Sensient Technologies (SXT) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $3.89B
• Dividend Yield: 1.7%
• Average Volume (3M): 239.48K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 29.0
• Beta (1Y): 0.63
• Revenue Growth: 4.25%
• EPS Growth: 56.51%
• Country: US
• Employees: 4,014
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 58
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 0.72
• Shares Outstanding: 42,506,700
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 147,577
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 239,480
• PEG Ratio: 3.97
• Price to Book (P/B): 3.32
• Price to Sales (P/S): 2.46
• P/FCF Ratio: 103.29
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.19
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 2.88
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 8.62
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 17.33
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: N/A
• Number of Analyst Covering: 0
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 65 Neutral
• Price Target: $105.00 ▲(11.55% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/14/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/14/26

The score is primarily supported by a generally sound financial profile and constructive 2026 guidance tied to Color Group strength and the natural color conversion opportunity. These positives are tempered by valuation (high P/E with modest yield), a only-moderate technical setup (still below the 200-day average), and near-term execution/margin and financing headwinds highlighted on the earnings call.

Positive Factors

Color Group momentum & natural-color conversion

Sensient's Color group is showing durable outperformance and management targets a large structural shift to natural colors with a defined conversion pipeline (~$100M addressable synthetic sales). Multiyear capex and scale investments (2025–2028) position the company to capture sustainable share gains and margin leverage as customers convert industry-wide.

Improving leverage and de-risked balance sheet

Reported debt metrics improved materially in 2025 (debt-to-equity ~0.32), giving the company greater financial flexibility to fund its multi-year natural-color investment plan while maintaining targets to keep leverage in the high-twos. Stronger balance-sheet optionality supports durable capital allocation and resilience to cyclical stress.

Stronger cash generation & FCF conversion (2023–2025)

Free cash flow conversion improved markedly in 2024–2025, enabling self-help funding for investments and debt paydown. While cash quality had prior volatility, recent consistent positive operating and free cash flow indicate the company's ability to fund capex cycles and strategic conversions without eroding core liquidity over the medium term.

Negative Factors

2025 reporting and data inconsistencies

A noted 2025 balance-sheet mismatch and missing margin line-items reduce confidence in reported metrics. Inconsistent data complicates trend analysis, forecasting and credit assessment, increasing model risk for 2–6 month forecasts and making it harder to precisely quantify leverage, returns and cash-conversion durability until reconciled.

Near-term margin pressure from heavy capex and inventory build

Management's multi-year investment push requires elevated capex and inventory builds that will compress margins and raise interest expense in the near term. Higher financing needs and routed interest (~$36M guidance) will weigh on EPS and cash flow conversion in 2026, testing margin sustainability before H2 ramp and longer-term payback.

Operational exposure: agriculture/weather and tariff risks

Sensient's Flavors and Agricultural Ingredients businesses are exposed to raw-material weather volatility and regional tariff-driven supply disruptions. These structural supply risks can cause recurring cost spikes, inventory losses and volume swings, making segment-level earnings and working-capital needs more volatile over medium-term planning horizons.

Sensient Technologies Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Sensient Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets colors, flavors, and other specialty ingredients in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Flavors & Extracts Group, Color Group, and Asia Pacific Group. The company offers flavor-delivery systems, and compounded and blended products; ingredient products, such as essential oils, natural and synthetic flavors, and natural extracts; and chili powder, paprika, and chili pepper, as well as dehydrated vegetables comprising parsley, celery, and spinach to the food, beverage, personal care, and household-products industries. It also provides natural and synthetic color systems for use in foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals; colors and other ingredients for cosmetics, such as active ingredients, solubilizers, and surface treated pigments; pharmaceutical and nutraceutical excipients, including colors, flavors, coatings, and nutraceutical ingredients; and technical colors for industrial applications under the Sensient Food Colors, Sensient Pharmaceutical Coating Systems, Sensient Cosmetic Technologies, and Sensient Industrial Colors trade names. The company was incorporated in 1882 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

How the Company Makes Money

Sensient Technologies generates revenue primarily through the sale of its color and flavor products, which are sold to manufacturers in the food, beverage, and cosmetic industries. The company has a diversified revenue model that includes direct sales to customers, as well as partnerships and collaborations with other companies to develop custom solutions. Key revenue streams are derived from both domestic and international markets, with a notable emphasis on innovation and product development to meet evolving consumer preferences. Sensient also benefits from strategic partnerships with major brands, enhancing its market presence and driving sales growth.

Sensient Technologies Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Steady revenue growth and generally solid profitability, with improving leverage in the latest year. Offsets include earnings/cash-flow volatility (notably weak 2022 cash flow) and 2025 data inconsistencies/missing margin details that reduce confidence in reported fundamentals.

Income Statement

Revenue has grown steadily from $1.33B (2020) to $1.61B (2025), with growth accelerating in 2024–2025. Profitability is solid for a specialty chemicals business, with net margin generally in the ~6%–10% range and improving versus the weaker 2023 level. A key weakness is margin volatility (notably the profit step-down in 2023 and rebound thereafter), and 2025 has missing/zero values for some line-item margins (gross and EBIT margin), which reduces confidence in the quality/consistency of reported profitability detail for that period.

