IFF vs SOLS vs ESI Stock Comparison

International Flavors & Fragrances, Solstice Advanced Materials and Element Solutions 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

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

International Flavors & Fragrances leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (International Flavors & Fragrances 6, Element Solutions 3, Solstice Advanced Materials 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIFFSOLSESILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $23.88B $9.59B $8.15B IFF
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.3x 45.7x 39.8x IFF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.0x 22.0x 19.5x ESI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -4.6% +9.2% +39.6% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.0% 5.1% 5.9% IFF
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.0% 9.8% 5.4% SOLS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.0x 1.3x 3.2x SOLS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +43.1% +29.2% +27.9% IFF
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.3%/yr — +7.8%/yr ESI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.0% 54.8% 46.8% IFF
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 38/100 50/100 IFF

Percentile Scorecard

IFFSOLSESI

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

AxisIFFSOLSESI
Valuation 43 #54 of 94 38 #59 of 94 37 #60 of 94
Growth 80 #19 of 92 21 #73 of 92 76 #23 of 92
Profitability 57 #39 of 89 78 #20 of 89 59 #37 of 89
Financial Health 44 #55 of 97 42 #57 of 97 46 #53 of 97
Shareholder Returns 26 #52 of 70 13 #61 of 70 30 #49 of 70
Overall 50 38 50
  • IFF ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • SOLS ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIFFSOLSESISPY
1 month +9.8%+2.5%-6.4% -1.0%
3 months +23.9%-1.9%-11.3% +2.9%
6 months +32.3%-26.9%-17.7% +6.4%
Year to date +39.7%+22.3%+32.9% +11.4%
1 year +43.1%+29.2%+27.9% +13.1%
3 years +42.4%—+81.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +12.5%—+21.9% +21.5%
5 years -35.2%—+45.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -8.3%—+7.8% +10.9%
10 years -27.5%—+341.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year -3.2%—+16.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureIFFSOLSESISPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.0%54.8%46.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.7%54.0%47.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.671.532.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.230.530.60 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -61.1%-37.5%-40.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-32.9%-32.3% -2.5%
52-week high $94.13$88.60$49.09 $779.14
52-week low $61.49$41.43$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.

MultipleIFFSOLSESI
P/E now vs peer median 34.5xmedian 21.5x 44.9xmedian 21.5x 39.4xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.4x 2.3xmedian 1.4x 2.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 12.4x 11.7xmedian 12.4x 17.1xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 44.5xmedian 15.5x 48.4xmedian 15.5x 44.1xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.6x 5.9xmedian 1.6x 2.8xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.07median 1.70 —median 1.70 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 monthsIFFSOLSESI
Revenue $9.98B $4.10B $3.49B
Gross profit $3.74B $1.25B $1.28B
Operating income $754.00M $692.00M $408.70M
Net income $295.00M $258.00M $205.20M
Free cash flow $540.00M $195.00M $182.90M
R&D $684.00M $106.00M $80.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.71 $1.32 $0.84
Cash & equivalents $569.00M $750.00M $224.90M
Total debt $23.75B $4.25B $7.98B
Shares (diluted) 257.00M 159.40M 243.70M
Enterprise value $21.54B $7.25B $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
MetricIFFSOLSESI
P/E 34.5x 44.9x 39.4x
P/FCF 44.5x 48.4x 44.1x
P/Operating cash flow 20.7x 15.6x 28.4x
P/S 2.4x 2.3x 2.3x
P/B 1.7x 5.9x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 6.1x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA 17.1x 11.7x 17.1x
EV/EBIT 38.7x 15.4x 24.3x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 2.6x 2.8x
EV/FCF 54.0x 54.7x 54.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.1x 17.6x 35.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.07 – 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIFFSOLSESI
Revenue growth (1Y) -4.6% 9.2% 39.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.6% – 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.8% -4.9% 21.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.2% – 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 295.8% -17.4% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 35.2% – 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 170.2% -50.9% -14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 28.8% – 56.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 900.0% -59.5% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 32.3% – 55.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.4% – -16.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.2% – -4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.4% – -32.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.8% – -12.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIFFSOLSESI
Gross margin 37.5% 30.6% 36.6%
EBITDA margin 17.1% 22.3% 16.6%
Operating margin 7.6% 16.9% 11.7%
Pretax margin 3.5% 13.9% 9.0%
Net margin 7.0% 5.1% 5.9%
FCF margin 5.4% 4.8% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 11.6% 14.8% 8.1%
Return on equity 2.1% 18.6% 7.2%
Return on assets 1.2% 4.9% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 3.0% 9.8% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 3.6% 17.0% 7.8%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.9x 2.3x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.6% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIFFSOLSESI
Debt / assets 22.7% 33.3% 35.5%
Debt / equity 0.4x 1.2x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.0x 1.3x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 10.6x 10.1x 11.4x
Liabilities / assets 44.3% 73.2% 50.7%
Equity / assets 55.7% 26.8% 49.3%
Interest coverage 4.0x 9.0x –
Current ratio 2.1x 1.5x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.8x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.82 2.60 2.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIFFSOLSESI
Dividend yield 1.7% 0.4% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 0.3% – 0.5%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 0.4% 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 138.6% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 75.7% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.0% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -20.7% – –

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.

ConsensusIFFSOLSESI
Forward P/E 29.0xFY2026 22.0xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.25FY2026 $2.70FY2026 $1.70FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -22.6%FY2026 +81.2%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.5% +33.3% +32.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.11BFY2026 $4.44BFY2026 $3.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -25.6%FY2026 +14.2%FY2026 +49.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.3% -4.9% +2.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIFFSOLSESI
Held by institutions 100.0% – 100.0%
Institutions holding 753 – 499
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.0% – +0.6%
Institutions buying 410 – 269
Institutions selling 226 – 176
Buyers to sellers 1.81 – 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.

IFFSOLSESI
IFF 1.00 0.12 0.14
SOLS 0.12 1.00 0.51
ESI 0.14 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IFF, SOLS and ESI?

International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) is the largest by market capitalisation: International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) $23.88B, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) $9.59B, Element Solutions (ESI) $8.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, IFF, SOLS and ESI?

International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) 34.3x, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) 45.7x, Element Solutions (ESI) 39.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Element Solutions (ESI) is cheapest (International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) 29.0x, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) 22.0x, 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: International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) -4.6%, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) +9.2%, Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) has the highest net margin (International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) 7.0%, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) 5.1%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) leads (International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) 3.0%, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) 9.8%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) returned the most: International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) +43.1%, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) +29.2%, Element Solutions (ESI) +27.9%. Over five years, Element Solutions (ESI) compounded fastest (International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) -8.3%/yr, Element Solutions (ESI) +7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) 0.02%, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) 0.00%, Element Solutions (ESI) 0.00%. Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) and Element Solutions (ESI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) has been the steadiest (International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) 35.0%, Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) 54.8%, Element Solutions (ESI) 46.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IFF, SOLS 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, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) leads on 6. 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.