ESI vs Q vs EMN Stock Comparison

Element Solutions, Qnity Electronics and Eastman Chemical Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ESI Element Solutions Inc
$33.21 -6.4% 1M +27.9% 1Y
Market cap
$8.15B
P/E
39.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
3 wins
Q Qnity Electronics, Inc.
$109.85 -11.8% 1M
Market cap
$23.93B
P/E
40.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.21B
Div. yield
0.00%
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
5 wins
EMN Eastman Chemical Co
$64.91 -2.9% 1M +2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$7.51B
P/E
17.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.87B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Qnity Electronics leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Qnity Electronics 5, Eastman Chemical 3, Element Solutions 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESIQEMNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.15B $23.93B $7.51B Q
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.8x 40.8x 17.0x EMN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.5x 25.3x 9.8x EMN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +39.6% +14.8% -4.5% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.9% 11.2% 5.0% Q
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% 8.3% 5.4% Q
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 1.8x 3.6x Q
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +27.9% — +2.9% ESI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.8%/yr — -9.6%/yr ESI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.8% 55.2% 32.0% EMN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 61/100 58/100 Q

Percentile Scorecard

ESIQEMN

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

AxisESIQEMN
Valuation 37 #60 of 94 39 #58 of 94 86 #14 of 94
Growth 76 #23 of 92 52 #45 of 92 28 #67 of 92
Profitability 59 #37 of 89 88 #12 of 89 58 #38 of 89
Financial Health 46 #53 of 97 68 #32 of 97 27 #71 of 97
Shareholder Returns 30 #49 of 70 58 #30 of 70 90 #8 of 70
Overall 50 61 58
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • Q ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • EMN ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESIQEMNSPY
1 month -6.4%-11.8%-2.9% -1.0%
3 months -11.3%-18.7%-4.8% +2.9%
6 months -17.7%-24.0%-9.8% +6.4%
Year to date +32.9%+34.5%+1.7% +11.4%
1 year +27.9%—+2.9% +13.1%
3 years +81.0%—-8.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +21.9%—-2.8% +21.5%
5 years +45.3%—-39.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +7.8%—-9.6% +10.9%
10 years +341.6%—-2.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +16.0%—-0.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureESIQEMNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.8%55.2%32.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.4%58.5%29.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.162.640.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.60—0.09 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.3%-38.1%-55.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.3%-37.5%-20.2% -2.5%
52-week high $49.09$175.64$81.36 $779.14
52-week low $22.99$73.54$56.37 $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.

MultipleESIQEMN
P/E now vs peer median 39.4xmedian 21.5x 39.3xmedian 21.5x 16.8xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.4x 4.4xmedian 1.4x 0.8xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 12.4x 15.1xmedian 12.4x 9.4xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 44.1xmedian 15.5x 27.9xmedian 15.5x 13.8xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 1.6x 3.0xmedian 1.6x 1.2xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.71median 1.70 —median 1.70 -1.24median 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 monthsESIQEMN
Revenue $3.49B $5.21B $8.87B
Gross profit $1.28B $2.41B $1.76B
Operating income $408.70M $1.34B $750.00M
Net income $205.20M $630.00M $443.00M
Free cash flow $182.90M $825.00M $539.00M
R&D $80.00M $374.00M $246.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.84 $2.79 $3.83
Cash & equivalents $224.90M $961.00M $691.00M
Total debt $7.98B $9.77B $5.22B
Shares (diluted) 243.70M 210.20M 115.30M
Enterprise value $6.94B $21.07B $5.10B