Balance Sheet

Leverage is moderate: debt-to-equity has generally sat around ~0.55–0.65 historically and improved to ~0.32 in 2025, which is a meaningful de-risking signal. Returns on equity have been respectable but uneven (stronger in 2021–2022, softer in 2023–2025). A notable concern is data consistency in 2025, where total assets equal equity while debt is still reported—this mismatch creates uncertainty around the balance sheet relationships and slightly tempers an otherwise improving leverage profile.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is positive overall, with operating cash flow and free cash flow generally positive across the period and a strong improvement in free cash flow in 2023–2025 (including a very large jump reported in 2025). However, cash flow quality has been inconsistent: 2022 saw very weak operating cash flow and negative free cash flow, and in most years operating cash flow covered less than the full level of net income (implying working-capital or timing drag). Free cash flow conversion to earnings improved materially in 2024–2025, which is a strength, but the historical volatility keeps the score in the mid-range.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	1.61B	1.56B	1.46B	1.44B	1.38B
Gross Profit	539.30M	507.09M	460.30M	489.11M	454.75M
EBITDA	268.23M	251.91M	212.84M	249.22M	222.08M
Net Income	134.49M	124.67M	93.39M	140.89M	118.75M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.24B	2.02B	2.01B	1.98B	1.75B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	36.53M	26.63M	28.93M	20.92M	25.74M
Total Debt	778.58M	633.37M	658.54M	650.70M	511.55M
Total Liabilities	1.05B	962.81M	961.18M	982.02M	807.07M
Stockholders Equity	1.19B	1.06B	1.05B	999.60M	938.42M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	38.42M	97.94M	81.83M	-67.25M	84.43M
Operating Cash Flow	127.83M	157.15M	169.70M	12.07M	145.22M
Investing Cash Flow	-92.68M	-59.21M	-87.62M	-98.45M	-35.56M
Financing Cash Flow	-35.03M	-81.55M	-82.00M	86.18M	-107.76M

Sensient Technologies Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 94.13
• 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 SXT, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 94.13 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 95.26, below the 50-day MA of 95.31, and below the 200-day MA of 98.79, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.84 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 37.78 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 38.07 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for SXT.

Sensient Technologies 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%
IOSP	73 Outperform	$2.14B	18.51	-0.09%	2.19%	-4.49%	-100.80%
SCL	66 Neutral	$1.50B	33.45	3.67%	3.33%	5.35%	-1.43%
SXT	65 Neutral	$3.89B	29.02	12.31%	1.70%	4.25%	56.51%
FUL	63 Neutral	$3.63B	24.37	7.93%	1.54%	-1.30%	-36.69%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$10.43B	7.12	-0.05%	2.87%	2.86%	-36.73%
AVNT	59 Neutral	$3.97B	48.51	3.49%	3.48%	1.03%	-24.57%

Sensient Technologies Corporate Events

Sensient Technologies Reports Mixed Q4 Results, Sees 2026 Growth

On February 13, 2026, Sensient Technologies reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $393.4 million, up 4.5% year on year, while operating income fell 9.1% to $38.2 million and reported EPS declined 15.5% to $0.60, even as adjusted EPS rose 6.2%. Performance was mixed across segments, with Color delivering double-digit revenue and operating income growth, Asia Pacific posting slightly lower sales but higher profit, and Flavors & Extracts pressured by weaker agricultural ingredients volumes and a roughly $3 million weather-related charge, while higher Portfolio Optimization costs weighed on corporate expenses but left adjusted operating metrics broadly stable.

The Flavors & Extracts Group saw revenue edge down to $187.0 million and operating income drop to $19.2 million, hurt by lower volumes and atmospheric river disruptions to harvests and production. The Color Group’s revenue climbed to $175.4 million, driven by strong food and pharmaceutical demand, and operating income increased to $29.8 million, while Asia Pacific revenue ticked down to $41.4 million but operating income rose to $8.7 million, and management highlighted strong new sales wins in 2025 and issued 2026 guidance calling for mid‑single‑digit to double‑digit growth in local‑currency revenue and adjusted EBITDA, underscoring confidence in ongoing momentum despite near‑term cost and weather headwinds.

The most recent analyst rating on (SXT) stock is a Hold with a $99.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Sensient Technologies stock, see the SXT Stock Forecast page.

Sensient Technologies Amends By-Laws, Eliminates Finance Committee

On December 4, 2025, Sensient Technologies Corporation’s Board of Directors amended the company’s By-Laws to eliminate the Finance Committee, reallocating its responsibilities to the Audit and Compensation and Development Committees. This change reflects a strategic realignment of committee duties, potentially impacting the company’s governance structure and operational efficiency.

The most recent analyst rating on (SXT) stock is a Hold with a $99.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Sensient Technologies stock, see the SXT Stock Forecast page.