DOW vs SHW vs CE Stock Comparison

Dow, Sherwin Williams and Celanese Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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DOW Dow Inc.
$33.78 +20.6% 1M +31.3% 1Y
Market cap
$24.45B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$42.61B
Div. yield
4.14%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
2 wins
SHW Sherwin Williams Co
$325.95 -0.9% 1M -3.0% 1Y
Market cap
$78.75B
P/E
29.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.91B
Div. yield
0.98%
Paints and Coatings Basic Materials
8 wins
CE Celanese Corp
$48.63 +3.3% 1M +10.9% 1Y
Market cap
$5.34B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$9.71B
Div. yield
0.31%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Sherwin Williams leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Sherwin Williams 8, Dow 2, Celanese 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDOWSHWCELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $24.45B $78.75B $5.34B SHW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -27.3x 29.3x -4.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.7x 25.7x 7.7x CE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.2% +7.0% -2.2% SHW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -2.1% 10.7% -12.0% SHW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.0% 19.5% -4.1% SHW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 2.4x 63.7x SHW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.14% 0.98% 0.31% DOW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.3% -3.0% +10.9% DOW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.8%/yr +0.3%/yr -21.7%/yr SHW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.8% 28.0% 51.7% SHW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 55/100 31/100 SHW

Percentile Scorecard

DOWSHWCE

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

AxisDOWSHWCE
Valuation 82 #18 of 94 29 #67 of 94 58 #40 of 94
Growth 60 #37 of 91 66 #32 of 91 23 #70 of 91
Profitability 51 #43 of 86 98 #3 of 86 33 #58 of 86
Financial Health 33 #64 of 95 23 #73 of 95 13 #83 of 95
Shareholder Returns 41 #42 of 70 58 #30 of 70 26 #52 of 70
Overall 53 55 31
  • DOW ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • SHW 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

PeriodDOWSHWCESPY
1 month +20.6%-0.9%+3.3% -0.2%
3 months +17.0%-8.0%+11.7% +3.9%
6 months -11.1%+0.5%-24.8% +8.2%
Year to date +44.5%+0.6%+15.0% +12.9%
1 year +31.3%-3.0%+10.9% +12.3%
3 years -29.8%+38.1%-57.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year -11.1%+11.4%-24.6% +23.3%
5 years -40.3%+1.4%-70.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year -9.8%+0.3%-21.7% +10.9%
10 years —+294.9%-32.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+14.7%-3.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureDOWSHWCESPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.8%28.0%51.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%25.6%47.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.330.840.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.75-0.110.21 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.8%-42.9%-79.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.3%-12.5%-29.8% -1.2%
52-week high $41.87$372.60$69.24 $779.14
52-week low $20.95$293.00$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.

MultipleDOWSHWCE
P/E now vs peer median -27.3xmedian 22.0x 29.3xmedian 22.0x -4.6xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 1.4x 3.2xmedian 1.4x 0.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 12.4x 18.9xmedian 12.4x 95.7xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 15.1x 25.6xmedian 15.1x 7.5xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.6x 19.8xmedian 1.6x 1.2xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.71median 1.66 5.24median 1.66 0.11median 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 monthsDOWSHWCE
Revenue $42.61B $24.91B $9.71B
Gross profit $4.73B $12.11B $2.03B
Operating income $720.00M $4.03B -$692.00M
Net income -$595.00M $2.68B -$1.16B
Free cash flow $2.11B $3.08B $708.00M
R&D $741.00M – $120.00M
EPS (diluted) $-1.23 $11.02 $-10.60
Cash & equivalents $4.14B $264.20M $1.36B
Total debt $17.54B $11.80B $12.01B
Shares (diluted) 727.40M 242.80M 110.25M
Enterprise value $9.89B $77.77B -$66.91M

