Element Solutions (ESI) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $8.15B
• Dividend Yield: 1.25%
• Average Volume (3M): 2.27M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 42.8
• Beta (1Y): 1.25
• Revenue Growth: 3.87%
• EPS Growth: -10.30%
• Country: US
• Employees: 5,300
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 58
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 0.37
• Shares Outstanding: 241,999,910
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 3,014,122
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 2,270,636
• PEG Ratio: -1.46
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.26
• Price to Sales (P/S): 2.37
• P/FCF Ratio: 26.57
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.17
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 3.75
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 8.95
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 20.66
• 1Y Price Target: $37.57
• Price Target Upside: 11.52% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Strong Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 7
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 70 Outperform
• Price Target: $36.00 ▲(6.86% Upside)

The score is driven primarily by solid overall financial performance (strong gross margins and improving leverage) and supportive technical strength. These are partially offset by a premium valuation (high P/E, modest yield) and near-term margin/cash-flow variability risks flagged around metal-price volatility and post-acquisition leverage.

Positive Factors

Strong gross margin profile

A ~42% gross margin provides durable structural profitability driven by proprietary specialty formulations and technical service. High gross margin supports reinvestment in R&D, capacity expansion and cushions operating leverage, underpinning long-term cash generation and resilience.

Durable Electronics end-market momentum

Consistent double-digit organic growth in Electronics reflects durable structural demand (AI/data-center, semiconductors, PCB interconnect). This drives repeat consumable sales, deeper customer qualification and higher-value product mix, supporting sustained revenue and margin expansion.

Improving balance sheet and cash generation

Declining leverage and sizable cash generation (adjusted free cash flow and pre-acquisition net debt/EBITDA ~1.8x) enhance financial flexibility. A stronger balance sheet supports bolt-on M&A, capex for capacity, and reduces refinancing and liquidity risk over the medium term.

Negative Factors

Metal-price volatility and working-capital swings

Pass-through metals create structural exposure to commodity swings that compress margins and create working-capital timing variability. Persistent metal-price volatility can depress reported margins and strain cash conversion, adding recurring seasonality and operational risk to fundamentals.

Weak Specialty/Industrial organic growth

Subpar growth in Specialty and flat Industrial end markets limit diversification and places more reliance on Electronics. If slower segments fail to reaccelerate, company-wide organic growth and margin improvement may be constrained, pressuring medium-term revenue resilience.

Higher pro forma leverage after acquisitions

Large acquisition funding raised leverage to >3x pro forma, reducing near-term financial flexibility and increasing integration and interest cost risk. Though management targets deleveraging, elevated post-deal leverage constrains capital allocation and raises execution risk over the next 6–12 months.

Element Solutions Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products. This segment also supplies solder technologies, fluxes, cleaners, and other attachment materials for the electronics assembly industry; proprietary liquid chemical processes to manufacture printed circuit boards; and advanced copper interconnects, die attachment, wafer bump processes, and photomask technologies for integrated circuit fabrication and semiconductor packaging. It primarily serves mobile communications, computers, automobiles, and aerospace equipment industries. The Industrial & Specialty segment provides industrial solutions, which include chemical systems that protect and decorate metal and plastic surfaces; consumable chemicals that enable printing image transfer on flexible packaging materials; and chemistries used in water-based hydraulic control fluids for offshore energy production applications. It serves aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, and oil and gas production end markets. The company was formerly known as Platform Specialty Products Corporation and changed its name to Element Solutions Inc in January 2019. Element Solutions Inc was founded in 1785 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

How the Company Makes Money

Element Solutions generates revenue primarily through the sale of its specialty chemical products across multiple sectors. The company operates through two main segments: Electronics and Industrial. In the Electronics segment, ESI provides materials used in semiconductor manufacturing, printed circuit boards, and other electronic components, which are critical for the rapidly growing technology market. The Industrial segment includes a wide range of surface finishing products for automotive, aerospace, and other industrial applications. Key revenue streams for ESI include direct sales to manufacturers, long-term contracts with major clients, and partnerships with industry leaders to develop bespoke solutions. Additionally, the company's emphasis on innovation and sustainability in its product development helps it maintain competitive pricing and attract new business, contributing significantly to its overall earnings.

