CE vs AU vs WLK Stock Comparison

Celanese, AngloGold Ashanti and Westlake Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CE Celanese Corp
$48.10 +2.2% 1M +14.0% 1Y
Market cap
$5.34B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$9.71B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
1 win
AU AngloGold Ashanti PLC
$85.03 -14.1% 1M +24.0% 1Y
Market cap
$44.11B
P/E
11.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.83B
Div. yield
–
Gold Basic Materials
7 wins
WLK Westlake Corp
$65.31 -3.6% 1M -17.6% 1Y
Market cap
$8.47B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.29B
Div. yield
0.03%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

AngloGold Ashanti leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (AngloGold Ashanti 7, Westlake 3, Celanese 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCEAUWLKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.34B $44.11B $8.47B AU
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -4.6x 11.6x -6.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.6x 10.0x 38.4x CE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -2.2% +54.6% -4.0% AU
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -12.0% 32.2% -10.9% AU
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.1% 40.5% -8.0% AU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 63.7x — -42.9x WLK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.03% WLK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.0% +24.0% -17.6% AU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -21.7%/yr +34.5%/yr -7.4%/yr AU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.7% 60.2% 43.5% WLK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 29/100 81/100 41/100 AU

Percentile Scorecard

CEAUWLK

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

AxisCEAUWLK
Valuation 58 #40 of 94 74 #43 of 162 46 #51 of 94
Growth 23 #71 of 92 88 #18 of 147 1 #91 of 92
Profitability 32 #61 of 89 97 #5 of 122 23 #69 of 89
Financial Health 13 #85 of 97 50 #83 of 165 53 #46 of 97
Shareholder Returns 22 #55 of 70 97 #4 of 107 84 #12 of 70
Overall 29 81 41
  • CE ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • AU ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • WLK ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCEAUWLKSPY
1 month +2.2%-14.1%-3.6% -0.8%
3 months +8.4%+5.7%-9.7% +3.5%
6 months -26.1%-13.4%-41.3% +7.0%
Year to date +13.8%-0.3%-11.7% +12.2%
1 year +14.0%+24.0%-17.6% +13.0%
3 years -57.6%+343.3%-43.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year -24.9%+64.3%-17.1% +23.1%
5 years -70.6%+340.1%-31.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year -21.7%+34.5%-7.4% +11.0%
10 years -32.4%+529.4%+27.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year -3.8%+20.2%+2.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCEAUWLKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.7%60.2%43.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.1%62.2%38.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.402.200.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.270.40-0.40 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -79.6%-52.8%-65.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -30.5%-33.7%-47.1% -1.8%
52-week high $69.24$128.26$123.39 $779.14
52-week low $35.53$63.61$56.38 $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.

MultipleCEAUWLK
P/E now vs peer median -4.5xmedian 21.6x 11.4xmedian 12.8x -6.8xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.4x 3.6xmedian 3.1x 0.7xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 95.3xmedian 12.4x —median 7.0x -154.2xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 15.8x 6.8xmedian 15.2x -31.5xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.6x 4.8xmedian 2.1x 0.9xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.11median 1.66 —median 0.29 0.16median 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 monthsCEAUWLK
Revenue $9.71B $11.83B $11.29B
Gross profit $2.03B $6.48B $1.09B
Operating income -$692.00M $4.91B -$1.25B
Net income -$1.16B $4.48B -$1.21B
Free cash flow $708.00M $6.34B -$265.00M
R&D $120.00M $259.00M –
EPS (diluted) $-10.60 $7.48 $-9.61
Cash & equivalents $1.36B $2.78B $1.64B
Total debt $12.01B $1.57B $5.07B
Shares (diluted) 110.25M 509.09M 128.50M
Enterprise value -$485.49M $31.99B -$909.88M

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
MetricCEAUWLK
P/E -4.5x 11.4x -6.8x
P/FCF 7.5x 6.8x -31.5x
P/Operating cash flow 5.4x 6.9x 13.2x
P/S 0.5x 3.6x 0.7x
P/B 1.2x 4.8x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 3.5x 4.8x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 95.3x – -154.2x
EV/EBIT -23.0x 8.5x -9.3x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 3.5x 1.0x
EV/FCF 22.5x 6.6x -43.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.2x 6.7x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.11 – 0.16

