Ashland Global vs Cabot
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The short version
- Cabot is the larger business, with $3.7B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.8B for Ashland Global, about 2.0 times as much.
- Cabot grew revenue faster (−7.0%, against −13.7%).
- Cabot kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (16.7% operating margin, against −42.5%).
- Cabot turned more of its sales into free cash flow (10.5% FCF margin, against 2.0%).
- Cabot earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (15.9%, against −17.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Ashland Global’s earnings: a P/E of 69.5x against 12.9x for Cabot.
| Latest fiscal year | ASH · FY25 | CBT · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $3.4B | $3.9B |
| Revenue | $1.8B | $3.7B |
| Free cash flow | $36.0M | $391M |
| Net income | −$845M | $331M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −13.7% | −7.0% |
| 5-year growth | −2.0% | 7.3% |
| Share count change | −8.0% | −2.7% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 30.1% | 25.3% |
| Operating margin | −42.5% | 16.7% |
| Net margin | −46.3% | 8.9% |
| FCF margin | 2.0% | 10.5% |
| Return on capital | −17.5% | 15.9% |
| Return on equity | −35.4% | 22.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.2B | $878M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 1.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $176M | $264M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 69.5x | 12.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
ASH $3.0B
CBT $2.4B
FY17
ASH $2.3B
CBT $2.7B
FY18
ASH $2.6B
CBT $3.2B
FY19
ASH $2.1B
CBT $3.3B
FY20
ASH $2.0B
CBT $2.6B
FY21
ASH $2.1B
CBT $3.4B
FY22
ASH $2.4B
CBT $4.3B
FY23
ASH $2.2B
CBT $3.9B
FY24
ASH $2.1B
CBT $4.0B
FY25
ASH $1.8B
CBT $3.7B
ASH
CBT
Operating margin
FY16
ASH −1.7%
CBT 10.2%
FY17
ASH 2.1%
CBT 12.4%
FY18
ASH 3.9%
CBT 4.4%
FY19
ASH 4.0%
CBT 9.2%
FY20
ASH −22.9%
CBT 0.8%
FY21
ASH 9.1%
CBT 13.3%
FY22
ASH 13.9%
CBT 9.0%
FY23
ASH 7.9%
CBT 13.4%
FY24
ASH −1.2%
CBT 15.4%
FY25
ASH −42.5%
CBT 16.7%
ASH
CBT
Free cash flow
FY16
ASH $154M
CBT $280M
FY17
ASH $6.0M
CBT $201M
FY18
ASH $84.0M
CBT $69.0M
FY19
ASH −$7.0M
CBT $139M
FY20
ASH $94.0M
CBT $177M
FY21
ASH $361M
CBT $62.0M
FY22
ASH $80.0M
CBT −$111M
FY23
ASH $124M
CBT $351M
FY24
ASH $325M
CBT $451M
FY25
ASH $36.0M
CBT $391M
ASH
CBT
Return on capital
FY16
ASH −0.8%
CBT 9.4%
FY17
ASH 0.8%
CBT 13.8%
FY18
ASH 1.8%
CBT 3.3%
FY19
ASH 1.3%
CBT 10.7%
FY20
ASH −7.7%
CBT 0.9%
FY21
ASH 4.3%
CBT 16.4%
FY22
ASH 7.0%
CBT 12.4%
FY23
ASH 4.4%
CBT 22.2%
FY24
ASH −0.5%
CBT 19.5%
FY25
ASH −17.5%
CBT 15.9%
ASH
CBT
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.