ESI vs ITW vs SHW Stock Comparison

Element Solutions, Illinois Tool Works and Sherwin Williams 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
4 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$275.93 +0.7% 1M +11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.58B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
2.37%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 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
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Sherwin Williams leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Sherwin Williams 5, Element Solutions 4, Illinois Tool Works 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESIITWSHWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.50B $78.58B $78.75B SHW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.6x 24.0x 29.3x ITW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.4x 25.9x 25.7x ESI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +39.6% — +7.0% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.9% — 10.7% SHW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% — 19.5% SHW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x — 2.4x SHW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.91% 2.37% 0.98% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.3% +11.3% -3.0% ESI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.1%/yr +4.0%/yr +0.3%/yr ESI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.9% 21.3% 28.0% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 49/100 55/100 SHW

Percentile Scorecard

ESIITWSHW

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

AxisESIITWSHW
Valuation 39 #58 of 94 24 #154 of 203 29 #67 of 94
Growth 77 #22 of 91 35 #123 of 188 66 #32 of 91
Profitability 61 #34 of 86 – 98 #3 of 86
Financial Health 48 #50 of 95 – 23 #73 of 95
Shareholder Returns 30 #49 of 70 87 #21 of 153 58 #30 of 70
Overall 51 49 55
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SHW ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESIITWSHWSPY
1 month -1.9%+0.7%-0.9% -0.2%
3 months -4.1%-6.5%-8.0% +3.9%
6 months -9.7%+2.8%+0.5% +8.2%
Year to date +40.1%+12.0%+0.6% +12.9%
1 year +32.3%+11.3%-3.0% +12.3%
3 years +94.6%+23.6%+38.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +24.9%+7.3%+11.4% +23.3%
5 years +54.3%+21.8%+1.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year +9.1%+4.0%+0.3% +10.9%
10 years +365.1%+143.5%+294.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +16.6%+9.3%+14.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESIITWSHWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.9%21.3%28.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.4%20.7%25.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.180.470.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.690.53-0.11 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.3%-28.9%-42.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.7%-7.9%-12.5% -1.2%
52-week high $49.09$299.60$372.60 $779.14
52-week low $22.99$241.07$293.00 $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.

MultipleESIITWSHW
P/E now vs peer median 41.6xmedian 22.0x 24.0xmedian 25.2x 29.3xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.4x 4.6xmedian 1.9x 3.2xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 12.4x —median 14.0x 18.9xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.5xmedian 15.1x 26.0xmedian 21.7x 25.6xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 1.6x 25.0xmedian 2.3x 19.8xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 1.66 —median 1.32 5.24median 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 monthsESIITWSHW
Revenue $3.49B – $24.91B
Gross profit $1.28B – $12.11B
Operating income $408.70M – $4.03B
Net income $205.20M $3.23B $2.68B
Free cash flow $182.90M – $3.08B
R&D $80.00M – –
EPS (diluted) $0.84 – $11.02
Cash & equivalents $224.90M $809.00M $264.20M
Total debt $2.08B – $11.80B
Shares (diluted) 243.70M 287.00M 242.80M
Enterprise value $7.29B $78.59B $77.77B

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
MetricESIITWSHW
P/E 41.6x 24.0x 29.3x
P/FCF 46.5x 26.0x 25.6x
P/Operating cash flow 30.0x 24.1x 21.4x
P/S 2.4x 4.6x 3.2x
P/B 2.9x 25.0x 19.8x
P/Tangible book 4.5x 30.2x 338.9x
EV/EBITDA 17.9x – 18.9x
EV/EBIT 25.3x – 22.4x
EV/Revenue 3.0x – 3.6x
EV/FCF 56.6x – 29.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 36.5x 24.1x 24.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 – 5.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESIITWSHW
Revenue growth (1Y) 39.6% – 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.4% – 2.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.5% – 6.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.7% – 5.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.6% – 7.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.9% – 3.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.4% 6.7% 4.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 56.0% 0.9% 3.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -15.0% – 6.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 55.8% – 5.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.0% -0.5% 11.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.2% -0.5% 4.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -32.2% – 26.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.3% – 8.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESIITWSHW
Gross margin 36.6% – 48.6%
EBITDA margin 16.6% – 19.2%
Operating margin 11.7% – 16.2%
Pretax margin 9.0% – 14.0%
Net margin 5.9% – 10.7%
FCF margin 5.2% – 12.4%
Operating cash flow margin 8.1% – 14.8%
Return on equity 7.2% 106.9% 68.3%
Return on assets 3.5% – 9.9%
Return on invested capital 5.4% – 19.5%
Return on capital employed 7.8% – 23.6%
Asset turnover 0.6x – 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.4% – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESIITWSHW
Debt / assets 35.5% – 43.7%
Debt / equity 0.7x – 3.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x – 2.4x
Debt / FCF 11.4x – 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 50.7% – 85.3%
Equity / assets 49.3% – 14.7%
Interest coverage – – 7.5x
Current ratio 2.8x 1.3x 0.7x
Quick ratio 1.7x – 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.56 – 3.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESIITWSHW
Dividend yield 0.9% 2.4% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 0.5% – 3.0%
Shareholder yield 1.4% 2.4% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusESIITWSHW
Forward P/E 20.4xFY2026 25.9xFY2026 25.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.72FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $12.68FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.4%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +10.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +33.7% +19.3% -0.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.86BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $23.55BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +51.4%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 -0.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.3% +11.4% +4.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESIITWSHW
Held by institutions 100.0% 84.9% 82.7%
Institutions holding 499 1,969 1,740
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +0.8% +3.3%
Institutions buying 269 846 746
Institutions selling 176 750 718
Buyers to sellers 1.53 1.13 1.04

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.

ESIITWSHW
ESI 1.00 0.26 0.24
ITW 0.26 1.00 0.64
SHW 0.24 0.64 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESI, ITW and SHW?

Sherwin Williams (SHW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Element Solutions (ESI) $8.50B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.58B, Sherwin Williams (SHW) $78.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESI, ITW and SHW?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Element Solutions (ESI) 41.6x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.0x, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 29.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Element Solutions (ESI) is cheapest (Element Solutions (ESI) 20.4x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 25.7x). 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%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sherwin Williams (SHW) has the highest net margin (Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 10.7%). On return on invested capital, Sherwin Williams (SHW) leads (Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 19.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Element Solutions (ESI) returned the most: Element Solutions (ESI) +32.3%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +11.3%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) -3.0%. Over five years, Element Solutions (ESI) compounded fastest (Element Solutions (ESI) +9.1%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.0%/yr, Sherwin Williams (SHW) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: Element Solutions (ESI) 0.91%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 2.37%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 0.98%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Element Solutions (ESI) 46.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, Sherwin Williams (SHW) 28.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESI, ITW and SHW?

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 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.