CBT
Cabot Corporation
CBT's fundamentals are weak and it looks expensive: trading at 20x earnings, above its usual 13x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
CBT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
CBT's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue, profitability and cash flow are stable.
CBT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $39.05 | -46% |
| Forward | 11x | $72.17 | — |
| Fair | 13x | $46.96 | -35% |
| Current | 20x | $72.17 | — |
| Expensive | 27x | $95.69 | +33% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CBT's PE is in its expensive range at 20x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 11x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CBT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CBT, with profitability holding steady.
CBT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.56 | +84% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.56 | -53% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.30 | -31% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.72 | -24% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.02 | -10% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.63 | -9.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.71 | -2.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.51 | -2.2% |
| Q3 2024 | $6.72 | -13% |
CBT's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $3.56 over the past year, against $8.39 in mid-2024.
CBT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $982M | +6.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $904M | -3.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $849M | -11% |
| Q3 2025 | $899M | -10% |
| Q2 2025 | $923M | -9.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $936M | -8.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $955M | -0.3% |
| Q3 2024 | $1B | +3.7% |
CBT's revenue is down over the past year, though its latest quarter was up: $982M last quarter, up 6.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 10% | -8.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 14% | -3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | -1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | +1.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 17% | +2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 16% | +2 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | +0.3 points |
CBT's operating margin was 10% last quarter, down 8.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CBT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $37M | -80% |
| Q1 2026 | $32M | +3100% |
| Q4 2025 | $57M | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $155M | +38% |
| Q2 2025 | $188M | +21% |
| Q1 2025 | $1M | -99% |
| Q4 2024 | $47M | -7.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $112M | +87% |
CBT still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2025 peak: $281M over the past year.
CBT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -200K shares |
| 1 year | -3.3% | -1.8M shares |
| 3 years | -8% | -4.5M shares |
| 5 years | -8.8% | -5M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -6.8M shares |
CBT has 52M diluted shares, down 3.3% from a year ago, with $140M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $49M |
| Q4 2025 | $52M |
| Q3 2025 | $39M |
| Q2 2025 | $40M |
| Q1 2025 | $47M |
| Q4 2024 | $42M |
| Q3 2024 | $66M |
CBT spent $140M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 28% from the year before.
CBT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q3 2024 | 1.2x | Healthy |
CBT's net debt is about 1.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.2 years a year ago.
CBT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 37.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 7.8 | Oversold |
CBT's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
CBT PE vs Basic Materials Sector
| Metric | CBT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 20x | 19x | 8.9% above |
| PE % | 74 | 40 | 34 pts above |
CBT is trading at 20x earnings, in line with the Basic Materials sector's median of 19x.
CBT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $74.5 | 3.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $81.1 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $78.0 | 7.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $78.1 | 7.6% below |
| 200 week MA | $81.4 | 11% below |
CBT is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
CBT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $47.0 | $44.3 | -5.7% |
| 2021 | $44.3 | $54.6 | +23% |
| 2022 | $54.6 | $67.3 | +23% |
| 2023 | $67.3 | $83.5 | +24% |
| 2024 | $83.5 | $91.7 | +9.8% |
| 2025 | $91.7 | $66.5 | -27% |
| 2026 YTD | $66.5 | $72.2 | +8.5% |
CBT has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 8.5% so far in 2026.