH
• Employees: 10,465
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 58
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 0.20
• Shares Outstanding: 331,939,200
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,023,368
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,104,585
• PEG Ratio: 0.24
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.15
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.60
• P/FCF Ratio: 9.98
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: CHF8.55
• Price Target Upside: 25.23% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 6
• EPS Forecast (FY): 0.76
• Revenue Forecast (FY): CHF3.87B

• Rating: 59 Neutral
• Price Target: CHF7.00 ▲(2.49% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/28/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/28/26

The score is held back primarily by weakening financial performance (revenue downtrend, 2025 net loss, and higher leverage), partially offset by improved cash flow and resilient EBITDA margins. Technically, the stock shows solid upward momentum, while valuation is mixed (loss-driven negative P/E but a ~5% dividend). Earnings-call commentary supports the margin story but also highlights weak end-market demand and restructuring costs.

Positive Factors

Improved cash generation

Clariant reported materially improved operating cash flow in 2025 and a meaningful free cash flow uplift versus 2024. Stronger cash generation provides a durable liquidity buffer to fund restructuring, capex, or debt reduction, supporting financial flexibility during cyclical headwinds.

Margin improvement & cost program

The company delivered a sustained ~230bp EBITDA margin uplift to ~17.9%, driven by pricing, mix and disciplined cost measures. Ongoing performance programs (savings already CHF31m YTD, CHF80m target) create structural cost competitiveness that can protect earnings through weak top-line periods.

Specialty chemicals business model

Clariant's focus on specialty, performance-based products and formulation know-how supports premium pricing, customer stickiness and multi-market exposure. This B2B, value-added model reduces pure commodity cyclicality and underpins longer-term margin potential and recurring revenue relationships.

Negative Factors

Multi-year revenue decline

A persistent top-line downtrend erodes scale and makes fixed-cost absorption harder, limiting operating leverage. Continued revenue weakness increases reliance on one-off savings to hit margin targets and raises the risk that margin gains cannot offset lost volume over the medium term.

Rising leverage

Leverage rising to roughly 1.07 reduces balance-sheet flexibility and raises interest and refinancing risk if earnings remain volatile. Higher debt limits optionality for capex, R&D or M&A and increases pressure to convert operating improvements into cash to avoid forced deleveraging actions.

Weak end-market demand and segment exposure

Structural weakness in catalysts (‑8% LC) and regional adsorbent softness expose Clariant to slower recovery in key end markets (including renewable fuels). Combined with guidance for sales at the low end of 1%–3%, sustained demand weakness could limit revenue recovery and prolong margin pressure.

Clariant AG Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Clariant AG operates as a specialty chemical company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Care Chemicals, Catalysis, Natural Resources. The company offers flame retardants, performance additives, and advanced surface solutions for use in plastics, coatings, inks, and consumer applications; and catalysts for the petrochemical and fuel refining, synthesis gas, chemical, emissions control, specialty zeolites and zeolite-based, and custom catalyst markets. It also provides bentonite-based specialty products for the oil purification, foundry additive, feed additives, civil engineering, wastewater treatment, clay specialties, paper and detergent additive, PVC stabilizer, BTX-catalyst, and kerosene and jet fuel purification industries. In addition, the company offers industrial and consumer specialty chemicals and application solutions for the automotive brake fluid and coolant, aircraft anti-itching and deicing fluid, construction chemical, agrochemical and agricultural adjuvants, food ingredients, gas treatment, heat transfer fluid, home care, industrial cleaning, industrial lubricant additive, special solvent, paint and coating, healthcare, and personal care ingredient markets. Further, it offers oilfield production chemicals for enhanced oil recovery, offshore and deep water, conventional and unconventional oil and gas, heavy oil, paraffin control technologies, and well services additives, as well as Veritrax, an intelligent chemical management system; chemical solutions for the end-to-end mining process; refinery services' additives; biofuels and derivatives, such as sunliquid, an agricultural residue converted to cellulosic ethanol; and organic, inorganic, and anti-corrosive pigments, as well as pigment preparations, dyes, and specialty material for use in coatings, plastics, printing and digital printing, home, fabric, personal care, and other applications. Clariant AG was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Muttenz, Switzerland.

