IMO vs SQM vs SHEL Stock Comparison

Imperial Oil, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile and Shell Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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IMO Imperial Oil Ltd
$134.49 +9.5% 1M +47.8% 1Y
Market cap
$63.97B
P/E
21.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$37.53B
Div. yield
0.02%
Integrated Oil and Gas Energy
3 wins
SHEL Shell plc
$106.91 +11.6% 1M +41.0% 1Y
Market cap
$312.09B
P/E
12.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$169.08B
Div. yield
0.03%
Integrated Oil and Gas Energy
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile 6, Shell 3, Imperial Oil 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIMOSQMSHELLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $63.97B $17.01B $312.09B SHEL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.2x 12.3x 12.8x SQM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.4x 8.1x 9.0x SQM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.5% +59.0% -15.6% SQM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.0% 20.6% 14.4% SQM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.4% 22.8% 13.1% SQM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x 0.2x 0.4x IMO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.03% SHEL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +47.8% +25.0% +41.0% IMO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +30.6%/yr +1.2%/yr +16.4%/yr IMO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.8% 47.0% 22.8% SHEL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 70/100 63/100 SQM

Percentile Scorecard

IMOSQMSHEL

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

AxisIMOSQMSHEL
Valuation 32 #68 of 99 81 #31 of 162 54 #46 of 99
Growth 55 #44 of 97 62 #56 of 147 73 #27 of 97
Profitability 64 #35 of 96 81 #24 of 122 65 #34 of 96
Financial Health 82 #19 of 102 32 #112 of 165 62 #39 of 102
Shareholder Returns 83 #14 of 76 92 #10 of 107 61 #30 of 76
Overall 63 70 63
  • IMO ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream
  • SQM ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SHEL ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIMOSQMSHELSPY
1 month +9.5%-14.8%+11.6% -0.8%
3 months +7.0%-17.2%+23.8% +3.5%
6 months +6.8%-37.6%+23.0% +7.0%
Year to date +55.8%-17.2%+45.5% +12.2%
1 year +47.8%+25.0%+41.0% +13.0%
3 years +133.3%+11.5%+61.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +32.7%+3.7%+17.2% +23.1%
5 years +280.2%+5.9%+113.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +30.6%+1.2%+16.4% +11.0%
10 years +312.2%+94.6%+113.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +15.2%+6.9%+7.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIMOSQMSHELSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.8%47.0%22.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.6%43.9%23.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.110.96-0.15 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.660.531.80 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.1%-73.5%-25.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.8%-40.2%-1.2% -1.8%
52-week high $138.33$95.31$108.17 $779.14
52-week low $83.72$44.36$70.31 $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.

MultipleIMOSQMSHEL
P/E now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 13.5x 11.7xmedian 12.8x 12.9xmedian 13.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 2.1x 2.4xmedian 3.1x 1.8xmedian 2.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.3xmedian 5.9x 4.8xmedian 7.0x 4.3xmedian 5.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 11.0x —median 15.2x -3.3xmedian 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 1.5x 1.9xmedian 2.1x 1.7xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median -4.23median 2.27 -0.75median 0.29 0.93median 2.27

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 monthsIMOSQMSHEL
Revenue $37.53B $6.73B $169.08B
Gross profit – $2.83B $99.74B
Operating income – $3.11B $65.44B
Net income $3.01B $1.39B $17.88B
Free cash flow $3.64B – -$92.27B
R&D $6.51M – $1.14B
EPS (diluted) $6.21 $4.86 $8.18
Cash & equivalents $2.00B $3.38B $31.37B
Total debt $2.81B $19.72B $73.08B
Shares (diluted) 484.90M 285.64M 2.97B
Enterprise value $59.06B $3.67B $241.84B

