GLW vs MMM vs ESI Stock Comparison

Corning, 3M and Element Solutions Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GLW Corning Inc /Ny
$123.63 -20.0% 1M +44.0% 1Y
Market cap
$109.74B
P/E
57.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.96B
Div. yield
0.01%
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
5 wins
MMM 3M Co
$173.47 +1.9% 1M +1.1% 1Y
Market cap
$89.47B
P/E
25.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
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
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Corning leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Corning 5, 3M 5, Element Solutions 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGLWMMMESILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $109.74B $89.47B $8.15B GLW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.8x 25.3x 39.8x MMM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 35.8x 19.8x 19.5x ESI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.4% +1.7% +39.6% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.2% 14.0% 5.9% MMM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.4% 22.0% 5.4% MMM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 1.6x 3.2x GLW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.02% 0.00% MMM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +44.0% +1.1% +27.9% GLW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +26.5%/yr +2.8%/yr +7.8%/yr GLW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 74.5% 25.6% 46.8% MMM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 49/100 50/100 GLW

Percentile Scorecard

GLWMMMESI

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

AxisGLWMMMESI
Valuation 19 #76 of 94 37 #129 of 203 37 #60 of 94
Growth 99 #2 of 92 60 #76 of 188 76 #23 of 92
Profitability 81 #18 of 89 87 #25 of 187 59 #37 of 89
Financial Health 59 #40 of 97 18 #183 of 222 46 #53 of 97
Shareholder Returns 29 #50 of 70 44 #86 of 153 30 #49 of 70
Overall 57 49 50
  • GLW ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • MMM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGLWMMMESISPY
1 month -20.0%+1.9%-6.4% -1.0%
3 months -15.7%+0.5%-11.3% +2.9%
6 months -29.7%+18.8%-17.7% +6.4%
Year to date +41.2%+8.4%+32.9% +11.4%
1 year +44.0%+1.1%+27.9% +13.1%
3 years +360.3%+130.2%+81.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +66.4%+32.1%+21.9% +21.5%
5 years +223.4%+14.8%+45.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +26.5%+2.8%+7.8% +10.9%
10 years +419.0%+22.4%+341.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +17.9%+2.0%+16.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureGLWMMMESISPY
Volatility, 1Y 74.5%25.6%46.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 75.7%24.7%47.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.010.682.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.590.040.60 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.6%-53.4%-40.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -51.6%-5.6%-32.3% -2.5%
52-week high $255.69$183.81$49.09 $779.14
52-week low $78.03$141.20$22.99 $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.

MultipleGLWMMMESI
P/E now vs peer median 56.1xmedian 21.5x 25.5xmedian 25.9x 39.4xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 1.4x 3.6xmedian 1.9x 2.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.9xmedian 12.4x 16.1xmedian 13.7x 17.1xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 44.5xmedian 15.5x 33.5xmedian 21.1x 44.1xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 1.6x 21.5xmedian 2.3x 2.8xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.28median 1.70 0.71median 1.19 0.71median 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 monthsGLWMMMESI
Revenue $16.96B $25.25B $3.49B
Gross profit $6.17B $9.98B $1.28B
Operating income $2.60B $4.74B $408.70M
Net income $2.07B $3.58B $205.20M
Free cash flow $2.40B $2.68B $182.90M
R&D $1.14B $1.21B $80.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.17 $6.77 $0.84
Cash & equivalents $2.50B $4.84B $224.90M
Total debt $33.16B $15.00B $7.98B
Shares (diluted) 875.00M 522.60M 243.70M
Enterprise value $102.31B $70.91B $6.94B

