Century Aluminum vs Element Solutions
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Century Aluminum and Element Solutions side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Element Solutions is the larger business, with $2.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.5B for Century Aluminum.
- Century Aluminum grew revenue faster (13.9%, against 3.8%).
- Element Solutions kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (13.4% operating margin, against 6.3%).
- Element Solutions turned more of its sales into free cash flow (8.9% FCF margin, against 3.4%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Element Solutions’s earnings: a P/E of 39.5x against 5.5x for Century Aluminum.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 8 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Century Aluminum
CENX
3/8
Revenue growth5-year growthShare count change
Element Solutions
ESI
5/8
Gross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on equity
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CENX FY25 | ESI FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $3.3B | $8.2B |
| Revenue | $2.5B | $2.6B |
| Free cash flow | $84.8M | $228M |
| Net income | $41.8M | $191M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 13.9% | 3.8% |
| 5-year growth | 9.5% | 6.6% |
| Share count change | −3.2% | −0.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 10.1% | 42.0% |
| Operating margin | 6.3% | 13.4% |
| Net margin | 1.7% | 7.5% |
| FCF margin | 3.4% | 8.9% |
| Return on capital | — | 6.5% |
| Return on equity | 5.6% | 7.6% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | — | $1.0B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 2.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $103M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 5.5x | 39.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | — | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.