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
MetricIMOSQMSHEL
P/E 21.6x 11.7x 12.9x
P/FCF 17.9x – -3.3x
P/Operating cash flow 12.5x – 6.2x
P/S 1.7x 2.4x 1.8x
P/B 3.8x 1.9x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 1.9x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 11.3x 4.8x 4.3x
EV/EBIT 16.7x 5.5x 6.4x
EV/Revenue 1.8x 2.5x 2.0x
EV/FCF 18.1x – -3.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.7x – 6.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.23 -0.75 0.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIMOSQMSHEL
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.5% 59.0% -15.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.2% -4.8% 2.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 150.2% 4.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -9.3% -4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 134.4% 223.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -17.5% 39.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -10.5% 190.5% 98.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -10.9% -7.2% 111.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -5.8% 190.5% 42.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.1% -15.7% 13.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% – 0.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.0% – -6.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 13.2% – -27.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.2% – 17.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIMOSQMSHEL
Gross margin – 42.1% 59.0%
EBITDA margin 15.6% 52.7% 45.9%
Operating margin – 46.2% 38.7%
Pretax margin 10.5% 36.6% 23.6%
Net margin 8.0% 20.6% 14.4%
FCF margin 9.7% – -54.6%
Operating cash flow margin 13.8% – 29.1%
Return on equity 17.9% 16.4% 10.1%
Return on assets 9.1% 8.6% 4.7%
Return on invested capital 15.4% 22.8% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 15.2% 23.4% 17.8%
Asset turnover 1.1x 0.4x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x – 2.7x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIMOSQMSHEL
Debt / assets 8.3% 31.3% 19.2%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.6x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x 0.2x 0.4x
Debt / FCF 0.8x – -0.8x
Liabilities / assets 48.7% 47.9% 52.5%
Equity / assets 51.3% 52.1% 47.5%
Interest coverage 147.4x 15.3x 11.0x
Current ratio 1.4x 2.6x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.8x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.3x 1.5x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 4.67 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIMOSQMSHEL
Dividend yield 2.3% 4.2% 2.8%
Net buyback yield 3.6% – 6.4%
Shareholder yield 5.9% 4.2% 9.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 36.0% – 47.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) 29.8% – -9.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 15.1% – -1.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 14.8% – 3.1%

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.

ConsensusIMOSQMSHEL
Forward P/E 12.4xFY2026 8.1xFY2026 9.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.85FY2026 $7.03FY2026 $11.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +74.7%FY2026 +241.3%FY2026 +87.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.7% -2.4% -7.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $46.10BFY2026 $8.31BFY2026 $336.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +34.5%FY2026 +81.4%FY2026 +26.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.7% +3.0% +0.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIMOSQMSHEL
Held by institutions 26.7% 13.4% 13.0%
Institutions holding 413 316 1,522
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.1% -3.0% +0.0%
Institutions buying 185 166 679
Institutions selling 141 100 535
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.66 1.27

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.

IMOSQMSHEL
IMO 1.00 0.16 0.62
SQM 0.16 1.00 0.15
SHEL 0.62 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IMO, SQM and SHEL?

Shell (SHEL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Imperial Oil (IMO) $63.97B, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) $17.01B, Shell (SHEL) $312.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, IMO, SQM and SHEL?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Imperial Oil (IMO) 21.2x, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 12.3x, Shell (SHEL) 12.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) is cheapest (Imperial Oil (IMO) 12.4x, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 8.1x, Shell (SHEL) 9.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Imperial Oil (IMO) +5.5%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +59.0%, Shell (SHEL) -15.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) has the highest net margin (Imperial Oil (IMO) 8.0%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 20.6%, Shell (SHEL) 14.4%). On return on invested capital, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) leads (Imperial Oil (IMO) 15.4%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 22.8%, Shell (SHEL) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Imperial Oil (IMO) returned the most: Imperial Oil (IMO) +47.8%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +25.0%, Shell (SHEL) +41.0%. Over five years, Imperial Oil (IMO) compounded fastest (Imperial Oil (IMO) +30.6%/yr, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +1.2%/yr, Shell (SHEL) +16.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Shell (SHEL) has the highest dividend yield: Imperial Oil (IMO) 0.02%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 0.00%, Shell (SHEL) 0.03%. Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Shell (SHEL) has been the steadiest (Imperial Oil (IMO) 28.8%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 47.0%, Shell (SHEL) 22.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IMO, SQM and SHEL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 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.