CE vs KRO vs WLK Stock Comparison

Celanese, Kronos Worldwide and Westlake Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CE Celanese Corp
$48.10 +2.2% 1M +14.0% 1Y
Market cap
$5.36B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$9.71B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
1 win
KRO Kronos Worldwide Inc
$7.60 -7.9% 1M +53.5% 1Y
Market cap
$890.87M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.94B
Div. yield
0.03%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
5 wins
WLK Westlake Corp
$65.31 -3.6% 1M -17.6% 1Y
Market cap
$8.46B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.29B
Div. yield
0.03%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Westlake leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Westlake 5, Kronos Worldwide 5, Celanese 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCEKROWLKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.36B $890.87M $8.46B WLK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -4.6x -8.1x -6.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.6x 20.0x 33.8x CE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -2.2% +2.7% -4.0% KRO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -12.0% -5.6% -10.9% KRO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.1% -2.4% -8.0% KRO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 63.7x 17.7x -42.9x WLK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.03% WLK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.0% +53.5% -17.6% KRO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -21.7%/yr -10.1%/yr -7.4%/yr WLK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.7% 59.2% 43.5% WLK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 29/100 42/100 41/100 KRO

Percentile Scorecard

CEKROWLK

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

AxisCEKROWLK
Valuation 58 #40 of 94 70 #29 of 94 46 #51 of 94
Growth 23 #71 of 92 37 #58 of 92 1 #91 of 92
Profitability 32 #61 of 89 28 #64 of 89 23 #69 of 89
Financial Health 13 #85 of 97 38 #61 of 97 53 #46 of 97
Shareholder Returns 22 #55 of 70 36 #45 of 70 84 #12 of 70
Overall 29 42 41
  • CE ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • KRO ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • WLK ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCEKROWLKSPY
1 month +2.2%-7.9%-3.6% -0.8%
3 months +8.4%+24.0%-9.7% +3.5%
6 months -26.1%+4.4%-41.3% +7.0%
Year to date +13.8%+71.9%-11.7% +12.2%
1 year +14.0%+53.5%-17.6% +13.0%
3 years -57.6%+14.3%-43.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year -24.9%+4.6%-17.1% +23.1%
5 years -70.6%-41.3%-31.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year -21.7%-10.1%-7.4% +11.0%
10 years -32.4%-3.3%+27.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year -3.8%-0.3%+2.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCEKROWLKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.7%59.2%43.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.1%47.7%38.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.401.260.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.270.90-0.40 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -79.6%-77.9%-65.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -30.5%-14.7%-47.1% -1.8%
52-week high $69.24$8.91$123.39 $779.14
52-week low $35.53$4.33$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.

MultipleCEKROWLK
P/E now vs peer median -4.5xmedian 21.6x -8.0xmedian 21.6x -6.8xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.4x 0.5xmedian 1.4x 0.7xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 95.3xmedian 12.4x 46.3xmedian 12.4x -154.2xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 15.8x 13.2xmedian 15.8x -31.5xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.6x 1.2xmedian 1.6x 0.9xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.11median 1.66 0.19median 1.66 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 monthsCEKROWLK
Revenue $9.71B $1.94B $11.29B
Gross profit $2.03B $229.50M $1.09B
Operating income -$692.00M -$32.10M -$1.25B
Net income -$1.16B -$109.40M -$1.21B
Free cash flow $708.00M $66.50M -$265.00M
R&D $120.00M – –
EPS (diluted) $-10.60 $-0.95 $-9.61
Cash & equivalents $1.36B $26.60M $1.64B
Total debt $12.01B $569.60M $5.07B
Shares (diluted) 110.25M 115.10M 128.50M
Enterprise value -$464.63M $777.67M -$925.25M

