KOP vs WFG vs ESI Stock Comparison

Koppers Holdings, West Fraser Timber and Element Solutions Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KOP Koppers Holdings Inc.
$41.50 -10.3% 1M +41.1% 1Y
Market cap
$800.65M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.89B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
2 wins
ESI Element Solutions Inc
$35.02 -1.9% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$8.63B
P/E
42.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Element Solutions leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Element Solutions 6, Koppers Holdings 2, West Fraser Timber 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKOPWFGESILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $800.65M $5.36B $8.63B ESI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -9.2x -3.9x 42.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.8x — 20.4x KOP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -5.0% -10.2% +39.6% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.6% -26.2% 5.9% ESI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -2.7% — 5.4% ESI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 23.6x -181.5x 3.2x WFG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +41.1% +4.9% +32.3% KOP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.5%/yr -3.4%/yr +9.1%/yr ESI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.6% 33.6% 46.9% WFG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 33/100 51/100 ESI

Percentile Scorecard

KOPWFGESI

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

AxisKOPWFGESI
Valuation 75 #24 of 94 45 #159 of 287 39 #58 of 94
Growth 27 #67 of 91 6 #251 of 266 77 #22 of 91
Profitability 42 #50 of 86 21 #187 of 236 61 #34 of 86
Financial Health 18 #78 of 95 – 48 #50 of 95
Shareholder Returns 80 #15 of 70 62 #78 of 203 30 #49 of 70
Overall 48 33 51
  • KOP ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • WFG ranked among 308 companies in Basic Materials
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKOPWFGESISPY
1 month -10.3%-2.7%-1.9% -0.2%
3 months -17.5%+3.4%-4.1% +3.9%
6 months +0.1%+9.0%-9.7% +8.2%
Year to date +53.2%+14.0%+40.1% +12.9%
1 year +41.1%+4.9%+32.3% +12.3%
3 years +14.0%+6.2%+94.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +4.5%+2.0%+24.9% +23.3%
5 years +18.5%-15.8%+54.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +3.5%-3.4%+9.1% +10.9%
10 years +30.3%+103.5%+365.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +2.7%+7.4%+16.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKOPWFGESISPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.6%33.6%46.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.2%32.5%47.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.950.642.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.150.140.69 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.8%-43.2%-40.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.7%-9.1%-28.7% -1.2%
52-week high $52.33$76.69$49.09 $779.14
52-week low $26.67$57.91$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.

MultipleKOPWFGESI
P/E now vs peer median -9.1xmedian 22.0x -4.0xmedian 18.1x 41.6xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 1.4x 1.1xmedian 1.8x 2.4xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 45.2xmedian 12.4x -2,933xmedian 9.8x 17.9xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 15.1x -12.7xmedian 15.5x 46.5xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.6x 1.0xmedian 1.8x 2.9xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.19median 1.66 0.61median 0.76 0.75median 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 monthsKOPWFGESI
Revenue $1.89B $5.24B $3.49B
Gross profit $423.40M $1.14B $1.28B
Operating income -$42.30M -$1.49B $408.70M
Net income -$86.90M -$1.20B $205.20M
Free cash flow $138.70M -$435.00M $182.90M
R&D – – $80.00M
EPS (diluted) $-4.54 $-17.33 $0.84
Cash & equivalents $40.70M $74.00M $224.90M
Total debt $897.60M $437.00M $2.08B
Shares (diluted) 19.13M 79.16M 243.70M
Enterprise value $641.25M $4.45B $7.42B

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
MetricKOPWFGESI
P/E -9.1x -4.0x 41.6x
P/FCF 5.7x -12.7x 46.5x
P/Operating cash flow 4.1x – 30.0x
P/S 0.4x 1.1x 2.4x
P/B 2.0x 1.0x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 2.7x 1.0x 4.5x
EV/EBITDA 45.2x -2,933x 17.9x
EV/EBIT -38.8x -3.9x 25.3x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.1x 3.0x
EV/FCF 11.8x -13.5x 56.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.6x – 36.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.19 0.61 0.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKOPWFGESI
Revenue growth (1Y) -5.0% -10.2% 39.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.5% -13.9% 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.3% -29.4% 21.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.9% -27.6% 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -134.6% -867.5% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -30.9% -52.1% 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -675.5% -1,620% -14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -44.9% -188.8% 56.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -708.8% -331.3% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -46.9% -6.5% 55.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 44.4% – -16.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 34.2% – -4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 92.9% 17.8% -32.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 83.6% 1.3% -12.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKOPWFGESI
Gross margin 22.4% 21.8% 36.6%
EBITDA margin 1.9% 0.0% 16.6%
Operating margin -2.2% -28.4% 11.7%
Pretax margin -5.2% -29.3% 9.0%
Net margin -4.6% -26.2% 5.9%
FCF margin 7.3% -8.3% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 10.1% – 8.1%
Return on equity -18.6% -24.5% 7.2%
Return on assets -4.8% – 3.5%
Return on invested capital -2.7% – 5.4%
Return on capital employed -2.8% – 7.8%
Asset turnover 1.1x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.2x – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% – 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKOPWFGESI
Debt / assets 52.1% – 35.5%
Debt / equity 2.3x 0.1x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 23.6x -181.5x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 6.5x -1.0x 11.4x
Liabilities / assets 77.5% – 50.7%
Equity / assets 22.5% – 49.3%
Interest coverage -0.7x – –
Current ratio 2.3x – 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.9x – 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x – 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.96 – 2.56

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKOPWFGESI
Dividend yield 0.8% 1.8% 0.9%
Net buyback yield 6.6% – 0.5%
Shareholder yield 7.4% 1.8% 1.4%
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.

ConsensusKOPWFGESI
Forward P/E 10.8xFY2026 – 20.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.83FY2026 $-4.07FY2026 $1.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -5.9%FY2026 – +15.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.5% – +33.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.85BFY2026 $5.84BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.6%FY2026 +6.9%FY2026 +51.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.4% +9.6% +2.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKOPWFGESI
Held by institutions 100.0% 49.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 219 166 499
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.7% +3.1% +0.6%
Institutions buying 108 79 269
Institutions selling 66 55 176
Buyers to sellers 1.64 1.44 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.

KOPWFGESI
KOP 1.00 0.24 0.29
WFG 0.24 1.00 0.23
ESI 0.29 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KOP, WFG and ESI?

Element Solutions (ESI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Koppers Holdings (KOP) $800.65M, West Fraser Timber (WFG) $5.36B, Element Solutions (ESI) $8.63B.

Which company is growing faster?

Element Solutions (ESI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Koppers Holdings (KOP) -5.0%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) -10.2%, Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Element Solutions (ESI) has the highest net margin (Koppers Holdings (KOP) -4.6%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) -26.2%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, Element Solutions (ESI) leads (Koppers Holdings (KOP) -2.7%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Koppers Holdings (KOP) returned the most: Koppers Holdings (KOP) +41.1%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) +4.9%, Element Solutions (ESI) +32.3%. Over five years, Element Solutions (ESI) compounded fastest (Koppers Holdings (KOP) +3.5%/yr, West Fraser Timber (WFG) -3.4%/yr, Element Solutions (ESI) +9.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, West Fraser Timber (WFG) has been the steadiest (Koppers Holdings (KOP) 35.6%, West Fraser Timber (WFG) 33.6%, Element Solutions (ESI) 46.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KOP, WFG 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, Element Solutions (ESI) 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.