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCEAUWLK
Revenue growth (1Y) -2.2% 54.6% -4.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.9% – -6.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -5.7% 97.4% -17.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -3.3% – -26.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.1% 165.2% -1,286%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -39.7% – -39.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 29.1% 115.8% -3,089%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -42.8% – -42.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 29.0% 78.5% -1,740%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -42.8% – -43.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.5% 103.4% -34.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -16.2% – -39.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.0% 108.6% -390.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -13.2% – -29.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCEAUWLK
Gross margin 20.9% 54.8% 9.6%
EBITDA margin 1.7% – -0.7%
Operating margin -7.1% 41.5% -11.0%
Pretax margin -11.6% 51.7% -11.4%
Net margin -12.0% 32.2% -10.9%
FCF margin 7.3% 53.6% -2.3%
Operating cash flow margin 10.1% 52.3% 5.6%
Return on equity -25.4% 46.3% -13.0%
Return on assets -5.3% 28.7% -6.1%
Return on invested capital -4.1% 40.5% -8.0%
Return on capital employed -3.9% 35.2% -7.2%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x 1.4x -0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCEAUWLK
Debt / assets 56.1% 10.1% 26.1%
Debt / equity 2.6x 0.2x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 63.7x – -42.9x
Debt / FCF 17.0x 0.2x -19.1x
Liabilities / assets 78.6% 42.4% 52.6%
Equity / assets 21.4% 57.6% 47.4%
Interest coverage -1.0x – -6.1x
Current ratio 1.4x 2.7x 2.5x
Quick ratio 0.8x 2.1x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 1.8x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 1.29 – 1.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCEAUWLK
Dividend yield 0.2% 5.3% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – – 0.8%
Shareholder yield 0.2% 5.3% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) -1.1% – -22.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 1.8% – -103.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) -91.8% – 1.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -65.0% – 14.1%

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.

ConsensusCEAUWLK
Forward P/E 7.6xFY2026 10.0xFY2026 38.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.33FY2026 $8.52FY2026 $1.70FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +59.0%FY2026 +58.7%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -0.2% +9.9% +25.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.75BFY2026 $11.81BFY2026 $12.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.2%FY2026 +21.4%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +4.0% -3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCEAUWLK
Held by institutions 100.0% 45.9% 31.0%
Institutions holding 458 563 362
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% +3.0% -9.9%
Institutions buying 246 323 199
Institutions selling 138 166 118
Buyers to sellers 1.78 1.95 1.69

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.

CEAUWLK
CE 1.00 0.06 0.61
AU 0.06 1.00 0.12
WLK 0.61 0.12 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CE, AU and WLK?

AngloGold Ashanti (AU) is the largest by market capitalisation: Celanese (CE) $5.34B, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) $44.11B, Westlake (WLK) $8.47B.

Which company is growing faster?

AngloGold Ashanti (AU) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Celanese (CE) -2.2%, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) +54.6%, Westlake (WLK) -4.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

AngloGold Ashanti (AU) has the highest net margin (Celanese (CE) -12.0%, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) 32.2%, Westlake (WLK) -10.9%). On return on invested capital, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) leads (Celanese (CE) -4.1%, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) 40.5%, Westlake (WLK) -8.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year AngloGold Ashanti (AU) returned the most: Celanese (CE) +14.0%, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) +24.0%, Westlake (WLK) -17.6%. Over five years, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) compounded fastest (Celanese (CE) -21.7%/yr, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) +34.5%/yr, Westlake (WLK) -7.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Westlake (WLK) has the highest dividend yield: Celanese (CE) 0.00%, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) 0.00%, Westlake (WLK) 0.03%. AngloGold Ashanti (AU) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Westlake (WLK) has been the steadiest (Celanese (CE) 51.7%, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) 60.2%, Westlake (WLK) 43.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CE, AU and WLK?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, AngloGold Ashanti (AU) leads on 7. 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.