ESI vs GLW vs HUN Stock Comparison

Element Solutions, Corning and Huntsman Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ESI Element Solutions Inc
$35.02 -1.9% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$8.50B
P/E
41.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
0.91%
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
8 wins
GLW Corning Inc /Ny
$126.36 -19.4% 1M +41.4% 1Y
Market cap
$108.85B
P/E
72.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
0.89%
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
3 wins
HUN Huntsman CORP
$9.11 +2.4% 1M -1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.58B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.90B
Div. yield
3.93%
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Element Solutions leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Element Solutions 8, Corning 3, Huntsman 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESIGLWHUNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.50B $108.85B $1.58B GLW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.6x 72.0x -8.8x ESI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.4x 36.6x — ESI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +39.6% — +0.6% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.9% — -3.1% ESI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% — -0.6% ESI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x — 6.6x ESI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.91% 0.89% 3.93% HUN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.3% +41.4% -1.9% GLW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.1%/yr +28.8%/yr -22.1%/yr GLW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.9% 74.6% 60.6% ESI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 22/100 38/100 ESI

Percentile Scorecard

ESIGLWHUN

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

AxisESIGLWHUN
Valuation 39 #58 of 94 11 #84 of 94 71 #28 of 94
Growth 77 #22 of 91 – 20 #73 of 91
Profitability 61 #34 of 86 – 37 #55 of 86
Financial Health 48 #50 of 95 37 #60 of 95 26 #71 of 95
Shareholder Returns 30 #49 of 70 19 #57 of 70 39 #43 of 70
Overall 51 22 38
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • GLW ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • HUN ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESIGLWHUNSPY
1 month -1.9%-19.4%+2.4% -0.2%
3 months -4.1%+0.3%-20.4% +3.9%
6 months -9.7%-17.4%-33.3% +8.2%
Year to date +40.1%+44.3%-8.9% +12.9%
1 year +32.3%+41.4%-1.9% +12.3%
3 years +94.6%+375.2%-60.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +24.9%+68.2%-26.7% +23.3%
5 years +54.3%+254.5%-71.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year +9.1%+28.8%-22.1% +10.9%
10 years +365.1%+451.3%-44.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +16.6%+18.6%-5.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESIGLWHUNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.9%74.6%60.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.4%75.4%63.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.183.021.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.690.56-0.03 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.3%-51.6%-82.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.7%-50.6%-42.7% -1.2%
52-week high $49.09$255.69$15.89 $779.14
52-week low $22.99$78.03$7.42 $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.

MultipleESIGLWHUN
P/E now vs peer median 41.6xmedian 22.0x 72.0xmedian 22.0x -8.8xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.4x 8.1xmedian 1.4x 0.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 12.4x —median 12.4x 12.6xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.5xmedian 15.1x 57.1xmedian 15.1x -394.9xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 1.6x 7.6xmedian 1.6x 0.5xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 1.66 —median 1.66 0.20median 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 monthsESIGLWHUN
Revenue $3.49B – $5.90B
Gross profit $1.28B – $796.00M
Operating income $408.70M – -$32.00M
Net income $205.20M – -$127.00M
Free cash flow $182.90M – -$4.00M
R&D $80.00M – $112.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.84 – $-1.04
Cash & equivalents $224.90M $2.54B $346.00M
Total debt $2.08B – $2.09B
Shares (diluted) 243.70M 875.00M 173.40M
Enterprise value $7.29B $109.46B $204.78M

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
MetricESIGLWHUN
P/E 41.6x 72.0x -8.8x
P/FCF 46.5x 57.1x -394.9x
P/Operating cash flow 30.0x – 9.6x
P/S 2.4x 8.1x 0.3x
P/B 2.9x 7.6x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 4.5x 7.9x 0.6x
EV/EBITDA 17.9x – 12.6x
EV/EBIT 25.3x – -103.8x
EV/Revenue 3.0x – 0.6x
EV/FCF 56.6x – -830.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 36.5x – 20.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 – 0.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESIGLWHUN
Revenue growth (1Y) 39.6% – 0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.4% – -4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.5% – -1.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.7% – -9.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.6% – 67.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.9% – -28.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.4% – 54.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 56.0% – -39.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -15.0% – 46.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 55.8% – -44.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.0% – -49.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.2% – -30.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -32.2% – -102.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.3% – -26.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESIGLWHUN
Gross margin 36.6% – 13.5%
EBITDA margin 16.6% – 4.5%
Operating margin 11.7% – -0.5%
Pretax margin 9.0% – -1.4%
Net margin 5.9% – -3.1%
FCF margin 5.2% – -0.1%
Operating cash flow margin 8.1% – 2.8%
Return on equity 7.2% – -4.4%
Return on assets 3.5% – -1.8%
Return on invested capital 5.4% – -0.6%
Return on capital employed 7.8% – -0.6%
Asset turnover 0.6x – 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x – -1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 2.4% – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESIGLWHUN
Debt / assets 35.5% – 29.0%
Debt / equity 0.7x – 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x – 6.6x
Debt / FCF 11.4x – -521.8x
Liabilities / assets 50.7% 58.1% 59.3%
Equity / assets 49.3% 41.9% 40.7%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.8x 1.7x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.7x – 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.56 – 1.46

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESIGLWHUN
Dividend yield 0.9% 0.9% 3.9%
Net buyback yield 0.5% – –
Shareholder yield 1.4% 0.9% 3.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -71.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – -2,275%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -48.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -18.3%

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.

ConsensusESIGLWHUN
Forward P/E 20.4xFY2026 36.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $1.72FY2026 $3.45FY2026 $-0.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.4%FY2026 +36.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +33.7% +24.1% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.86BFY2026 $18.34BFY2026 $6.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +51.4%FY2026 +11.8%FY2026 +13.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.3% +31.0% +0.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESIGLWHUN
Held by institutions 100.0% 73.0% 89.1%
Institutions holding 499 2,682 357
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +3.5% -9.8%
Institutions buying 269 1,476 168
Institutions selling 176 949 139
Buyers to sellers 1.53 1.56 1.21

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.

ESIGLWHUN
ESI 1.00 0.56 0.18
GLW 0.56 1.00 0.10
HUN 0.18 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESI, GLW and HUN?

Corning (GLW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Element Solutions (ESI) $8.50B, Corning (GLW) $108.85B, Huntsman (HUN) $1.58B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESI, GLW and HUN?

Element Solutions (ESI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Element Solutions (ESI) 41.6x, Corning (GLW) 72.0x, Huntsman (HUN) -8.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Element Solutions (ESI) is cheapest (Element Solutions (ESI) 20.4x, Corning (GLW) 36.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Element Solutions (ESI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%, Huntsman (HUN) +0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Element Solutions (ESI) has the highest net margin (Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%, Huntsman (HUN) -3.1%). On return on invested capital, Element Solutions (ESI) leads (Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%, Huntsman (HUN) -0.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Corning (GLW) returned the most: Element Solutions (ESI) +32.3%, Corning (GLW) +41.4%, Huntsman (HUN) -1.9%. Over five years, Corning (GLW) compounded fastest (Element Solutions (ESI) +9.1%/yr, Corning (GLW) +28.8%/yr, Huntsman (HUN) -22.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Huntsman (HUN) has the highest dividend yield: Element Solutions (ESI) 0.91%, Corning (GLW) 0.89%, Huntsman (HUN) 3.93%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Element Solutions (ESI) has been the steadiest (Element Solutions (ESI) 46.9%, Corning (GLW) 74.6%, Huntsman (HUN) 60.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESI, GLW and HUN?

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