LYB vs MEOH vs KRO Stock Comparison

LyondellBasell Industries, Methanex and Kronos Worldwide Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MEOH Methanex Corp
$64.34 +9.3% 1M +80.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.59B
P/E
57.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.27B
Div. yield
–
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials
8 wins
KRO Kronos Worldwide Inc
$7.60 -7.9% 1M +53.5% 1Y
Market cap
$888.57M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.94B
Div. yield
0.03%
Commodity Chemicals Basic Materials

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Methanex leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Methanex 8, LyondellBasell Industries 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLYBMEOHKROLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $43.57B $4.59B $888.57M LYB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -123.4x 57.3x -8.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.1x 6.0x 20.0x MEOH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.7% +19.2% +2.7% MEOH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -1.1% 1.9% -5.6% MEOH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.1% 12.4% -2.4% MEOH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.3x 1.8x 17.7x MEOH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.03% LYB
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +41.5% +80.2% +53.5% MEOH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.5%/yr +7.4%/yr -10.1%/yr MEOH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.8% 50.5% 59.2% LYB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 39/100 75/100 42/100 MEOH

Percentile Scorecard

LYBMEOHKRO

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

AxisLYBMEOHKRO
Valuation 40 #57 of 94 88 #12 of 94 70 #29 of 94
Growth 24 #70 of 92 63 #35 of 92 37 #58 of 92
Profitability 53 #42 of 89 92 #8 of 89 28 #64 of 89
Financial Health 31 #67 of 97 65 #35 of 97 38 #61 of 97
Shareholder Returns 45 #39 of 70 65 #25 of 70 36 #45 of 70
Overall 39 75 42
  • LYB ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • MEOH ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • KRO ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLYBMEOHKROSPY
1 month +15.8%+9.3%-7.9% -0.8%
3 months +14.8%+18.8%+24.0% +3.5%
6 months -5.2%+5.9%+4.4% +7.0%
Year to date +55.5%+62.0%+71.9% +12.2%
1 year +41.5%+80.2%+53.5% +13.0%
3 years -25.5%+55.6%+14.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year -9.4%+15.9%+4.6% +23.1%
5 years -28.7%+42.9%-41.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -6.5%+7.4%-10.1% +11.0%
10 years -16.2%+71.3%-3.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year -1.8%+5.5%-0.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLYBMEOHKROSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.8%50.5%59.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.8%49.1%47.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.59-0.311.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.971.590.90 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -63.9%-54.2%-77.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.3%-2.1%-14.7% -1.8%
52-week high $82.38$65.72$8.91 $779.14
52-week low $42.28$33.88$4.33 $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.

MultipleLYBMEOHKRO
P/E now vs peer median -123.2xmedian 21.6x 58.2xmedian 21.6x -8.0xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.4x 1.2xmedian 1.4x 0.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.4xmedian 12.4x 6.2xmedian 12.4x 46.3xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 15.8x 4.1xmedian 15.8x 13.2xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 1.6x 1.2xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 4.18median 1.66 -1.97median 1.66 0.19median 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 monthsLYBMEOHKRO
Revenue $31.19B $4.27B $1.94B
Gross profit $3.98B – $229.50M
Operating income $963.00M $655.47M -$32.10M
Net income -$346.00M $176.40M -$109.40M
Free cash flow $1.58B $1.22B $66.50M
R&D $137.00M – –
EPS (diluted) $-0.55 $1.10 $-0.95
Cash & equivalents $2.63B $382.91M $26.60M
Total debt $12.91B $2.39B $569.60M
Shares (diluted) 646.00M 72.61M 115.10M
Enterprise value $33.08B $2.99B $775.37M

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
MetricLYBMEOHKRO
P/E -123.2x 58.2x -8.0x
P/FCF 27.6x 4.1x 13.2x
P/Operating cash flow 14.6x 4.1x 10.1x
P/S 1.4x 1.2x 0.5x
P/B 4.1x 1.7x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 1.7x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 22.4x 6.2x 46.3x
EV/EBIT 55.8x 10.6x -44.2x
EV/Revenue 1.7x 1.6x 0.7x
EV/FCF 34.1x 5.7x 21.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.1x 5.7x 16.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.18 -1.97 0.19

