CMP vs RIO vs USLM Stock Comparison

Compass Minerals International, Rio Tinto and United States Lime & Minerals Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RIO Rio Tinto Plc
$83.40 -12.4% 1M +18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$135.87B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Iron Ore Basic Materials
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

United States Lime & Minerals leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (United States Lime & Minerals 5, Rio Tinto 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCMPRIOUSLMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $936.81M $135.87B $3.15B RIO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 50.9x — 23.4x USLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.7x 10.6x 23.1x RIO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.5% — +7.0% USLM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.4% — 35.7% USLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.2% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +17.3% +18.1% -17.3% RIO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -21.1%/yr +4.8%/yr +36.4%/yr USLM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.4% 30.7% 39.0% RIO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 — 74/100 USLM

Percentile Scorecard

CMPRIOUSLM

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

AxisCMPRIOUSLM
Valuation 75 #42 of 162 – 49 #83 of 162
Growth 66 #51 of 147 – 58 #63 of 147
Profitability 60 #50 of 122 – 84 #21 of 122
Financial Health 17 #138 of 166 22 #129 of 166 96 #7 of 166
Shareholder Returns – 98 #3 of 107 81 #21 of 107
Overall 54 – 74
  • CMP ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • RIO 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

PeriodCMPRIOUSLMSPY
1 month -8.4%-12.4%+2.1% -1.0%
3 months -27.7%-8.6%+0.6% +2.9%
6 months -16.0%-16.3%-15.0% +6.4%
Year to date +8.2%+4.2%-6.7% +11.4%
1 year +17.3%+18.1%-17.3% +13.1%
3 years -15.2%+33.6%+181.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year -5.3%+10.1%+41.3% +21.5%
5 years -69.5%+26.6%+371.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -21.1%+4.8%+36.4% +10.9%
10 years -70.5%+153.7%+746.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year -11.5%+9.8%+23.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCMPRIOUSLMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.4%30.7%39.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.0%32.0%44.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.591.261.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.340.59-0.44 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.3%-39.0%-45.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.6%-25.6%-19.9% -2.5%
52-week high $33.51$112.04$139.46 $779.14
52-week low $16.54$67.89$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.

MultipleCMPRIOUSLM
P/E now vs peer median 48.8xmedian 12.7x —median 12.7x 23.8xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 3.1x —median 3.1x 8.5xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 6.9x —median 6.9x 15.2xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.5xmedian 15.1x —median 15.1x 34.9xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.1x 2.0xmedian 2.1x 4.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.76median 0.27 —median 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 monthsCMPRIOUSLM
Revenue $1.29B – $376.92M
Gross profit $222.50M – $182.84M
Operating income $115.50M – $158.71M
Net income $18.40M – $134.42M
Free cash flow $77.90M – $91.81M
EPS (diluted) $0.44 – $4.67
Cash & equivalents $56.30M $8.87B $402.64M
Total debt $3.14B $16.90B –
Shares (diluted) 42.25M 1.63B 28.78M
Enterprise value $700.01M $96.37B $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
MetricCMPRIOUSLM
P/E 48.8x – 23.8x
P/FCF 11.5x – 34.9x
P/Operating cash flow 5.7x – 19.7x
P/S 0.7x – 8.5x
P/B 3.4x 2.0x 4.6x
P/Tangible book 3.4x 2.2x 4.6x
EV/EBITDA 6.9x – 15.2x
EV/EBIT 13.4x – 17.7x
EV/Revenue 1.2x – 7.4x
EV/FCF 19.9x – 30.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.0x – 17.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.76 – 0.85

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCMPRIOUSLM
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.5% – 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.9% – 12.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 29.5% – 9.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.3% – 26.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 800.0% – 9.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.3% – 29.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 115.2% – 7.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.7% – 28.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 115.1% – 7.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 17.7% – 28.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -18.8% – 7.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.6% – 25.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -33.5% – -14.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 97.0% – 21.2%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCMPRIOUSLM
Debt / assets 52.9% – –
Debt / equity 2.7x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x – –
Debt / FCF 9.2x – –
Liabilities / assets 80.5% – 6.9%
Equity / assets 19.5% – 93.1%
Interest coverage 52.5x – –
Current ratio 2.0x 1.4x 27.5x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.0x 25.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.6x 22.2x
Altman Z-score 1.90 – 40.54

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCMPRIOUSLM
Dividend yield – 5.6% 0.2%
Net buyback yield – – 0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 5.6% 0.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 5.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 7.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 9.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 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.

ConsensusCMPRIOUSLM
Forward P/E 24.7xFY2026 10.6xFY2026 23.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.86FY2026 $7.86FY2026 $4.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +17.5%FY2026 +3.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +51.2% +8.8% +25.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.21BFY2026 $67.63BFY2026 $426.32MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.5%FY2026 +17.3%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.7% -7.9% +16.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCMPRIOUSLM
Held by institutions 91.8% 7.9% 32.5%
Institutions holding 230 968 234
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.3% -1.1% +7.5%
Institutions buying 130 504 139
Institutions selling 56 283 66
Buyers to sellers 2.32 1.78 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.

CMPRIOUSLM
CMP 1.00 0.51 0.17
RIO 0.51 1.00 0.22
USLM 0.17 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CMP, RIO and USLM?

Rio Tinto (RIO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Compass Minerals International (CMP) $936.81M, Rio Tinto (RIO) $135.87B, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) $3.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, CMP, RIO and USLM?

United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Compass Minerals International (CMP) 50.9x, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) 23.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Rio Tinto (RIO) is cheapest (Compass Minerals International (CMP) 24.7x, Rio Tinto (RIO) 10.6x, 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%, 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%, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) 35.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Rio Tinto (RIO) returned the most: Compass Minerals International (CMP) +17.3%, Rio Tinto (RIO) +18.1%, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) -17.3%. Over five years, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) compounded fastest (Compass Minerals International (CMP) -21.1%/yr, Rio Tinto (RIO) +4.8%/yr, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) +36.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Compass Minerals International (CMP) 0.00%, Rio Tinto (RIO) 0.00%, United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) 0.00%. Compass Minerals International (CMP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Rio Tinto (RIO) has been the steadiest (Compass Minerals International (CMP) 51.4%, Rio Tinto (RIO) 30.7%, 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, RIO 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 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.