Hello folks,
Quite a tight and exciting affair.
$ESI (+2,24%) vs. $ECVT (-0,82%)
🏆 GAME 3 - Element Solutions vs. Ecovyst
📊 1st category duel (2027-2028)
1️⃣ Sales growth - Advantage: Element Solutions
- ESI: 7,34 % → 4,32 %
- Ecovyst: 6,7 % → 7,19 % Analysis: ESI is stronger in 2027, Ecovyst in 2028. Slight plus for ESI due to higher starting level.
Point: ESI (1:0)
2️⃣ Profit growth - Advantage: Element Solutions
- ESI: 18,41 % → 9,15 %
- Ecovyst: 19 % → 12,86 % Analysis: Both strong, but ESI delivers more consistently and with less volatility.
Point: ESI (2:0)
3️⃣ EBIT margin - clear advantage: Element Solutions
- ESI: 20,82 % → 21,45 %
- Ecovyst: 13,68 % → 14,4 % Analysis: ESI is in a different league. Almost +7 percentage points more margin.
Point: ESI (3:0)
4️⃣ ROE - Advantage: Element Solutions (close)
- ESI: 15,82 % → 17,34 %
- Ecovyst: 13,77 % → 17,72 % Analysis: Ecovyst is minimally ahead in 2028, but ESI is more stable and significantly stronger in 2027.
Point: ESI (4:0)
5️⃣ FCF yield - clear advantage: Ecovyst
- ESI: 3,77 % → 3,90 %
- Ecovyst: 4,77 % → 5,14 % Analysis: Ecovyst delivers the better cash flow return for investors.
Point: Ecovyst (4:1)
6️⃣ Leverage ratio - Advantage: Ecovyst
- ESI: 1.76x → 1.70x
- Ecovyst: 0.87x → 1.03x Analysis: Ecovyst is significantly lighter on the balance sheet side.
Point: Ecovyst (4:2)
7️⃣ P/E ratio - Advantage: Ecovyst
- ESI: 20,16 → 18,02
- Ecovyst: 18,20 → 15,03 Analysis: Ecovyst is valued more favorably.
Point: Ecovyst (4:3)
8️⃣ PEG - clear advantage: Ecovyst
- ESI: 1,36 → 1,58
- Ecovyst: 1,09 → 0,90 Analysis: Ecovyst offers more growth per valuation euro.
Point: Ecovyst (4:4)
🧮 Intermediate score after 8 categories: 4 : 4
Both deliver an extremely even match. Now the weighting of the categories:
- Profitability (EBIT margin, ROE) → very important
- Valuation (P/E ratio, PEG) → important
- Growth → medium
- Balance sheet & FCF → medium
Profitability outweighs valuation → Advantage ESI.
🏆 Final score: 6 : 4 for ELEMENT SOLUTIONS
🧠 JUAN-FAZIT (short, clear, investor-focused)
"Element Solutions plays like a premium player: high margins, strong ROE, clean growth structure. Ecovyst is the value underdog with better PEG and strong cash flow, but profitability is not enough to beat ESI. Bottom line, quality wins against valuation - ESI takes game 3."
A close, high-quality match - but ESI wins due to higher profitability and better returns on capital.
I use your usual scoring system:
- 🟢 green = better
- 🔴 red = weaker
- ⚪ neutral / very close
🏆 Heatmap conclusion
- Element Solutions clearly dominates in Quality & Profitability (4× green).
- Ecovyst wins the value side (4× green).
- The match tips in favor of ESIbecause profitability > valuation.
