ALTO vs Q vs ESI Stock Comparison

Alto Ingredients, Qnity Electronics and Element Solutions Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALTO Alto Ingredients, Inc.
$3.66 -1.9% 1M +235.8% 1Y
Market cap
$283.93M
P/E
5.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$943.33M
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
5 wins
Q Qnity Electronics, Inc.
$114.12 -8.4% 1M
Market cap
$23.87B
P/E
40.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.21B
Div. yield
0.26%
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
3 wins
ESI Element Solutions Inc
$33.53 -6.1% 1M +28.1% 1Y
Market cap
$8.13B
P/E
39.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
0.95%
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Alto Ingredients leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Alto Ingredients 5, Element Solutions 4, Qnity Electronics 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALTOQESILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $283.93M $23.87B $8.13B Q
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 5.5x 40.8x 39.8x ALTO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.9x 26.2x 19.7x ALTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.1% +14.8% +39.6% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.4% 11.2% 5.9% Q
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.3% 5.4% Q
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.8x 3.2x ALTO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.26% 0.95% ESI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +235.8% — +28.1% ALTO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.5%/yr — +8.7%/yr ESI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 86.6% 55.2% 46.8% ESI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 85/100 60/100 50/100 ALTO

Percentile Scorecard

ALTOQESI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisALTOQESI
Valuation 100 #1 of 94 37 #60 of 94 38 #59 of 94
Growth 96 #5 of 92 52 #45 of 92 76 #23 of 92
Profitability 66 #31 of 89 88 #12 of 89 59 #37 of 89
Financial Health 80 #20 of 97 67 #33 of 97 46 #53 of 97
Shareholder Returns – 55 #32 of 70 30 #49 of 70
Overall 85 60 50
  • ALTO ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • Q ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodALTOQESISPY
1 month -1.9%-8.4%-6.1% -0.8%
3 months -18.7%-14.2%-11.4% +3.5%
6 months -33.3%-20.7%-16.9% +7.0%
Year to date +27.1%+39.8%+34.2% +12.2%
1 year +235.8%—+28.1% +13.0%
3 years -5.2%—+86.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year -1.8%—+23.1% +23.1%
5 years -28.5%—+51.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -6.5%—+8.7% +11.0%
10 years -50.5%—+349.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year -6.8%—+16.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureALTOQESISPY
Volatility, 1Y 86.6%55.2%46.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.2%58.5%47.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.312.642.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.72—0.60 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.1%-38.1%-40.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -38.9%-35.0%-31.7% -1.8%
52-week high $5.99$175.64$49.09 $779.14
52-week low $1.01$73.54$22.99 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleALTOQESI
P/E now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 21.6x 40.8xmedian 21.6x 39.8xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.4x 4.6xmedian 1.4x 2.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 12.4x 15.7xmedian 12.4x 17.3xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 15.8x 28.9xmedian 15.8x 44.5xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.6x 3.2xmedian 1.6x 2.8xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.14median 1.66 —median 1.66 0.71median 1.66

