CluenexAshland Global ASH
Ashland Global scores weak on business quality (3.3 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Ashland Global does
Ashland makes specialty additives and ingredients for paints, coatings, personal care, and pharma. Industrial customers pay for proprietary formulations that alter product texture and performance.
- What it does best
Ashland converts raw chemistry into high-margin functional ingredients that customers cannot easily swap out. Its gross margin sits at 33.3%, outperforming peer CE at 20.9% through specialized product formulation.
- The main risk
Revenue contraction threatens the core chemical lines as sales dropped 13.7% over the latest period. Demand softness risks eroding the operating margins required to service $1.4 billion of total debt.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin sits at 12.0% while free cash flow margin reaches an exceptional 78th percentile in its sector. Profitability is softening overall as net income drops to $52 million on $1.8 billion in revenue.
Specialized chemical formulations create moderate switching costs for industrial clients. Its gross margin sits in the 63rd percentile of its sector, reflecting decent pricing power on niche products.
Revenue is shrinking at a 13.7% annual rate, down from $2.1 billion in 2024 to $1.8 billion recently. The growth engine is stalling across its core segments as demand fades.
Total debt sits at $1.4 billion against $215 million in cash, leaving net debt at $1.2 billion. Interest coverage is thin at 3.6x, leaving little room for error while free cash flow hits $206 million.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on ASH
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Ashland Global scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.3 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Nov 2, 2026, after the close.
See ASH today
- Today's verdict on ASH, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Ashland Global (ASH)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/ash/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.