ESI
Element Solutions Inc
ESI's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks expensive: trading at 39x earnings, above its usual 30x. Analysts expect strong earnings growth.
ESI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure |
ESI's revenue is currently strong, and its profitability and cash flow are stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
ESI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 16x | $33.32 | — |
| Cheap | 25x | $21.08 | -37% |
| Fair | 30x | $25.74 | -23% |
| Current | 39x | $33.32 | — |
| Expensive | 50x | $42.69 | +28% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ESI's PE is in its expensive range at 39x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 16x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
ESI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for ESI, with profitability holding steady.
ESI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.09 | +145% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.85 | -13% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.74 | -25% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.62 | -47% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.98 | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.99 | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.18 | +119% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.01 | +106% |
ESI's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.85 over the past year, against $1.18 in early 2025.
ESI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $995.3M | +52% |
| Q2 2026 | $977.9M | +56% |
| Q1 2026 | $840M | +41% |
| Q4 2025 | $676.2M | +8.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $656.1M | +1.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $625.2M | +2% |
| Q1 2025 | $593.7M | +3.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $624.2M | +8.9% |
ESI's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $995M last quarter, up 52% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | -3.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | -3.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 10% | -1.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | +0.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | -0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | -0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | +2.3 points |
ESI's operating margin was 11% last quarter, down 3.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ESI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $128.8M | +54% |
| Q2 2026 | $71.7M | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | -$91.7M | -711% |
| Q4 2025 | $74.1M | -36% |
| Q3 2025 | $83.6M | -2.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $54.9M | +5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $15M | -62% |
| Q4 2024 | $116.4M | +22% |
ESI still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2026 peak: $183M over the past year.
ESI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -200K shares |
| 1 year | +0.7% | +1.7M shares |
| 3 years | +0.9% | +2.2M shares |
| 5 years | -1.7% | -4.3M shares |
| Available history | -6.3% | -16.4M shares |
ESI has 244M diluted shares, up 0.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $37.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $5.6M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | $37.5M |
ESI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.7x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.9x | Moderate |
ESI's net debt is about 3.2 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.1 years a year ago.
ESI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 24.9 | Neutral |
ESI's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 25 (neutral).
ESI PE vs Basic Materials Sector
| Metric | ESI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 19x | 111% above |
| PE % | 71 | 40 | 31 pts above |
ESI is trading at 39x earnings, a 111% premium to the Basic Materials sector's median of 19x.
ESI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $34.6 | 3.8% below |
| 20 week MA | $36.1 | 7.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $35.3 | 5.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $29.8 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $26.1 | 28% above |
ESI has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 28% above its 200-week average.
ESI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $11.6 | $17.9 | +55% |
| 2021 | $17.9 | $23.6 | +32% |
| 2022 | $23.6 | $18.3 | -22% |
| 2023 | $18.3 | $23.1 | +26% |
| 2024 | $23.1 | $25.6 | +11% |
| 2025 | $25.6 | $25.7 | +0.5% |
| 2026 YTD | $25.7 | $33.3 | +29% |
ESI has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 29% so far in 2026.