NL Industries (NL) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $283.40M
• Dividend Yield: 10.18%
• Average Volume (3M): 25.88K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 0.91
• Revenue Growth: 5.51%
• EPS Growth: -83.40%
• Country: US
• Employees: 3,034
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Security & Protection Services
• EPS (TTM): -0.63
• Shares Outstanding: 48,862,736
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 30,251
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 25,875
• PEG Ratio: 0.05
• Price to Book (P/B): 0.74
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.69
• P/FCF Ratio: -6.66
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.60
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.08
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 3.53
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 9.88
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: N/A
• Number of Analyst Covering: 0
• EPS Forecast (FY): 0.87
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 51 Neutral
• Price Target: $6.00 ▲(4.53% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 03/10/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 03/10/26

The score is held down primarily by weak financial performance—sharp revenue decline, a swing to net losses, and negative operating/free cash flow—despite a strong low-debt balance sheet. Technical indicators are broadly neutral, while valuation gets partial support from a high dividend yield but is undermined by negative earnings. The recent dividend declaration is modestly positive but secondary to fundamentals.

Positive Factors

Conservative balance sheet

Near-zero leverage gives NL durable financial flexibility: it can fund operations, absorb shocks, maintain the dividend, or pursue opportunistic investments without high refinancing risk. This structural strength materially lowers solvency risk during multi-quarter recoveries.

Stable gross margins

Consistent gross margins indicate persistent product-level pricing power or manufacturing cost control at CompX. If demand normalizes, stable gross margins support quick recovery in operating profits as fixed costs are leveraged, improving medium-term earnings resilience.

Significant Kronos stake

The large equity position in Kronos provides a durable, non-operating source of value and potential cash via dividends or realized gains. This investment diversifies NL's cash flow drivers beyond CompX manufacturing and provides optionality versus pure operating exposure.

Negative Factors

Sharp revenue decline and net loss

A near-term collapse in revenue and a large net loss reveal deep demand or execution issues at the operating level. Sustained top-line contraction erodes fixed-cost coverage, threatens long-term customer relationships, and impairs ability to rebuild earnings without structural fixes.

Negative operating and free cash flow

The shift to negative OCF and FCF reverses years of positive cash generation and reduces internal funding for capex, working capital, dividends, or investments. Even with low debt, persistent cash burn can force asset sales, share dilution, or painful cost reductions.

Volatile earnings and eroding returns

Large swings in ROE and profitability signal inconsistent earnings power and weaken confidence in management's ability to sustain returns. Volatility complicates long-range planning, increases investor uncertainty, and heightens risk that past margins may not be repeatable.

NL Industries Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

NL Industries, Inc. is a diversified holding company primarily engaged in the manufacturing and sale of various industrial products, with a strong focus on the chemical and coatings sectors. The company operates through its subsidiaries, which include Crown Crafts, Inc. and other entities involved in the production of specialty chemicals, coatings, and related products, serving a wide range of industries such as construction, automotive, and consumer goods.

How the Company Makes Money

NL primarily makes money through (1) operating income generated by its CompX International businesses and (2) investment-related returns from its equity holdings, most notably its stake in Kronos Worldwide. CompX generates revenue by selling manufactured products—principally security/locking solutions and marine components—to OEMs, distributors, and other commercial customers, with earnings driven by unit volumes, product mix, pricing, and manufacturing cost control. In addition to operating profit from these product sales, NL’s consolidated results can be significantly influenced by its investment in Kronos (generally through its share of earnings/losses under the applicable accounting treatment and through dividends received when declared). NL may also realize gains or losses and earn income from other investments and corporate activities (e.g., interest income), but specific amounts, customer concentrations, or partnership details are null if not publicly detailed in the source materials referenced.

NL Industries Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Financial performance is pressured: 2025 revenue fell sharply (-45.2%) and the company swung from strong profitability in 2024 to a sizable net loss (net margin ~-23.9%). While the balance sheet is a strength with essentially no leverage (supports flexibility), cash generation deteriorated meaningfully with negative operating cash flow (-$36.4M) and negative free cash flow (-$40.2M), raising near-term execution risk.

Income Statement

Profitability and growth have been volatile. Revenue declined sharply in 2025 (annual: -45.2% growth), and the company swung to a sizable net loss (net margin about -23.9%) after strong profitability in 2024 (net margin about 46.1%). Gross margin has been relatively steady around ~28–31% across years, but earnings power is inconsistent, with large year-to-year swings in net income despite similar revenue levels in prior periods—raising questions about sustainability and repeatability of profits.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is conservatively positioned with essentially no leverage (debt-to-equity near zero across periods), which provides flexibility and lowers financial risk. Equity remains sizable, though it declined from 2024 to 2025 alongside the loss, and return on equity turned negative in 2025 (about -10.5%) after being positive in 2024 (about 16.9%). Overall, capital structure strength is a clear positive, but recent profitability pressure is eroding returns.

Cash Flow

Cash generation deteriorated meaningfully in 2025, with operating cash flow turning negative (-$36.4M) and free cash flow also negative (-$40.2M), a sharp reversal versus positive free cash flow in 2020–2024. Cash flow quality was generally supportive in prior years (free cash flow positive and often close to net income), but the latest period signals operational strain and reduces near-term financial flexibility despite low debt.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	158.28M	145.94M	161.29M	166.56M	140.81M
Gross Profit	48.18M	41.36M	49.22M	48.80M	42.75M
EBITDA	17.23M	107.84M	-1.70M	44.16M	65.82M
Net Income	-37.83M	67.23M	-2.31M	33.84M	51.19M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	470.01M	578.26M	576.66M	609.87M	596.15M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	113.74M	163.15M	164.67M	139.03M	147.00M
Total Debt	500.00K	500.00K	500.00K	500.00K	500.00K
Total Liabilities	93.22M	162.35M	184.90M	207.12M	211.18M
Stockholders Equity	358.77M	396.90M	369.81M	382.15M	362.47M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-40.15M	24.14M	35.87M	23.24M	13.52M
Operating Cash Flow	-36.40M	25.57M	37.00M	26.93M	17.61M
Investing Cash Flow	-2.44M	58.87M	22.10M	-67.87M	6.71M
Financing Cash Flow	-31.30M	-41.63M	-15.23M	-36.80M	-14.35M

NL Industries Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Neutral
• Last Price: 5.74
• 50DMA: Negative
• 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 NL, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 5.74 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 6.03, below the 50-day MA of 5.99, and below the 200-day MA of 5.88, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.02 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 48.41 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 32.29 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for NL.

NL Industries Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
CIX	67 Neutral	$286.76M	14.72	13.59%	9.65%	5.52%	2.86%
SNT	67 Neutral	$71.38M	28.93	12.02%	―	―	―
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%
MG	61 Neutral	$461.61M	23.60	7.67%	―	-3.20%	60.03%
BAER	56 Neutral	$110.17M	23.99	7.38%	―	54.35%	70.17%
EVLV	52 Neutral	$930.83M	-36.39	-30.45%	―	41.61%	-1.76%
NL	51 Neutral	$283.40M	-7.07	-9.89%	10.18%	5.51%	-83.40%

NL Industries Corporate Events

NL Industries Declares Quarterly Dividend for First Quarter

NL Industries, Inc. announced on February 26, 2026, that its board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share on its common stock for the first quarter of 2026. The dividend will be paid on March 26, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 10, 2026, underscoring the company’s continued practice of returning capital to investors and signaling confidence in its financial position across its component products and TiO2 chemicals businesses.

The most recent analyst rating on (NL) stock is a Hold with a $6.50 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on NL Industries stock, see the NL Stock Forecast page.