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLYBMEOHKRO
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.7% 19.2% 2.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -10.2% 2.4% 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.6% – -35.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -6.3% – 5.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 44.4% 18.4% -128.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.7% 13.7% -32.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -232.1% -47.3% -262.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -29.3% -21.7% -69.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -238.0% -70.4% -261.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -29.4% -29.6% -43.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.1% 21.9% 2,202%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.7% 14.5% 58.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 240.8% 21.9% 236.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -21.2% 14.5% 37.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLYBMEOHKRO
Gross margin 12.8% – 11.8%
EBITDA margin 7.7% 26.6% 1.6%
Operating margin 3.1% 15.4% -1.7%
Pretax margin -0.2% 22.1% -5.0%
Net margin -1.1% 1.9% -5.6%
FCF margin 5.1% 28.5% 3.4%
Operating cash flow margin 9.5% 28.5% 4.4%
Return on equity -3.3% 6.3% -14.6%
Return on assets -1.0% – -6.2%
Return on invested capital 4.1% 12.4% -2.4%
Return on capital employed 3.6% – -2.2%
Asset turnover 0.9x – 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -8.6x 6.9x -0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 1.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLYBMEOHKRO
Debt / assets 37.4% – 32.7%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.8x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.3x 1.8x 17.7x
Debt / FCF 8.2x 2.0x 8.6x
Liabilities / assets 69.0% – 56.9%
Equity / assets 31.0% – 43.1%
Interest coverage 1.8x 2.9x -0.6x
Current ratio 1.6x – 3.3x
Quick ratio 0.9x – 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.54 – 1.76

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLYBMEOHKRO
Dividend yield 5.1% 1.1% 2.6%
Net buyback yield – 3.4% –
Shareholder yield 5.1% 4.6% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) -385.5% – -21.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 84.5% – 34.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) -23.9% – 0.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -5.5% – -36.0%

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.

ConsensusLYBMEOHKRO
Forward P/E 7.1xFY2026 6.0xFY2026 20.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.42FY2026 $10.73FY2026 $0.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +454.1%FY2026 +433.8%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -30.1% -43.2% +63.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.43BFY2026 $5.37BFY2026 $2.13BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.6%FY2026 +50.9%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.8% -26.6% -4.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLYBMEOHKRO
Held by institutions 37.4% 81.3% 16.0%
Institutions holding 878 212 130
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.9% +8.4% +4.6%
Institutions buying 469 132 74
Institutions selling 297 57 34
Buyers to sellers 1.58 2.32 2.18

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.

LYBMEOHKRO
LYB 1.00 0.58 0.29
MEOH 0.58 1.00 0.22
KRO 0.29 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LYB, MEOH and KRO?

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) is the largest by market capitalisation: LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $43.57B, Methanex (MEOH) $4.59B, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) $888.57M.

Which company is growing faster?

Methanex (MEOH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) -1.7%, Methanex (MEOH) +19.2%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) +2.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Methanex (MEOH) has the highest net margin (LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) -1.1%, Methanex (MEOH) 1.9%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) -5.6%). On return on invested capital, Methanex (MEOH) leads (LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) 4.1%, Methanex (MEOH) 12.4%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) -2.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Methanex (MEOH) returned the most: LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) +41.5%, Methanex (MEOH) +80.2%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) +53.5%. Over five years, Methanex (MEOH) compounded fastest (LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) -6.5%/yr, Methanex (MEOH) +7.4%/yr, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) -10.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) has the highest dividend yield: LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) 0.03%, Methanex (MEOH) 0.00%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) 0.03%. Methanex (MEOH) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) has been the steadiest (LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) 42.8%, Methanex (MEOH) 50.5%, Kronos Worldwide (KRO) 59.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LYB, MEOH and KRO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Methanex (MEOH) leads on 8. 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.