IMCD N.V. (IMCD) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: €5.00B
• Dividend Yield: 2.83%
• Average Volume (3M): 255.76K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 23.0
• Beta (1Y): 0.93
• Revenue Growth: 6.09%
• EPS Growth: -7.18%
• Country: NL
• Employees: 5,126
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 58
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 1.76
• Shares Outstanding: 59,107,998
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 216,740
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 255,764
• PEG Ratio: -0.86
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.24
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.96
• P/FCF Ratio: 14.77
• 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: €102.00
• Price Target Upside: 24.63% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 7
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 64 Neutral
• Price Target: €91.00 ▲(11.19% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/20/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/20/26

The score is primarily driven by fundamentally solid but recently pressured financial performance: cash flow quality is strong, but 2025 shows clear margin deterioration and slightly weaker revenue, alongside higher leverage. Technicals are improving in the short-to-medium term but remain below the 200-day trend, and valuation looks only fair at ~23x earnings with a moderate dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Diversified specialty distribution & partnerships

IMCD's broad product portfolio and global distribution across pharma, personal care, food and industrial end markets creates durable demand diversification. Strategic manufacturer partnerships and technical support capabilities bolster sticky customer relationships and cross-sell opportunities over multi-year cycles.

High-quality free cash flow generation

Consistent near one-to-one FCF versus net income and a 2025 rebound indicate strong cash conversion and earnings quality. Durable free cash flow supports reinvestment, dividend funding, debt service or targeted M&A, providing financial flexibility even if margins fluctuate.

Historical revenue growth and resilient profitability

Multi-year top-line expansion through 2024 demonstrates structural market demand for specialty distribution. Even with 2025 softness, continued operating profitability reflects a resilient, margin-bearing distribution model and value-added services that can sustain earnings over the medium term.

Negative Factors

2025 margin compression and revenue dip

A clear 2025 revenue decline and material gross-to-net margin step-down suggest weakening pricing power or adverse mix. If sustained, margin erosion will reduce cash available for reinvestment, increase sensitivity to cost shocks, and compress long-term earnings potential absent remediation.

Rising leverage reduces flexibility

Debt-to-equity moving into the ~0.7–0.8x range constrains capacity for opportunistic M&A, makes the company more sensitive to interest costs, and limits room to absorb cycles or fund turnarounds. Higher leverage exacerbates risk if margins remain pressured.

Earnings contraction and declining return metrics

A sharp EPS contraction signals near-term profit deterioration; paired with a noted ROE trend down in the filings, this suggests reduced capital efficiency. Sustained EPS weakness can constrain reinvestment, limit dividend growth, and weaken competitive positioning over time.

IMCD N.V. Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

IMCD N.V. distributes, markets, and sells specialty chemicals and ingredients in the Netherlands, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, South America, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers enzymes, surfactants, biocides, chelates, rheology modifiers, solubilisers, silicones, solvents, and functional additives; active pharmaceutical, agrochemicals, biopharma, excipients and formulation, nutraceuticals, and regulated synthesis; actives, UV sunscreens, rheology modifiers, thickeners, emulsifiers, emollients, elastomers, humectants, waxes, film formers, functional powders, hair styling polymers, hair conditioners, solvents, solubilizers, pigments, pearls, colorants, opacifiers, pearlisers, preservatives, antioxidants, additives, fragrances, and essential oils; and resins and binders, additives, functional fillers, and specialty solvents. It also provides taste, texture, nutrition, and function; base oil, fuel addictive, lubricants addictive, lubricants finished fluids, solvents, degreasers and fuel, compounds, and upstream, midstream and downstream oil, gas and energy; bio-based chemicals, catalysts, intermediates, monomers, organic building blocks, processing aids, reactive diluents, solvents, and surfactants. IMCD N.V. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

How the Company Makes Money

IMCD generates revenue primarily through the distribution of specialty chemicals and food ingredients. Its revenue model is based on a margin-driven approach, where the company purchases products from manufacturers at wholesale prices and sells them to customers at a markup. Key revenue streams include sales of chemicals to various sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care, and food and nutrition, as well as technical support and customized solutions that enhance customer offerings. Additionally, IMCD benefits from strategic partnerships with leading manufacturers, which not only provide access to exclusive products but also enhance its market position and customer loyalty, contributing significantly to its earnings.

IMCD N.V. Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Income statement is pressured by a 2025 revenue dip and sharp margin compression versus 2024, while cash flow remains a strength with consistently strong free-cash-flow conversion and a 2025 rebound. Balance sheet flexibility is reduced as leverage has risen into the ~0.7–0.8x debt-to-equity range and ROE has trended down.

Income Statement

Revenue expanded strongly from 2020–2024, but 2025 shows a modest top-line decline and a sharp step-down in profitability versus 2024 (gross margin down materially, with operating and net margins also lower). Despite the softer 2025, the business still posts healthy operating profitability for the period, suggesting resilience, but recent margin compression and the near-term revenue reversal weigh on the score.

Balance Sheet

Leverage has risen over time, with debt-to-equity moving from conservative levels in 2021 to the high-0.7x/0.8x range in 2024–2025, reducing balance-sheet flexibility. Equity remains sizable and return on equity is still positive, but it has trended down from earlier peak levels, indicating less efficient capital generation alongside higher leverage.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is a relative strength: free cash flow is consistently high versus net income (roughly near one-to-one across years), indicating good earnings quality. While operating cash flow relative to revenue is moderate and has fluctuated, free cash flow rebounded strongly in 2025 after a softer 2024, supporting a higher score for cash durability.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	4.78B	4.73B	4.44B	4.60B	3.44B
Gross Profit	471.80M	1.20B	1.12B	1.15B	836.32M
EBITDA	514.17M	589.14M	566.90M	574.63M	394.79M
Net Income	217.58M	278.24M	292.27M	313.08M	207.28M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	4.64B	4.88B	4.15B	3.64B	3.27B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	238.59M	522.78M	394.46M	222.00M	177.88M
Total Debt	1.70B	1.73B	1.28B	722.60M	409.63M
Total Liabilities	2.59B	2.66B	2.43B	1.97B	1.81B
Stockholders Equity	2.04B	2.21B	1.72B	1.67B	1.46B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	309.24M	252.76M	382.54M	277.58M	177.55M
Operating Cash Flow	322.28M	279.21M	420.01M	298.84M	196.26M
Investing Cash Flow	-455.74M	-387.95M	-394.59M	-255.36M	-196.13M
Financing Cash Flow	-117.39M	247.06M	216.97M	-20.00K	4.73M

IMCD N.V. Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 81.84
• 50DMA: Positive
• 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:IMCD, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 81.84 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 85.39, above the 50-day MA of 80.50, and below the 200-day MA of 94.06, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 1.66 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 45.35 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 44.44 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for NL:IMCD.

IMCD N.V. Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
CRBN	71 Outperform	€1.21B	17.88	8.84%	3.50%	-3.45%	-5.55%
IMCD	64 Neutral	€5.00B	22.98	14.32%	2.83%	6.09%	-7.18%
LIGHT	64 Neutral	€2.41B	9.69	11.48%	7.57%	-4.73%	17.93%
AKZA	63 Neutral	€10.55B	16.62	1.39%	3.38%	-2.03%	-89.67%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$10.43B	7.12	-0.05%	2.87%	2.86%	-36.73%
OCI	47 Neutral	€754.65M	―	―	229.25%	―	―
AVTX	41 Neutral	€169.89M	-3.31	-26.08%	―	-12.31%	23.77%