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
MetricCEKROWLK
P/E -4.5x -8.0x -6.8x
P/FCF 7.5x 13.2x -31.5x
P/Operating cash flow 5.4x 10.1x 13.2x
P/S 0.5x 0.5x 0.7x
P/B 1.2x 1.2x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 3.5x 1.2x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 95.3x 46.3x -154.2x
EV/EBIT -23.0x -44.2x -9.3x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 0.7x 1.0x
EV/FCF 22.5x 21.3x -43.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.2x 16.4x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.11 0.19 0.16

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCEKROWLK
Revenue growth (1Y) -2.2% 2.7% -4.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 5.1% -6.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -5.7% -35.8% -17.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -3.3% 5.4% -26.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.1% -128.3% -1,286%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -39.7% -32.2% -39.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 29.1% -262.1% -3,089%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -42.8% -69.9% -42.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 29.0% -261.9% -1,740%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -42.8% -43.1% -43.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.5% 2,202% -34.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -16.2% 58.1% -39.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.0% 236.6% -390.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -13.2% 37.5% -29.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCEKROWLK
Gross margin 20.9% 11.8% 9.6%
EBITDA margin 1.7% 1.6% -0.7%
Operating margin -7.1% -1.7% -11.0%
Pretax margin -11.6% -5.0% -11.4%
Net margin -12.0% -5.6% -10.9%
FCF margin 7.3% 3.4% -2.3%
Operating cash flow margin 10.1% 4.4% 5.6%
Return on equity -25.4% -14.6% -13.0%
Return on assets -5.3% -6.2% -6.1%
Return on invested capital -4.1% -2.4% -8.0%
Return on capital employed -3.9% -2.2% -7.2%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.1x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x -0.8x -0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCEKROWLK
Debt / assets 56.1% 32.7% 26.1%
Debt / equity 2.6x 0.8x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 63.7x 17.7x -42.9x
Debt / FCF 17.0x 8.6x -19.1x
Liabilities / assets 78.6% 56.9% 52.6%
Equity / assets 21.4% 43.1% 47.4%
Interest coverage -1.0x -0.6x -6.1x
Current ratio 1.4x 3.3x 2.5x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.5x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 1.29 1.76 1.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCEKROWLK
Dividend yield 0.2% 2.6% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – – 0.8%
Shareholder yield 0.2% 2.6% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) -1.1% -21.0% -22.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 1.8% 34.6% -103.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) -91.8% 0.0% 1.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -65.0% -36.0% 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.

ConsensusCEKROWLK
Forward P/E 7.6xFY2026 20.0xFY2026 33.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.33FY2026 $0.38FY2026 $1.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +59.0%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after -0.2% +63.2% +20.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.75BFY2026 $2.13BFY2026 $12.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.2%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% -4.3% -3.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCEKROWLK
Held by institutions 100.0% 16.0% 31.0%
Institutions holding 458 130 362
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% +4.6% -9.9%
Institutions buying 246 74 199
Institutions selling 138 34 118
Buyers to sellers 1.78 2.18 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.

CEKROWLK
CE 1.00 0.38 0.61
KRO 0.38 1.00 0.35
WLK 0.61 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CE, KRO and WLK?

Westlake (WLK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Celanese (CE) $5.36B, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) $890.87M, Westlake (WLK) $8.46B.

Which company is growing faster?

Kronos Worldwide (KRO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Celanese (CE) -2.2%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) +2.7%, Westlake (WLK) -4.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kronos Worldwide (KRO) has the highest net margin (Celanese (CE) -12.0%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) -5.6%, Westlake (WLK) -10.9%). On return on invested capital, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) leads (Celanese (CE) -4.1%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) -2.4%, Westlake (WLK) -8.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kronos Worldwide (KRO) returned the most: Celanese (CE) +14.0%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) +53.5%, Westlake (WLK) -17.6%. Over five years, Westlake (WLK) compounded fastest (Celanese (CE) -21.7%/yr, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) -10.1%/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%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) 0.03%, Westlake (WLK) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Westlake (WLK) has been the steadiest (Celanese (CE) 51.7%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) 59.2%, Westlake (WLK) 43.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CE, KRO 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, Westlake (WLK) 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.