CluenexElement Solutions ESI
Element Solutions scores weak on business quality (4.5 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Element Solutions does
Element Solutions provides specialty chemical products and technical services, selling high-end formulation solutions to manufacturers in the electronics and industrial sectors who rely on its proprietary chemical processes.
- What it does best
Element Solutions delivers a top-quartile gross margin of 38.4%, outperforming peers like IFF at 37.5% and DD at 37.1% through high-value specialty formulations that protect pricing power.
- The main risk
Mizuho recently lowered its price target to $42 while maintaining a neutral rating, reflecting ongoing market skepticism around demand recovery and earnings momentum.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin sits at 12.6% with a net margin of 5.7%, yielding an ROE of 6.6%. The company shows modest profitability as it scales across industrial markets.
The company maintains a middle-of-the-pack sector rank in operating margin at 49th percentile, backed by specialized chemical formulations that lock in electronics manufacturers.
Revenue growth registers at 3.8% with $3.15B in trailing revenue, showing sluggish top-line progression compared to historical multi-year figures.
Debt stands at $1.6B against $626M in cash, supported by an interest coverage ratio of 5.5x. Free cash flow reached $138M, showing a softer profile than prior years.
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 ESI
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
Element Solutions scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.5 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.
Oct 21, 2026, after the close.
See ESI today
- Today's verdict on ESI, 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, “Element Solutions (ESI)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/esi/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.