Innospec vs Ingevity
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Innospec and Ingevity side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Innospec is the larger business, with $1.8B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.2B for Ingevity, about 1.5 times as much.
- Ingevity grew revenue faster (−2.7%, against −3.7%).
- Ingevity kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (35.9% operating margin, against 7.3%).
- Ingevity turned more of its sales into free cash flow (23.4% FCF margin, against 5.0%).
- Ingevity earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (24.6%, against 11.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Ingevity’s earnings: a P/E of 46.4x against 20.1x for Innospec.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Innospec
IOSP
5/11
5-year growthNet marginReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Ingevity
NGVT
5/11
Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginFCF marginReturn on capital
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | IOSP FY25 | NGVT FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $2.4B | $2.5B |
| Revenue | $1.8B | $1.2B |
| Free cash flow | $88.0M | $274M |
| Net income | $117M | −$167M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −3.7% | −2.7% |
| 5-year growth | 8.3% | −0.8% |
| Share count change | −0.5% | −0.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 27.7% | 39.5% |
| Operating margin | 7.3% | 35.9% |
| Net margin | 6.6% | −14.3% |
| FCF margin | 5.0% | 23.4% |
| Return on capital | 11.1% | 24.6% |
| Return on equity | 9.2% | −148.6% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$293M | $1.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −1.7x | 2.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $66.3M | $56.3M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 20.1x | 46.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
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.