Akzo Nobel NV (AKZA) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: €9.48B
• Dividend Yield: 3.38%
• Average Volume (3M): 372.10K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 4.2
• Beta (1Y): 0.76
• Revenue Growth: -2.03%
• EPS Growth: -89.67%
• Country: NL
• Employees: 34,100
• Sector: General
• Sector Strength: N/A
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 0.56
• Shares Outstanding: 171,041,670
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 339,692
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 372,104
• PEG Ratio: 0.94
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.17
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.00
• P/FCF Ratio: 16.70
• 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: €67.44
• Price Target Upside: 21.51% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 9
• EPS Forecast (FY): 4.16
• Revenue Forecast (FY): €9.87B

• Rating: 63 Neutral
• Price Target: €63.00 ▲(13.51% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/05/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/05/26

The score is primarily driven by improving profitability/cash generation and gradual deleveraging, tempered by weak recent revenue momentum and still-elevated leverage. Technicals are moderately supportive and valuation is reasonable with an attractive dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Diversified business model

Akzo Nobel's two-segment model (decorative paints, performance coatings, specialty chemicals) delivers exposure to retail, industrial and construction end markets. That diversification reduces reliance on any single cycle, stabilizes revenue sources and supports long-term innovation and channel breadth.

Improving margins

Meaningful margin improvement in 2025 reflects better pricing, cost mix and operating leverage. Sustained higher margins boost cash generation potential and resilience to input-cost swings, enabling steadier investment, R&D and capacity to support dividends or debt paydown over the medium term.

Stronger cash generation and deleveraging trend

Rebounded free cash flow and positive FCF growth indicate improved cash conversion versus prior years. Combined with a downward trend in total debt since 2022, this enhances the firm's ability to fund operations, service obligations and selectively invest or return capital over coming quarters.

Negative Factors

Weak revenue momentum

Persistent flat-to-declining top-line restricts the company's ability to scale fixed-cost leverage and sustain long-term growth. Without renewed revenue traction, margin gains may be harder to maintain and strategic initiatives could face budget constraints, limiting medium-term upside.

Elevated leverage

Although leverage is falling, debt-to-equity near 1.0x remains high versus earlier years, reducing balance-sheet flexibility. Elevated debt increases interest and refinancing exposure, constraining M&A, capex and the firm's ability to absorb industry downturns without curtailing strategic investments.

Cash-flow volatility & limited debt coverage

Volatile operating and free cash flow, including a negative FCF year, undermines predictability of capital allocation and slows deleveraging. Low OCF coverage versus debt means incremental cash generation is largely needed for interest and repayments, limiting flexibility in weaker market conditions.

Akzo Nobel NV Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Akzo Nobel N.V. engages in the production and sale of paints and coatings worldwide. It offers decorative paints, including paints, lacquers, and varnishes; and a range of mixing machines and color concepts for the building and renovation industry, as well as specialty coatings for metal, wood, and other building materials. The company also provides performance coatings that protect and enhance ships, cars, aircraft, yachts, architectural components, consumer goods, and oil and gas facilities. It offers its products primarily under Dulux, International, Sikkens, and Interpon brands. The company was formerly known as Akzo NV and changed its name to Akzo Nobel N.V. in 1994. Akzo Nobel N.V. was founded in 1646 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

How the Company Makes Money

Akzo Nobel generates revenue primarily through the sale of its paints, coatings, and specialty chemicals. The company's revenue model is based on both direct sales to customers and partnerships with distributors. Key revenue streams include decorative paints for retail customers, performance coatings for industrial applications, and specialty chemicals for various sectors, including automotive and construction. Significant partnerships with industry players enhance its market presence and facilitate innovation. Additionally, Akzo Nobel benefits from a strong focus on sustainability and innovation, which drives demand for its eco-friendly products and solutions.

