DOW vs PPG vs CE Stock Comparison

Dow, Ppg Industries and Celanese Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DOW Dow Inc.
$32.60 +13.7% 1M +33.0% 1Y
Market cap
$24.67B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$42.61B
Div. yield
0.04%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
3 wins
PPG Ppg Industries Inc
$110.60 +3.2% 1M +6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$24.51B
P/E
15.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.42B
Div. yield
0.03%
Paints and Coatings Basic Materials
7 wins
CE Celanese Corp
$47.76 -1.6% 1M +12.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.30B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$9.71B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionDOWPPGCELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $24.67B $24.51B $5.30B DOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -27.5x 15.6x -4.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.0x 13.5x 7.6x CE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.2% +5.0% -2.2% PPG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -2.1% 9.6% -12.0% PPG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.0% 10.9% -4.1% PPG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 1.9x 63.7x PPG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.03% 0.00% DOW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +33.0% +6.9% +12.8% DOW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.0%/yr -7.3%/yr -22.3%/yr PPG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.7% 30.6% 51.8% PPG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 68/100 30/100 PPG

Percentile Scorecard

DOWPPGCE

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

AxisDOWPPGCE
Valuation 83 #17 of 94 66 #33 of 94 59 #39 of 94
Growth 60 #37 of 92 74 #25 of 92 23 #71 of 92
Profitability 47 #48 of 89 86 #13 of 89 32 #61 of 89
Financial Health 32 #66 of 97 47 #52 of 97 13 #85 of 97
Shareholder Returns 41 #42 of 70 70 #22 of 70 22 #55 of 70
Overall 53 68 30
  • DOW ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • PPG ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • CE ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDOWPPGCESPY
1 month +13.7%+3.2%-1.6% -1.0%
3 months +9.2%-4.7%+2.9% +2.9%
6 months -15.7%+0.7%-26.5% +6.4%
Year to date +39.4%+7.9%+13.0% +11.4%
1 year +33.0%+6.9%+12.8% +13.1%
3 years -33.8%-10.0%-58.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -12.9%-3.4%-25.7% +21.5%
5 years -44.2%-31.6%-71.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year -11.0%-7.3%-22.3% +10.9%
10 years —+19.7%-32.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+1.8%-3.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureDOWPPGCESPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.7%30.6%51.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.1%31.4%46.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.321.040.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.790.220.25 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.8%-47.0%-79.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.1%-15.9%-31.0% -2.5%
52-week high $41.87$131.56$69.24 $779.14
52-week low $20.95$94.34$35.53 $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.

MultipleDOWPPGCE
P/E now vs peer median -26.4xmedian 21.5x 15.7xmedian 21.5x -4.5xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 1.4x 1.5xmedian 1.4x 0.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 12.4x 11.0xmedian 12.4x 95.1xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.2xmedian 15.5x 17.5xmedian 15.5x 7.4xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.6x 2.9xmedian 1.6x 1.1xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.68median 1.70 1.95median 1.70 0.10median 1.70

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 monthsDOWPPGCE
Revenue $42.61B $16.42B $9.71B
Gross profit $4.73B $6.72B $2.03B
Operating income $720.00M $2.18B -$692.00M
Net income -$595.00M $1.57B -$1.16B
Free cash flow $2.11B $1.41B $708.00M
R&D $741.00M $458.00M $120.00M
EPS (diluted) $-1.23 $7.02 $-10.60
Cash & equivalents $4.14B $1.52B $1.36B
Total debt $17.54B $6.89B $12.01B
Shares (diluted) 727.40M 223.90M 110.25M
Enterprise value $8.63B $17.16B -$527.21M

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
MetricDOWPPGCE
P/E -26.4x 15.7x -4.5x
P/FCF 11.2x 17.5x 7.4x
P/Operating cash flow 5.1x 11.4x 5.3x
P/S 0.6x 1.5x 0.5x
P/B 1.3x 2.9x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 3.7x 3.5x
EV/EBITDA 10.6x 11.0x 95.1x
EV/EBIT 51.4x 13.7x -23.0x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.8x 1.6x
EV/FCF 17.5x 21.2x 22.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.1x 13.8x 16.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.68 1.95 0.10

