Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio -3.6x · EV/EBITDA N/A · ROE -35.4%. (1996–2025 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $3.1B | $2.2B | $4.3B | $4.4B | $5.3B | $5.4B | $4.3B | $4.9B | $5.4B | $4.1B | $3.6B |
| Enterprise Value | $4.4B | $3.6B | $5.5B | $5.5B | $6.1B | $7.3B | $5.9B | $6.3B | $7.6B | $6.3B | $5.1B |
| P/E Ratio → | -3.63 | — | 25.73 | 24.68 | 5.79 | 24.35 | — | 9.60 | 47.11 | 4061.49 | — |
| P/S Ratio | 1.67 | 1.21 | 2.06 | 2.01 | 2.22 | 2.58 | 2.15 | 2.26 | 2.07 | 1.76 | 1.19 |
| P/B Ratio | 1.61 | 1.16 | 1.52 | 1.42 | 1.65 | 1.98 | 1.42 | 1.36 | 1.58 | 1.19 | 1.13 |
| P/FCF | — | — | 15.87 | 60.42 | — | 11.95 | 61.80 | 55.79 | 38.34 | 24.42 | 8.02 |
| P/OCF | 32.47 | 23.45 | 10.58 | 18.15 | — | 9.71 | 21.31 | 20.14 | 18.07 | 10.59 | 5.29 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 1.95 | 2.61 | 2.49 | 2.53 | 3.47 | 2.91 | 2.93 | 2.94 | 2.73 | 1.68 |
| EV / EBITDA | — | — | 22.24 | 13.14 | 10.55 | 16.81 | — | 17.33 | 20.06 | 17.97 | 19.93 |
| EV / EBIT | — | — | 190.22 | 25.48 | 22.59 | 35.93 | — | 59.90 | 59.86 | 41.77 | — |
| EV / FCF | — | — | 20.13 | 74.68 | — | 16.11 | 83.73 | 72.29 | 54.30 | 38.00 | 11.32 |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 30.1% | 30.1% | 29.2% | 30.5% | 34.7% | 31.7% | 29.7% | 30.3% | 33.3% | 31.6% | 29.4% |
| Operating Margin | -42.5% | -42.5% | -1.2% | 7.9% | 13.9% | 9.1% | -22.9% | 4.0% | 3.9% | 2.1% | -1.7% |
| Net Profit Margin | -46.3% | -46.3% | 8.0% | 8.1% | 38.8% | 10.4% | -25.2% | 23.5% | 4.4% | 0.0% | -1.0% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | -35.4% | -35.4% | 5.7% | 5.6% | 31.0% | 7.6% | -15.4% | 14.5% | 3.3% | 0.0% | -0.9% |
| ROA | -16.5% | -16.5% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 14.5% | 3.3% | -7.2% | 6.5% | 1.4% | 0.0% | -0.3% |
| ROIC | -15.9% | -15.9% | -0.5% | 3.2% | 5.8% | 3.1% | -7.2% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 0.7% | -0.7% |
| ROCE | -16.6% | -16.6% | -0.5% | 3.1% | 5.9% | 3.3% | -7.3% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 0.6% | -0.6% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 0.83 | 0.83 | 0.51 | 0.47 | 0.43 | 0.76 | 0.66 | 0.47 | 0.74 | 0.83 | 0.79 |
| Debt / EBITDA | — | — | 5.92 | 3.51 | 2.41 | 4.82 | — | 4.59 | 6.67 | 8.03 | 9.82 |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | 0.71 | 0.41 | 0.34 | 0.23 | 0.69 | 0.51 | 0.40 | 0.66 | 0.66 | 0.47 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | — | — | 4.71 | 2.51 | 1.28 | 4.34 | — | 3.95 | 5.90 | 6.42 | 5.82 |
| Debt / FCF | — | — | 4.26 | 14.26 | — | 4.16 | 21.93 | 16.49 | 15.96 | 13.57 | 3.31 |
| Interest Coverage | -11.84 | -11.84 | 0.55 | 3.75 | 4.06 | 2.79 | -5.37 | 0.92 | 1.09 | 0.67 | -0.68 |
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 2.85 | 2.85 | 2.44 | 3.30 | 3.20 | 1.84 | 1.90 | 1.89 | 1.59 | 1.97 | 2.33 |
| Quick Ratio | 1.51 | 1.51 | 1.33 | 1.93 | 2.06 | 1.33 | 1.28 | 1.10 | 0.98 | 1.31 | 1.90 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.51 | 0.51 | 0.61 | 0.91 | 1.17 | 0.22 | 0.56 | 0.31 | 0.27 | 0.58 | 0.82 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.40 | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.38 | 0.32 | 0.29 | 0.30 | 0.31 | 0.27 | 0.30 |
| Inventory Turnover | 2.24 | 2.24 | 2.74 | 2.43 | 2.48 | 3.05 | 2.80 | 2.51 | 2.60 | 2.49 | 3.96 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | 48.43 | 41.98 | 56.31 | 61.37 | 63.80 | 78.94 | 81.73 | 96.01 | 96.74 | 61.42 |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 2.5% | 3.4% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 2.7% |
| Payout Ratio | — | — | 46.2% | 42.7% | 7.6% | 31.8% | — | 12.7% | 52.6% | 7700.0% | — |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | — | — | 3.9% | 4.1% | 17.3% | 4.1% | — | 10.4% | 2.1% | 0.0% | — |
| FCF Yield | — | — | 6.3% | 1.7% | — | 8.4% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 4.1% | 12.5% |
