CluenexLyondellBasell LYB
LyondellBasell scores weak on business quality (2.9 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What LyondellBasell does
LyondellBasell converts hydrocarbons into basic chemicals and plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene, selling them to manufacturers who make everyday goods. The company is trying to manage high debt and a weak cycle while defending its massive dividend payout.
- What it does best
LyondellBasell operates massive global scale in polymer manufacturing, but its gross margin sits at 12.8% because commodity chemicals offer little pricing power. Scale alone cannot protect margins when cyclical demand drops.
- The main risk
Dividends are consuming cash that the business needs. Free cash flow dropped to $1.58B while dividend payments reached $1.33B, forcing management to sacrifice future growth to protect payouts in a down cycle.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin sits at 7.3% and net margin is negative 1.1%, leading to a negative 3.3% ROE. This business loses operating leverage during down cycles as fixed plant costs weigh on earnings.
The company lacks a meaningful moat, sitting in the bottom decile for revenue growth with a gross margin rank in the 8th percentile. Rivals easily replicate commodity plastic production.
Revenue contracted 9.7% to $31.2B, extending a multi-year decline from the 2022 peak of $50.5B as end-market demand and pricing power fade.
Net debt sits at $9.5B against an interest coverage of 4.2x, leaving the balance sheet strained. Free cash flow dropped to $1.58B, and the financial foundation is growing softer.
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 LYB
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
LyondellBasell scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (2.9 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat weak, 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 30, 2026, before the open.
See LYB today
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “LyondellBasell (LYB)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/lyb/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.