Ashland Inc. (ASH) vs WD-40 Company (WDFC)
Ashland Inc. and WD-40 Company are both Specialty Chemicals companies. Ashland Inc. is the larger, with a market value of $3.2B against $2.7B — 1.2× the size. WD-40 Company trades at the lower P/E: 30.1× against 60.6×. WD-40 Company grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 10.2% against −1.39%. WD-40 Company has the higher net margin (13.2% vs 2.77%) and the higher return on invested capital (23.0% vs 3.05%). Both pay a dividend; Ashland Inc. yields more (1.77% vs 1.27%). Across the 23 metrics below, WD-40 Company leads on 14 and Ashland Inc. on 9.
Valuation
Profitability
| Metric | ASH | WDFC | Specialty Chemicals median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 31.54% | 55.82% | 29.23% |
| Operating margin | 7.44% | 17.48% | 3.63% |
| Net margin | 2.77% | 13.19% | 2.89% |
| Free cash flow margin | 14.06% | 11.88% | 3.78% |
| Return on equity | 0.00% | 33.22% | 3.62% |
| Return on assets | 1.11% | 18.62% | 0.35% |
| Return on invested capital | 3.05% | 23.01% | 2.75% |
Growth
Health
Dividend
Size
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