CMP vs MTX vs USLM Stock Comparison

Compass Minerals International, Minerals Technologies and United States Lime & Minerals Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MTX Minerals Technologies Inc
$62.97 -5.7% 1M +2.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.94B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.15B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Minerals Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

United States Lime & Minerals leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (United States Lime & Minerals 6, Minerals Technologies 3, Compass Minerals International 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCMPMTXUSLMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $936.81M $1.94B $3.15B USLM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 50.9x -28.9x 23.4x USLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.7x 10.3x 23.1x MTX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.5% +4.1% +7.0% USLM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.4% -3.1% 35.7% USLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.2% -0.9% — CMP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 9.4x — CMP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% MTX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +17.3% +2.4% -17.3% CMP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -21.1%/yr -2.3%/yr +36.4%/yr USLM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.4% 25.9% 39.0% MTX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 49/100 74/100 USLM

Percentile Scorecard

CMPMTXUSLM

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

AxisCMPMTXUSLM
Valuation 75 #42 of 162 80 #34 of 162 49 #83 of 162
Growth 66 #51 of 147 27 #107 of 147 58 #63 of 147
Profitability 60 #50 of 122 40 #74 of 122 84 #21 of 122
Financial Health 17 #138 of 166 16 #140 of 166 96 #7 of 166
Shareholder Returns – 82 #20 of 107 81 #21 of 107
Overall 54 49 74
  • CMP ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • MTX ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • USLM ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCMPMTXUSLMSPY
1 month -8.4%-5.7%+2.1% -1.0%
3 months -27.7%-15.5%+0.6% +2.9%
6 months -16.0%-12.4%-15.0% +6.4%
Year to date +8.2%+3.3%-6.7% +11.4%
1 year +17.3%+2.4%-17.3% +13.1%
3 years -15.2%+22.7%+181.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year -5.3%+7.1%+41.3% +21.5%
5 years -69.5%-11.0%+371.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -21.1%-2.3%+36.4% +10.9%
10 years -70.5%-6.9%+746.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year -11.5%-0.7%+23.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCMPMTXUSLMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.4%25.9%39.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.0%25.5%44.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.590.581.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.340.09-0.44 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.3%-42.7%-45.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.6%-24.0%-19.9% -2.5%
52-week high $33.51$82.84$139.46 $779.14
52-week low $16.54$55.09$97.49 $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.

MultipleCMPMTXUSLM
P/E now vs peer median 48.8xmedian 12.7x -29.1xmedian 12.7x 23.8xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 3.1x 0.9xmedian 3.1x 8.5xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 6.9x 39.3xmedian 6.9x 15.2xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.5xmedian 15.1x 16.3xmedian 15.1x 34.9xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.1x 1.2xmedian 2.1x 4.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.76median 0.27 0.73median 0.27 0.85median 0.27

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 monthsCMPMTXUSLM
Revenue $1.29B $2.15B $376.92M
Gross profit $222.50M $526.40M $182.84M
Operating income $115.50M -$28.70M $158.71M
Net income $18.40M -$62.60M $134.42M
Free cash flow $77.90M $120.30M $91.81M
R&D – $23.40M –
EPS (diluted) $0.44 $-2.16 $4.67
Cash & equivalents $56.30M $342.20M $402.64M
Total debt $3.14B $3.87B –
Shares (diluted) 42.25M 31.10M 28.78M
Enterprise value $700.01M $612.55M $1.64B

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
MetricCMPMTXUSLM
P/E 48.8x -29.1x 23.8x
P/FCF 11.5x 16.3x 34.9x
P/Operating cash flow 5.7x 8.5x 19.7x
P/S 0.7x 0.9x 8.5x
P/B 3.4x 1.2x 4.6x
P/Tangible book 3.4x 1.4x 4.6x
EV/EBITDA 6.9x 39.3x 15.2x
EV/EBIT 13.4x -89.6x 17.7x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 1.2x 7.4x
EV/FCF 19.9x 21.4x 30.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.0x 11.2x 17.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.76 0.73 0.85