How the Company Makes Money

Clariant makes money primarily by selling specialty chemical products and related solutions to business customers (B2B) across multiple end markets. Its core revenue model is volume- and value-based sales of formulated products and performance additives (where pricing reflects performance characteristics, regulatory compliance, and application know-how rather than commodity input costs alone). Key revenue streams include: (1) Specialty chemicals and additives: revenue from supplying additives and functional ingredients used to improve properties such as stability, durability, processing performance, or aesthetics in applications like plastics, coatings, and industrial formulations; sales are typically tied to customer production volumes and long-term supply relationships. (2) Care chemicals / specialty ingredients: revenue from specialty ingredients used by manufacturers of personal care, home care, and other consumer-facing formulations; earnings are driven by product differentiation, formulation support, and customer-specific requirements. (3) Catalysis: revenue from catalyst products used in chemical production and from associated services (e.g., technical support related to catalyst use); this stream depends on demand from chemical and fuel-related value chains and the need for process efficiency and selectivity. Profitability is influenced by the mix of higher-margin specialty products, the company’s ability to pass through raw-material and energy cost changes through pricing mechanisms, and ongoing innovation and application development that supports premium pricing and customer retention. Specific details on material partnerships or named counterparties are not available in this response and are therefore null.

Clariant AG Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Results are mixed: cash generation improved and operating margins held in the mid-to-high teens, but revenues remain in a multi-year decline and the company returned to a net loss in 2025. Rising leverage (debt-to-equity up to ~1.07) adds balance-sheet risk if profitability does not stabilize.

Income Statement

Revenue has been in a multi-year downtrend (down again in 2025), and earnings quality has weakened: after a profitable 2023–2024, the company swung back to a net loss in 2025. Operating profitability remains moderate (EBITDA margin has held in the mid-teens in 2024–2025), but net margin volatility and the return to losses reduce confidence in the earnings trajectory.

Balance Sheet

Leverage has moved higher recently: debt rose in 2025 and debt-to-equity increased to ~1.07 from ~0.81 in 2024, which limits flexibility versus prior years. Equity remains substantial, but the 2025 net loss pushed return on equity negative, highlighting pressure on shareholder returns and increasing balance-sheet risk if profitability does not stabilize.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is a relative bright spot: operating cash flow stayed solid in 2025 and free cash flow improved meaningfully versus 2024, supporting liquidity despite weaker earnings. However, cash flow conversion remains only moderate (operating cash flow is well below reported EBITDA), and free cash flow has been inconsistent historically (including very weak free cash flow in 2021).

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Mar 2022
Income Statement
Total Revenue	3.92B	4.15B	4.38B	5.20B	4.37B
Gross Profit	1.22B	1.26B	1.20B	1.02B	1.29B
EBITDA	650.00M	696.00M	510.00M	337.00M	723.00M
Net Income	-75.00M	244.00M	134.00M	-101.00M	344.00M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	5.87B	6.26B	5.35B	6.19B	7.04B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	617.00M	471.00M	593.00M	758.00M	476.00M
Total Debt	2.16B	1.88B	1.35B	1.46B	1.95B
Total Liabilities	3.69B	3.76B	3.17B	3.67B	4.49B
Stockholders Equity	2.02B	2.33B	2.02B	2.34B	2.36B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	234.00M	209.00M	214.00M	290.00M	3.00M
Operating Cash Flow	379.00M	418.00M	421.00M	502.00M	363.00M
Investing Cash Flow	-309.00M	-805.00M	45.00M	140.00M	-143.00M
Financing Cash Flow	-28.00M	277.00M	-356.00M	-652.00M	-538.00M

Clariant AG Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 6.83
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Positive

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CH:CLN, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 6.83 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 7.60, below the 50-day MA of 7.65, and below the 200-day MA of 7.75, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.21 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 32.74 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 8.43 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for CH:CLN.

Clariant AG Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
GIVN	70 Outperform	CHF24.71B	9.41	―	2.24%	5.93%	6.00%
SIKA	69 Neutral	CHF20.36B	24.98	―	2.23%	-1.05%	-1.46%
EMSN	66 Neutral	CHF14.08B	27.52	22.08%	3.16%	-4.25%	-0.03%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$10.43B	7.12	-0.05%	2.87%	2.86%	-36.73%
CLN	59 Neutral	CHF2.25B	-31.13	5.38%	5.97%	-2.40%	38.08%