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
MetricDOWSHWCE
P/E -27.3x 29.3x -4.6x
P/FCF 11.6x 25.6x 7.5x
P/Operating cash flow 5.3x 21.4x 5.4x
P/S 0.6x 3.2x 0.5x
P/B 1.4x 19.8x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 338.9x 3.5x
EV/EBITDA 10.9x 18.9x 95.7x
EV/EBIT 52.6x 22.4x -23.1x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 3.6x 1.6x
EV/FCF 17.9x 29.3x 22.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.2x 24.5x 16.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.71 5.24 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDOWSHWCE
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.2% 7.0% -2.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.4% 2.7% -1.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.1% 6.4% -5.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.5% 5.1% -3.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 685.4% 7.9% 11.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -30.9% 3.9% -39.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 40.6% 4.1% 29.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -34.3% 3.4% -42.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 21.6% 6.7% 29.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -38.7% 5.6% -42.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 190.9% 11.8% -3.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.5% 4.3% -16.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 279.8% 26.8% 12.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -13.8% 8.0% -13.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDOWSHWCE
Gross margin 11.1% 48.6% 20.9%
EBITDA margin 8.2% 19.2% 1.7%
Operating margin 1.7% 16.2% -7.1%
Pretax margin -1.0% 14.0% -11.6%
Net margin -2.1% 10.7% -12.0%
FCF margin 5.0% 12.4% 7.3%
Operating cash flow margin 10.8% 14.8% 10.1%
Return on equity -3.4% 68.3% -25.4%
Return on assets -1.0% 9.9% -5.3%
Return on invested capital 2.0% 19.5% -4.1%
Return on capital employed 1.4% 23.6% -3.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.9x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -7.7x 1.4x -0.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.5% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDOWSHWCE
Debt / assets 28.8% 43.7% 56.1%
Debt / equity 1.0x 3.0x 2.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 2.4x 63.7x
Debt / FCF 8.3x 3.8x 17.0x
Liabilities / assets 71.1% 85.3% 78.6%
Equity / assets 28.9% 14.7% 21.4%
Interest coverage 0.8x 7.5x -1.0x
Current ratio 1.8x 0.7x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.4x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.0x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.63 3.48 1.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDOWSHWCE
Dividend yield 4.1% 1.0% 0.3%
Net buyback yield – 3.0% –
Shareholder yield 4.1% 4.0% 0.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) -169.6% – -1.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 47.7% – 1.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) -41.7% – -91.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -20.1% – -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.

ConsensusDOWSHWCE
Forward P/E 12.7xFY2026 25.7xFY2026 7.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.67FY2026 $12.68FY2026 $6.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +10.9%FY2026 +59.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -33.3% -0.4% -0.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $41.26BFY2026 $23.55BFY2026 $9.75BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.2%FY2026 -0.1%FY2026 +2.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.6% +4.0% +7.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDOWSHWCE
Held by institutions 77.8% 82.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,208 1,740 458
Change in shares held, QoQ +9.9% +3.3% +10.8%
Institutions buying 548 746 246
Institutions selling 451 718 138
Buyers to sellers 1.22 1.04 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.

DOWSHWCE
DOW 1.00 -0.13 0.71
SHW -0.13 1.00 0.09
CE 0.71 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DOW, SHW and CE?

Sherwin Williams (SHW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Dow (DOW) $24.45B, Sherwin Williams (SHW) $78.75B, Celanese (CE) $5.34B.

Which company is growing faster?

Sherwin Williams (SHW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Dow (DOW) +4.2%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) +7.0%, Celanese (CE) -2.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sherwin Williams (SHW) has the highest net margin (Dow (DOW) -2.1%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 10.7%, Celanese (CE) -12.0%). On return on invested capital, Sherwin Williams (SHW) leads (Dow (DOW) 2.0%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 19.5%, Celanese (CE) -4.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Dow (DOW) returned the most: Dow (DOW) +31.3%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) -3.0%, Celanese (CE) +10.9%. Over five years, Sherwin Williams (SHW) compounded fastest (Dow (DOW) -9.8%/yr, Sherwin Williams (SHW) +0.3%/yr, Celanese (CE) -21.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Dow (DOW) has the highest dividend yield: Dow (DOW) 4.14%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 0.98%, Celanese (CE) 0.31%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sherwin Williams (SHW) has been the steadiest (Dow (DOW) 41.8%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 28.0%, Celanese (CE) 51.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DOW, SHW 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, Sherwin Williams (SHW) leads on 8. 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.