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
MetricESIQEMN
P/E 39.4x 39.3x 16.8x
P/FCF 44.1x 27.9x 13.8x
P/Operating cash flow 28.4x 19.7x 7.5x
P/S 2.3x 4.4x 0.8x
P/B 2.8x 3.0x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 3.5x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 17.1x 15.1x 9.4x
EV/EBIT 24.3x 19.5x 15.9x
EV/Revenue 2.8x 5.0x 1.3x
EV/FCF 54.2x 31.6x 22.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 35.0x 22.3x 12.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.71 – -1.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESIQEMN
Revenue growth (1Y) 39.6% 14.8% -4.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.4% – -3.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.5% 13.3% -21.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.7% – -4.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.6% 11.6% -37.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.9% – -9.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.4% -23.6% -46.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 56.0% – -14.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -15.0% -26.4% -46.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 55.8% – -13.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.0% – -1.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.2% – -4.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -32.2% – 32.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.3% – 16.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESIQEMN
Gross margin 36.6% 46.2% 19.9%
EBITDA margin 16.6% 33.0% 14.4%
Operating margin 11.7% 25.6% 8.5%
Pretax margin 9.0% 16.9% 6.1%
Net margin 5.9% 11.2% 5.0%
FCF margin 5.2% 15.8% 6.1%
Operating cash flow margin 8.1% 22.4% 11.2%
Return on equity 7.2% 8.4% 7.2%
Return on assets 3.5% 4.4% 2.9%
Return on invested capital 5.4% 8.3% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 7.8% 10.5% 6.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.9x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 2.4% 0.7% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESIQEMN
Debt / assets 35.5% 28.1% 33.8%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.5x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 1.8x 3.6x
Debt / FCF 11.4x 4.9x 9.7x
Liabilities / assets 50.7% 47.3% 60.0%
Equity / assets 49.3% 52.7% 40.0%
Interest coverage – 7.1x –
Current ratio 2.8x 2.0x 1.5x
Quick ratio 1.7x 1.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.7x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.47 2.85 2.25

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESIQEMN
Dividend yield 1.0% 0.3% 5.2%
Net buyback yield 0.5% 0.2% –
Shareholder yield 1.5% 0.5% 5.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 5.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 4.1% –
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.

ConsensusESIQEMN
Forward P/E 19.5xFY2026 25.3xFY2026 9.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.70FY2026 $4.34FY2026 $6.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.1%FY2026 +29.6%FY2026 +22.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +32.9% +21.7% -4.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $5.34BFY2026 $9.51BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +49.8%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026 +8.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.1% +23.3% -4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESIQEMN
Held by institutions 100.0% – 94.1%
Institutions holding 499 – 648
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% – -0.1%
Institutions buying 269 – 327
Institutions selling 176 – 193
Buyers to sellers 1.53 – 1.69

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.

ESIQEMN
ESI 1.00 0.69 0.27
Q 0.69 1.00 0.24
EMN 0.27 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESI, Q and EMN?

Qnity Electronics (Q) is the largest by market capitalisation: Element Solutions (ESI) $8.15B, Qnity Electronics (Q) $23.93B, Eastman Chemical (EMN) $7.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESI, Q and EMN?

Eastman Chemical (EMN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Element Solutions (ESI) 39.8x, Qnity Electronics (Q) 40.8x, Eastman Chemical (EMN) 17.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Eastman Chemical (EMN) is cheapest (Element Solutions (ESI) 19.5x, Qnity Electronics (Q) 25.3x, Eastman Chemical (EMN) 9.8x). 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%, Qnity Electronics (Q) +14.8%, Eastman Chemical (EMN) -4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Qnity Electronics (Q) has the highest net margin (Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%, Qnity Electronics (Q) 11.2%, Eastman Chemical (EMN) 5.0%). On return on invested capital, Qnity Electronics (Q) leads (Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%, Qnity Electronics (Q) 8.3%, Eastman Chemical (EMN) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Element Solutions (ESI) returned the most: Element Solutions (ESI) +27.9%, Eastman Chemical (EMN) +2.9%. Over five years, Element Solutions (ESI) compounded fastest (Element Solutions (ESI) +7.8%/yr, Eastman Chemical (EMN) -9.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Element Solutions (ESI) 0.00%, Qnity Electronics (Q) 0.00%, Eastman Chemical (EMN) 0.00%. Element Solutions (ESI) and Eastman Chemical (EMN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Eastman Chemical (EMN) has been the steadiest (Element Solutions (ESI) 46.8%, Qnity Electronics (Q) 55.2%, Eastman Chemical (EMN) 32.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESI, Q and EMN?

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