Element Solutions Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Stable TTM revenue growth (~2.1%) and strong gross margin (~42%) support a solid base, and leverage has improved (debt-to-equity ~0.61). Offsetting this, profitability has softened versus 2024 (net margin ~7.5%, EBITDA margin ~16.7%), and TTM free cash flow declined (~15.7%) with some earnings-to-cash friction (operating cash flow below EBITDA).

Income Statement

TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) revenue is up modestly (~2.1% growth) with solid gross profitability (~42% gross margin). However, profitability has softened versus 2024, with net margin down to ~7.5% (from ~9.9%) and EBITDA margin down to ~16.7% (from ~20.4%), indicating some mix/cost pressure despite stable scale.

Balance Sheet

Leverage looks reasonable and improving: debt-to-equity is ~0.61 in TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months), down from ~0.80 in 2024 and ~0.87 in 2023, suggesting balance sheet de-risking. Equity is sizable relative to assets, and return on equity is steady around ~9–10% recently—healthy, but not standout, and still sensitive to earnings swings.

Cash Flow

Cash generation remains positive with TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) free cash flow of ~$228M, but it declined ~15.7% versus the prior period, pointing to weaker conversion or higher reinvestment/working-capital needs. Free cash flow covers a large portion of net income (~0.79x), yet operating cash flow is below EBITDA (~0.67x), signaling some earnings-to-cash friction in the latest TTM period.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	2.55B	2.46B	2.33B	2.55B	2.40B
Gross Profit	1.07B	1.04B	918.50M	952.70M	960.80M
EBITDA	493.40M	501.60M	345.10M	496.10M	475.50M
Net Income	190.80M	244.20M	118.10M	187.20M	203.30M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	5.10B	4.87B	4.97B	4.90B	5.14B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	626.50M	359.40M	289.30M	265.60M	330.10M
Total Debt	1.63B	1.91B	2.03B	1.98B	1.97B
Total Liabilities	2.41B	2.48B	2.63B	2.55B	2.64B
Stockholders Equity	2.67B	2.38B	2.33B	2.33B	2.48B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	227.60M	293.60M	283.10M	249.90M	276.20M
Operating Cash Flow	289.80M	362.00M	335.80M	297.70M	322.50M
Investing Cash Flow	286.10M	-73.80M	-250.20M	-75.20M	-568.90M
Financing Cash Flow	-320.40M	-206.60M	-58.70M	-275.60M	290.00M

Element Solutions Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 33.69
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Negative
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ESI, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 33.69 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 30.98, above the 50-day MA of 28.54, and above the 200-day MA of 25.41, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.70 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 75.15 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 87.38 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for ESI.

Element Solutions Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
BCPC	81 Outperform	$5.75B	38.85	12.06%	0.61%	7.55%	22.43%
ESI	70 Outperform	$8.15B	42.80	7.55%	1.25%	3.87%	-10.30%
EMN	67 Neutral	$9.16B	19.57	8.07%	5.33%	-3.33%	-19.59%
NEU	67 Neutral	$5.72B	13.69	25.75%	1.59%	-1.11%	5.15%
SXT	65 Neutral	$3.89B	29.02	12.31%	1.70%	4.25%	56.51%
AXTA	65 Neutral	$7.59B	19.90	17.75%	―	-1.83%	40.64%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$10.43B	7.12	-0.05%	2.87%	2.86%	-36.73%

Element Solutions Corporate Events

Element Solutions Amends Credit Facility to Fund Micromax Acquisition

On February 2, 2026, Element Solutions Inc and its subsidiary MacDermid, Incorporated, amended their existing credit agreement to add $450 million of new U.S. dollar term loans fungible with the company’s existing term loan B and to replace and upsize their revolving credit facility from $375 million to $500 million while extending its maturity to February 2, 2031. The new term loans, which carry the same 2030 maturity and pricing terms as the existing tranche and are guaranteed and secured on the same collateral package, were used together with cash on hand to finance the approximately $500 million acquisition of Micromax, which closed on the same date; in parallel, the company entered into interest rate and cross-currency swaps to convert $350 million of the new term debt into fixed-rate euro-denominated obligations through 2029, refining its capital structure and providing additional liquidity to support its growing electronics-focused portfolio.

The most recent analyst rating on (ESI) stock is a Hold with a $31.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Element Solutions stock, see the ESI Stock Forecast page.