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsALTOQESI
Revenue $943.33M $5.21B $3.49B
Gross profit $64.51M $2.41B $1.28B
Operating income $35.61M $1.34B $408.70M
Net income $51.99M $630.00M $205.20M
Free cash flow $49.94M $825.00M $182.90M
R&D – $374.00M $80.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.66 $2.79 $0.84
Cash & equivalents $23.96M $961.00M $224.90M
Total debt $60.47M $4.02B $2.08B
Shares (diluted) 77.07M 210.20M 243.70M
Enterprise value $183.73M $21.30B $6.93B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricALTOQESI
P/E 5.5x 40.8x 39.8x
P/FCF 5.7x 28.9x 44.5x
P/Operating cash flow 4.4x 20.4x 28.7x
P/S 0.3x 4.6x 2.3x
P/B 1.1x 3.2x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 3.7x 4.3x
EV/EBITDA 5.2x 15.7x 17.3x
EV/EBIT 9.0x 20.2x 24.4x
EV/Revenue 0.3x 5.2x 2.9x
EV/FCF 6.4x 32.6x 54.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.9x 23.0x 35.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.14 – 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALTOQESI
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.1% 14.8% 39.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -10.1% – 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7,720% 13.3% 21.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 63.6% – 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 162.4% 11.6% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 37.3% – 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 177.8% -23.6% -14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 40.6% – 56.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 172.1% -26.4% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 39.5% – 55.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 731.1% – -16.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 63.4% – -4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 481.7% – -32.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 38.9% – -12.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALTOQESI
Gross margin 6.8% 46.2% 36.6%
EBITDA margin 6.6% 33.0% 16.6%
Operating margin 3.8% 25.6% 11.7%
Pretax margin 5.4% 16.9% 9.0%
Net margin 5.4% 11.2% 5.9%
FCF margin 5.3% 15.8% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 6.9% 22.4% 8.1%
Return on equity 20.2% 8.4% 7.2%
Return on assets 13.1% 4.4% 3.5%
Return on invested capital – 8.3% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 10.4% 10.5% 7.8%
Asset turnover 2.4x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.9x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.7% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALTOQESI
Debt / assets 15.2% 28.1% 35.5%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.5x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.8x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 1.2x 4.9x 11.4x
Liabilities / assets 34.6% 47.3% 50.7%
Equity / assets 65.4% 52.7% 49.3%
Interest coverage 3.8x 7.1x –
Current ratio 3.2x 2.0x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.8x 1.5x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.7x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.44 2.93 2.49

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALTOQESI
Dividend yield – 0.3% 1.0%
Net buyback yield – 0.2% 0.5%
Shareholder yield – 0.5% 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 5.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 4.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusALTOQESI
Forward P/E 9.9xFY2026 26.2xFY2026 19.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.37FY2026 $4.35FY2026 $1.70FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +131.3%FY2026 +29.9%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -16.2% +21.8% +32.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.00BFY2026 $5.34BFY2026 $3.83BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.1%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026 +50.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.1% +23.3% +2.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALTOQESI
Held by institutions 46.3% – 100.0%
Institutions holding 134 – 499
Change in shares held, QoQ +14.2% – +0.6%
Institutions buying 97 – 269
Institutions selling 25 – 176
Buyers to sellers 3.88 – 1.53

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ALTOQESI
ALTO 1.00 0.07 0.03
Q 0.07 1.00 0.69
ESI 0.03 0.69 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALTO, Q and ESI?

Qnity Electronics (Q) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) $283.93M, Qnity Electronics (Q) $23.87B, Element Solutions (ESI) $8.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALTO, Q and ESI?

Alto Ingredients (ALTO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 5.5x, Qnity Electronics (Q) 40.8x, Element Solutions (ESI) 39.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alto Ingredients (ALTO) is cheapest (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 9.9x, Qnity Electronics (Q) 26.2x, Element Solutions (ESI) 19.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Element Solutions (ESI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) +1.1%, Qnity Electronics (Q) +14.8%, Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Qnity Electronics (Q) has the highest net margin (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 5.4%, Qnity Electronics (Q) 11.2%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, Qnity Electronics (Q) leads (Qnity Electronics (Q) 8.3%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alto Ingredients (ALTO) returned the most: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) +235.8%, Element Solutions (ESI) +28.1%. Over five years, Element Solutions (ESI) compounded fastest (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) -6.5%/yr, Element Solutions (ESI) +8.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Element Solutions (ESI) has the highest dividend yield: Qnity Electronics (Q) 0.26%, Element Solutions (ESI) 0.95%. Alto Ingredients (ALTO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Element Solutions (ESI) has been the steadiest (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 86.6%, Qnity Electronics (Q) 55.2%, Element Solutions (ESI) 46.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALTO, Q and ESI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Alto Ingredients (ALTO) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.