| Buyback Yield | 3.3% | 4.5% | 8.7% | 6.8% | 3.8% | 8.3% | 0.0% | 4.1% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 14.0% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 5.8% | 8.0% | 10.5% | 8.5% | 5.1% | 9.6% | 1.5% | 5.4% | 1.3% | 2.3% | 16.7% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $46M | $50M | $54M | $56M | $61M | $61M | $63M | $64M | $62M | $63M |
Legacy liability impairment volatility
According to current market data, Ashland trades at a forward P/E of 17.77, which appears to reflect a conglomerate discount relative to pure-play life science peers, suggesting investors remain skeptical of the company's ability to fully shed its legacy commodity-exposed earnings volatility following recent divestitures.
The valuation multiple suggests that the market is pricing in a transition phase rather than the steady-state margins of a specialty ingredients provider. Investors should monitor whether the forward P/E compresses as the company successfully pivots its portfolio toward higher-margin, less cyclical life science applications.
Based on reported financial statements, ROIC has fluctuated significantly, reaching a low of -15.1% in 2025Q3, which indicates that the company's capital allocation is currently being distorted by non-recurring charges rather than reflecting the underlying compounding potential of its core specialty chemical assets.
The erratic ROIC trend warrants further investigation into whether the company's recent divestitures have truly improved the quality of its invested capital. Until the impact of legacy liabilities is fully isolated, the current return metrics may fail to capture the true economic value generated by the remaining business units.
As indicated by quarterly filings, the cash conversion cycle has shown extreme variance, peaking at 164 days in 2026Q1, which suggests that management is struggling to optimize inventory levels and receivables in the wake of significant portfolio pruning and shifting end-market demand patterns.
The high inventory days, which reached 170 in 2026Q1, imply that the company may be holding excess stock to mitigate supply chain risks or as a result of slowing demand in the construction-linked additives segment. This inefficiency ties up capital that could otherwise be deployed toward higher-growth opportunities.
Based on recent balance sheet data, the debt-to-equity ratio has been reduced to 0.79 as of 2026Q2, demonstrating that management has successfully utilized divestiture proceeds to strengthen the balance sheet and provide a buffer against the volatility inherent in its remaining chemical processing operations.
This improved leverage profile appears to provide the company with substantial dry powder for future bolt-on acquisitions in the life sciences space. However, investors should monitor whether this low leverage is maintained or if management intends to re-lever the balance sheet to accelerate inorganic growth.
The P/E ratio is frequently misapplied to Ashland's business model because it fails to account for the massive, non-recurring legacy legal and environmental charges that periodically distort net income, making EV/EBITDA a more reliable metric for assessing the company's true operational performance and cash-generating capacity.
Using P/E in this context obscures the underlying profitability of the core specialty ingredients business by focusing on accounting noise rather than operational cash flow. Analysts should prioritize adjusted EBITDA metrics to better understand the company's competitive positioning and valuation relative to its specialty chemical peers.
Includes 30+ ratios · 30 years · Updated daily
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ASH stock.
Ashland Inc.'s current P/E ratio is -3.6x. The historical average is 15.4x.
Ashland Inc.'s return on equity (ROE) is -35.4%. The historical average is 8.2%.
Based on historical data, Ashland Inc. is trading at a P/E of -3.6x. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
Ashland Inc.'s current dividend yield is 2.48%.
Ashland Inc. has 30.1% gross margin and -42.5% operating margin.