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCMPMTXUSLM
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.5% 4.1% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 0.0% 12.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 29.5% 0.4% 9.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.3% 4.2% 26.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 800.0% -138.2% 9.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.3% -29.1% 29.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 115.2% -1,198% 7.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.7% -37.8% 28.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 115.1% -3,351% 7.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 17.7% -39.7% 28.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -18.8% 21.9% 7.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 14.9% 25.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -33.5% 35.6% -14.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 97.0% 23.6% 21.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCMPMTXUSLM
Gross margin 17.2% 24.5% 48.5%
EBITDA margin 17.5% 3.0% 49.0%
Operating margin 8.9% -1.3% 42.1%
Pretax margin 3.2% -3.8% 45.7%
Net margin 1.4% -3.1% 35.7%
FCF margin 6.0% 5.6% 24.4%
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 10.7% 43.1%
Return on equity 6.8% -3.8% 19.8%
Return on assets 1.4% -1.8% 18.4%
Return on invested capital 5.2% -0.9% –
Return on capital employed 10.4% -1.1% 22.3%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 8.5x -3.7x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – 2.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCMPMTXUSLM
Debt / assets 52.9% 27.4% –
Debt / equity 2.7x 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 9.4x –
Debt / FCF 9.2x 8.0x –
Liabilities / assets 80.5% 54.9% 6.9%
Equity / assets 19.5% 45.1% 93.1%
Interest coverage 52.5x – –
Current ratio 2.0x 1.4x 27.5x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.9x 25.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x 22.2x
Altman Z-score 1.90 2.25 40.54

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCMPMTXUSLM
Dividend yield – 0.8% 0.2%
Net buyback yield – 1.2% 0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 1.9% 0.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -23.5% 5.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 12.2% 7.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 7.3% 9.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 31.3% 14.8%

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.

ConsensusCMPMTXUSLM
Forward P/E 24.7xFY2026 10.3xFY2026 23.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.86FY2026 $6.14FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +11.2%FY2026 +3.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +51.2% +9.1% +25.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.21BFY2026 $2.33BFY2026 $426.32MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.5%FY2026 +12.3%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.7% +3.8% +16.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCMPMTXUSLM
Held by institutions 91.8% 100.0% 32.5%
Institutions holding 230 292 234
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.3% +2.6% +7.5%
Institutions buying 130 176 139
Institutions selling 56 69 66
Buyers to sellers 2.32 2.55 2.11

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.

CMPMTXUSLM
CMP 1.00 0.26 0.17
MTX 0.26 1.00 0.25
USLM 0.17 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CMP, MTX and USLM?

United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Compass Minerals International (CMP) $936.81M, Minerals Technologies (MTX) $1.94B, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) $3.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, CMP, MTX and USLM?

United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Compass Minerals International (CMP) 50.9x, Minerals Technologies (MTX) -28.9x, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) 23.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Minerals Technologies (MTX) is cheapest (Compass Minerals International (CMP) 24.7x, Minerals Technologies (MTX) 10.3x, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) 23.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Compass Minerals International (CMP) +5.5%, Minerals Technologies (MTX) +4.1%, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) has the highest net margin (Compass Minerals International (CMP) 1.4%, Minerals Technologies (MTX) -3.1%, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) 35.7%). On return on invested capital, Compass Minerals International (CMP) leads (Compass Minerals International (CMP) 5.2%, Minerals Technologies (MTX) -0.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Compass Minerals International (CMP) returned the most: Compass Minerals International (CMP) +17.3%, Minerals Technologies (MTX) +2.4%, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) -17.3%. Over five years, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) compounded fastest (Compass Minerals International (CMP) -21.1%/yr, Minerals Technologies (MTX) -2.3%/yr, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) +36.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Minerals Technologies (MTX) has the highest dividend yield: Compass Minerals International (CMP) 0.00%, Minerals Technologies (MTX) 0.01%, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) 0.00%. Compass Minerals International (CMP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Minerals Technologies (MTX) has been the steadiest (Compass Minerals International (CMP) 51.4%, Minerals Technologies (MTX) 25.9%, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) 39.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CMP, MTX and USLM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) leads on 6. 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.