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
MetricGLWMMMESI
P/E 56.1x 25.5x 39.4x
P/FCF 44.5x 33.5x 44.1x
P/Operating cash flow 27.2x 24.7x 28.4x
P/S 6.3x 3.6x 2.3x
P/B 8.1x 21.5x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 8.5x 42.3x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA 27.9x 16.1x 17.1x
EV/EBIT 43.3x 21.0x 24.3x
EV/Revenue 6.6x 3.9x 2.8x
EV/FCF 47.0x 37.2x 54.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.7x 27.4x 35.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.28 0.71 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGLWMMMESI
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.4% 1.7% 39.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 10.7% 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 24.9% -1.8% 21.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 15.6% 17.0% 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 51.7% -3.7% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 39.6% 33.4% 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 128.4% 4.8% -14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 44.1% 35.4% 56.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 129.3% 7.1% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 43.7% 35.8% 55.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 79.5% 42.8% -16.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.4% -18.1% -4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 100.6% 68.6% -32.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 111.0% -18.0% -12.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGLWMMMESI
Gross margin 36.4% 39.5% 36.6%
EBITDA margin 23.8% 24.4% 16.6%
Operating margin 15.3% 18.8% 11.7%
Pretax margin 14.2% 17.5% 9.0%
Net margin 11.2% 14.0% 5.9%
FCF margin 14.1% 10.6% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 23.1% 14.4% 8.1%
Return on equity 16.3% 101.3% 7.2%
Return on assets 6.5% 9.8% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 10.4% 22.0% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 10.0% 18.7% 7.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.5% 0.8% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGLWMMMESI
Debt / assets 25.7% 37.9% 35.5%
Debt / equity 0.6x 3.6x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 1.6x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 3.5x 5.6x 11.4x
Liabilities / assets 60.2% 89.5% 50.7%
Equity / assets 39.8% 10.5% 49.3%
Interest coverage 7.3x – –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.4x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.8x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 4.89 4.10 2.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGLWMMMESI
Dividend yield 0.9% 1.8% 1.0%
Net buyback yield -0.5% 3.0% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 0.4% 4.8% 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 47.8% 44.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 41.4% 59.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.3% 3.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.9% -21.4% –

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.

ConsensusGLWMMMESI
Forward P/E 35.8xFY2026 19.8xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.45FY2026 $8.75FY2026 $1.70FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +36.9%FY2026 +8.6%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.2% +17.9% +32.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.31BFY2026 $23.87BFY2026 $3.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.6%FY2026 -1.8%FY2026 +49.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +30.7% +17.4% +2.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGLWMMMESI
Held by institutions 73.0% 74.5% 100.0%
Institutions holding 2,680 2,208 499
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +0.8% +0.6%
Institutions buying 1,474 914 269
Institutions selling 949 837 176
Buyers to sellers 1.55 1.09 1.53

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.

GLWMMMESI
GLW 1.00 0.17 0.56
MMM 0.17 1.00 0.31
ESI 0.56 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GLW, MMM and ESI?

Corning (GLW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Corning (GLW) $109.74B, 3M (MMM) $89.47B, Element Solutions (ESI) $8.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, GLW, MMM and ESI?

3M (MMM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Corning (GLW) 57.8x, 3M (MMM) 25.3x, Element Solutions (ESI) 39.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Element Solutions (ESI) is cheapest (Corning (GLW) 35.8x, 3M (MMM) 19.8x, Element Solutions (ESI) 19.5x). 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: Corning (GLW) +19.4%, 3M (MMM) +1.7%, Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

3M (MMM) has the highest net margin (Corning (GLW) 11.2%, 3M (MMM) 14.0%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, 3M (MMM) leads (Corning (GLW) 10.4%, 3M (MMM) 22.0%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Corning (GLW) returned the most: Corning (GLW) +44.0%, 3M (MMM) +1.1%, Element Solutions (ESI) +27.9%. Over five years, Corning (GLW) compounded fastest (Corning (GLW) +26.5%/yr, 3M (MMM) +2.8%/yr, Element Solutions (ESI) +7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

3M (MMM) has the highest dividend yield: Corning (GLW) 0.01%, 3M (MMM) 0.02%, Element Solutions (ESI) 0.00%. Element Solutions (ESI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, 3M (MMM) has been the steadiest (Corning (GLW) 74.5%, 3M (MMM) 25.6%, Element Solutions (ESI) 46.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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