Akzo Nobel NV Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Profitability and cash generation improved in 2025, and leverage has been trending down since 2022. Offsetting this are flat-to-declining recent revenue, multi-year earnings/cash-flow volatility, and still-elevated debt-to-equity (~1.04x) that limits flexibility.

Income Statement

Revenue has been broadly flat to slightly down over the last three years (2025: -2.37% after near-flat 2024 and a small decline in 2023), suggesting limited top-line momentum. Profitability improved meaningfully in 2025 versus 2024 (net margin ~6.3% vs ~5.1%; EBITDA margin ~15.2% vs ~13.1%), indicating better cost/price mix and operating leverage. However, earnings are still below the stronger 2020–2021 level (2021 net margin ~8.6%), highlighting a multi-year margin reset and some cyclicality/volatility in operating profit.

Balance Sheet

Leverage is elevated for a specialty chemicals profile: debt-to-equity is ~1.04x in 2025, though it has improved from ~1.36x in 2022 and ~1.29x in 2023. Equity has been relatively stable while total debt has trended down since 2022, which is a constructive deleveraging path. Returns on equity are solid and improving (ROE ~13.6% in 2025 vs ~11.8% in 2024), but the balance sheet still carries above-average leverage versus 2020–2021 (when debt-to-equity was ~0.50–0.65x), leaving less flexibility if industry conditions soften.

Cash Flow

Cash generation rebounded in 2025 with operating cash flow of ~€915M and free cash flow of ~€606M, and free cash flow growth of +12.43%. Free cash flow covered a meaningful portion of earnings in 2025 (free cash flow ~66% of net income), improving versus 2024 (~55%), but still below 2023 (~75%) and 2020 (~79%). Cash flow has also been volatile across the period (notably negative free cash flow in 2022), and operating cash flow remains a modest fraction of the company’s debt load (coverage ~0.22x in 2025), which keeps debt reduction capacity somewhat constrained.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	10.16B	10.71B	10.67B	10.85B	9.59B
Gross Profit	4.05B	4.34B	4.23B	3.92B	3.85B
EBITDA	1.54B	1.40B	1.41B	1.05B	1.53B
Net Income	635.00M	542.00M	442.00M	352.00M	829.00M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	13.95B	14.25B	14.56B	14.74B	13.88B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	1.92B	1.47B	1.78B	1.79B	1.21B
Total Debt	5.06B	5.37B	5.56B	5.88B	3.55B
Total Liabilities	9.13B	9.43B	10.01B	10.19B	8.24B
Stockholders Equity	4.66B	4.57B	4.32B	4.33B	5.42B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	606.00M	362.00M	834.00M	-29.00M	317.00M
Operating Cash Flow	915.00M	741.00M	1.21B	291.00M	605.00M
Investing Cash Flow	424.00M	-132.00M	-144.00M	-1.09B	-134.00M
Financing Cash Flow	-964.00M	-684.00M	-827.00M	1.14B	-974.00M

Akzo Nobel NV Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 55.50
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For NL:AKZA, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 55.5 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 59.70, below the 50-day MA of 59.25, and below the 200-day MA of 58.42, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.31 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 31.44 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 20.59 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for NL:AKZA.

Akzo Nobel NV Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
IMCD	64 Neutral	€4.47B	20.99	14.32%	2.83%	6.09%	-7.18%
AKZA	63 Neutral	€9.48B	4.23	1.39%	3.38%	-2.03%	-89.67%
CRBN	59 Neutral	€1.06B	14.40	8.84%	3.50%	-3.45%	-5.55%
Sector *	55 Neutral	$6.65B	3.83	-15.92%	6.20%	10.91%	7.18%
APAM	53 Neutral	€2.75B	283.16	-0.24%	5.41%	-2.24%	-102.76%
DSFIR	52 Neutral	€13.77B	-2.82	―	3.61%	4.46%	―
AMG	49 Neutral	€960.05M	-55.26	6.84%	1.46%	9.94%	―