Innospec vs Stepan
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The short version
- Stepan is the larger business, with $2.3B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.8B for Innospec.
- Stepan grew revenue faster (7.0%, against −3.7%).
- Innospec kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (7.3% operating margin, against 3.4%).
- Innospec turned more of its sales into free cash flow (5.0% FCF margin, against 1.1%).
- Innospec earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.1%, against 3.6%).
| Latest fiscal year | IOSP · FY25 | SCL · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $2.4B | $1.5B |
| Revenue | $1.8B | $2.3B |
| Free cash flow | $88.0M | $25.4M |
| Net income | $117M | $46.9M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −3.7% | 7.0% |
| 5-year growth | 8.3% | 4.5% |
| Share count change | −0.5% | −0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 27.7% | 11.6% |
| Operating margin | 7.3% | 3.4% |
| Net margin | 6.6% | 2.0% |
| FCF margin | 5.0% | 1.1% |
| Return on capital | 11.1% | 3.6% |
| Return on equity | 9.2% | 3.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$293M | $494M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −1.7x | 2.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $66.3M | $35.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 20.1x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
IOSP $883M
SCL $1.8B
FY17
IOSP $1.3B
SCL $1.9B
FY18
IOSP $1.5B
SCL $2.0B
FY19
IOSP $1.5B
SCL $1.9B
FY20
IOSP $1.2B
SCL $1.9B
FY21
IOSP $1.5B
SCL $2.3B
FY22
IOSP $2.0B
SCL $2.8B
FY23
IOSP $1.9B
SCL $2.3B
FY24
IOSP $1.8B
SCL $2.2B
FY25
IOSP $1.8B
SCL $2.3B
IOSP
SCL
Operating margin
FY16
IOSP 11.1%
SCL 7.2%
FY17
IOSP 9.6%
SCL 8.0%
FY18
IOSP 9.0%
SCL 7.5%
FY19
IOSP 9.9%
SCL 6.9%
FY20
IOSP 2.8%
SCL 9.2%
FY21
IOSP 8.9%
SCL 7.3%
FY22
IOSP 9.5%
SCL 7.5%
FY23
IOSP 8.3%
SCL 2.5%
FY24
IOSP 9.6%
SCL 3.2%
FY25
IOSP 7.3%
SCL 3.4%
IOSP
SCL
Free cash flow
FY16
IOSP $89.0M
SCL $109M
FY17
IOSP $59.4M
SCL $120M
FY18
IOSP $76.0M
SCL $84.5M
FY19
IOSP $132M
SCL $113M
FY20
IOSP $116M
SCL $109M
FY21
IOSP $54.1M
SCL −$122M
FY22
IOSP $42.1M
SCL −$141M
FY23
IOSP $145M
SCL −$85.5M
FY24
IOSP $143M
SCL $39.3M
FY25
IOSP $88.0M
SCL $25.4M
IOSP
SCL
Return on capital
FY16
IOSP 10.9%
SCL 13.3%
FY17
IOSP 7.2%
SCL 14.2%
FY18
IOSP 9.4%
SCL 15.6%
FY19
IOSP 12.3%
SCL 13.2%
FY20
IOSP 2.8%
SCL 15.6%
FY21
IOSP 10.6%
SCL 12.9%
FY22
IOSP 15.1%
SCL 11.3%
FY23
IOSP 14.0%
SCL 2.9%
FY24
IOSP 16.4%
SCL 3.4%
FY25
IOSP 11.1%
SCL 3.6%
IOSP
SCL
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.