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDOWPPGCE
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.2% 5.0% -2.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.4% 1.2% -1.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.1% 3.8% -5.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.5% 3.4% -3.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 685.4% 1.6% 11.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -30.9% 3.1% -39.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 40.6% 56.2% 29.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -34.3% 5.5% -42.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 21.6% 58.1% 29.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -38.7% 8.0% -42.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 190.9% 50.0% -3.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.5% 7.2% -16.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 279.8% 85.4% 12.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -13.8% 2.9% -13.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDOWPPGCE
Gross margin 11.1% 40.9% 20.9%
EBITDA margin 8.2% 16.5% 1.7%
Operating margin 1.7% 13.3% -7.1%
Pretax margin -1.0% 12.4% -11.6%
Net margin -2.1% 9.6% -12.0%
FCF margin 5.0% 8.6% 7.3%
Operating cash flow margin 10.8% 13.2% 10.1%
Return on equity -3.4% 18.8% -25.4%
Return on assets -1.0% 7.1% -5.3%
Return on invested capital 2.0% 10.9% -4.1%
Return on capital employed 1.4% 12.7% -3.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -7.7x 1.4x -0.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.2% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDOWPPGCE
Debt / assets 28.8% 30.6% 56.1%
Debt / equity 1.0x 0.8x 2.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 1.9x 63.7x
Debt / FCF 8.3x 4.9x 17.0x
Liabilities / assets 71.1% 61.9% 78.6%
Equity / assets 28.9% 38.1% 21.4%
Interest coverage 0.8x 8.5x -1.0x
Current ratio 1.8x 1.6x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.1x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.62 3.72 1.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDOWPPGCE
Dividend yield 4.3% 2.6% 0.3%
Net buyback yield – 1.7% –
Shareholder yield 4.3% 4.3% 0.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) -169.6% 40.2% -1.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 47.7% 44.8% 1.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) -41.7% 1.9% -91.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -20.1% 3.0% -65.0%

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.

ConsensusDOWPPGCE
Forward P/E 13.0xFY2026 13.5xFY2026 7.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.51FY2026 $8.19FY2026 $6.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +8.0%FY2026 +58.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -36.3% +11.0% +0.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $41.02BFY2026 $17.60BFY2026 $9.74BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026 +2.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.6% -6.7% +7.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDOWPPGCE
Held by institutions 77.8% 90.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,208 1,095 458
Change in shares held, QoQ +9.9% +0.1% +10.8%
Institutions buying 548 519 246
Institutions selling 451 356 138
Buyers to sellers 1.22 1.46 1.78

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.

DOWPPGCE
DOW 1.00 -0.08 0.71
PPG -0.08 1.00 0.19
CE 0.71 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DOW, PPG and CE?

Dow (DOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Dow (DOW) $24.67B, Ppg Industries (PPG) $24.51B, Celanese (CE) $5.30B.

Which company is growing faster?

Ppg Industries (PPG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Dow (DOW) +4.2%, Ppg Industries (PPG) +5.0%, Celanese (CE) -2.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ppg Industries (PPG) has the highest net margin (Dow (DOW) -2.1%, Ppg Industries (PPG) 9.6%, Celanese (CE) -12.0%). On return on invested capital, Ppg Industries (PPG) leads (Dow (DOW) 2.0%, Ppg Industries (PPG) 10.9%, Celanese (CE) -4.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Dow (DOW) returned the most: Dow (DOW) +33.0%, Ppg Industries (PPG) +6.9%, Celanese (CE) +12.8%. Over five years, Ppg Industries (PPG) compounded fastest (Dow (DOW) -11.0%/yr, Ppg Industries (PPG) -7.3%/yr, Celanese (CE) -22.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Dow (DOW) has the highest dividend yield: Dow (DOW) 0.04%, Ppg Industries (PPG) 0.03%, Celanese (CE) 0.00%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ppg Industries (PPG) has been the steadiest (Dow (DOW) 41.7%, Ppg Industries (PPG) 30.6%, Celanese (CE) 51.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DOW, PPG and CE?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ppg Industries (PPG) 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.