Celanese vs Eastman Chemical
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Celanese and Eastman Chemical side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Celanese is the larger business, with $9.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $8.8B for Eastman Chemical.
- Celanese turned more of its sales into free cash flow (8.4% FCF margin, against 4.8%).
- Eastman Chemical earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (6.5%, against −3.7%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Celanese
CE
2/9
5-year growthFCF margin
Eastman Chemical
EMN
6/9
Revenue growthGross marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CE FY25 | EMN FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $5.4B | $7.6B |
| Revenue | $9.5B | $8.8B |
| Free cash flow | $803M | $424M |
| Net income | −$1.2B | $474M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −7.1% | −6.7% |
| 5-year growth | 11.0% | 0.7% |
| Share count change | 0.2% | −2.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 20.5% | 21.1% |
| Operating margin | −8.2% | — |
| Net margin | −12.2% | 5.4% |
| FCF margin | 8.4% | 4.8% |
| Return on capital | −3.7% | 6.5% |
| Return on equity | −25.4% | 8.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $11.5B | $4.2B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 3.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $13.0M | $381M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 17.2x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 5 |
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.