Element Solutions (ESI)
NYSEMaterialsChemicals - SpecialtySnapshot 2026-09-04
$36.01+2.94%
Close 2026-09-04 · 1-day change
NYSEMaterialsChemicals - SpecialtySnapshot 2026-09-04
QuarterlyIQ Insights · ESI
Price, fair value, and the multiples that frame it on the same time axis. Scroll over the price chart to zoom.
Daily closes. Earnings/event dots inline.
A consensus fair price across 11 valuation methods, at three horizons. As of 2026-09-04. Estimates are diagnostics, not price targets. Short-horizon estimates are close to coin-flips, so confidence is a method-agreement read, not a prediction.
Today's peer multiple on trailing earnings, with no growth credited. This is the headline read.
Adds projected growth, so it leans optimistic by design. Read it as upside context, not a base case.
We take the 12-month fair value above and grade our own number — how the market prices this name versus what we'd justify, and where the two diverge.
At $36 ESI trades at 22× p/e, in line with its 17× p/e peer median — but our blended $28 fair value sits below the price. We hold it with low confidence: our number sits well below the analyst range. Analysts target $45–$55. Note: our $28 fair value sits below the entire analyst range ($45–$55). The flat-multiple read looks rich, but earnings are inflecting up — trailing growth is accelerating and forward estimates confirm — so we've softened our read rather than brand an accelerating name expensive. Even valued only for durable growth at sustainable margins, it's worth about $42 — above today's price, so the premium reflects that growth case, not pure multiple expansion. Not investment advice.
One valuation read at a 12-month horizon, plus how price compares to peers and the company's own history.
Score 100 = cheapest in the cohort, 0 = richest. Bars are filled left-to-right based on the peer-relative score (or PEG/self-history where shown).
Each method's implied share price per horizon. Provisional rows use a projected (historical-CAGR) growth input rather than analyst or management guidance.
| Method | Horizon | Est. price | Multiple | Per-share input | EPS source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| analyst target | 12M | $48.00 | — | — | Analyst | high |
| dcf fcfe | 12M | $10.55 | — | — | Hist. CAGR | high |
| graham number | 12M | $20.81 | — | — | TTM | high |
| Peer EV/EBITDA | 12M | $9.76 | 10.0 | 1.76 | TTM | high |
| Peer P/FCF |
A “consensus-then vs. actual-now” overlay is on the way — what our valuation estimate said on a past date versus where the price actually landed.
Not investment advice. Scores describe historical and current data; they are not forecasts of future returns. Consult a licensed advisor before making investment decisions.
A long-thesis check that carries the widest uncertainty of the three horizons.
Around the middle on quality vs scored peers
A second lens on the 12-month fair value: for companies that score high on measured quality (profitability, balance-sheet safety, earnings stability), this read trusts more of today's profit margins instead of averaging them toward their multi-year history the way the headline number does. Shown alongside the fair value above, not in place of it. A diagnostic, not a price target or a buy/sell signal.
Direction of the business behind the multiple. Bands are backend reads; trailing-12-month basis.
$45.00 – $55.00 (median $48.00) · 7 analysts · as of 2026-09-02
Only weak execution quality — not the full expensive x weak x turbulent stack. Regime (Mania) does not concentrate fragility.
For similar setups historically (n=20,154): about 33% saw a 20%+ drawdown, and roughly 76% of those did not recover within the year. These are historical base rates for the cohort, not a forecast of this stock.
At today's price you pay about 34% over what the business is worth with no growth; closing that gap needs roughly 2.0 years of the forecast growth to come through. These describe the expectations embedded in the price, not a forecast of the move. Reverse-DCF base: $1.58/sh owner earnings.
Looks more expensive than peers.
Around its own typical valuation.
Trailing four: 2025-Q2, 2025-Q3, 2026-Q1, 2026-Q2
Direction of the business behind the multiple. Bands are backend reads; trailing-12-month basis.
| 12M |
| $11.37 |
| 21.1 |
| 0.54 |
| TTM |
| high |
| Peer P/E | 12M | $28.81 | 17.4 | 1.66 | TTM | high |
| Peer P/S | 12M | $18.71 | 1.4 | 12.92 | TTM | high |
| PEG | 12M | $40.49 | 24.4 | 1.66 | TTM | high |
| residual income | 12M | $13.75 | — | — | TTM | high |
| Own P/E history | 12M | $36.73 | 22.1 | 1.66 | TTM | high |
| triangulated | 12M | $29.44 | 17.4 | 1.70 | Triangulated | high |
| Peer P/FCF | 3Y | $4.22 | 21.1 | 0.20 | Hist. CAGR(prov.) | medium |
| Peer P/E | 3Y | $46.61 | 17.4 | 2.69 | Analyst | medium |
| Peer P/S | 3Y | $30.20 | 1.4 | 20.84 | Analyst | medium |
| PEG | 3Y | $65.52 | 24.4 | 2.69 | Analyst | medium |
| Own P/E history | 3Y | $59.43 | 22.1 | 2.69 | Analyst | medium |
| Peer P/E | 5Y | $61.65 | 17.4 | 3.55 | Analyst | high |
| Peer P/S | 5Y | $39.94 | 1.4 | 27.56 | Analyst | high |
| PEG | 5Y | $86.65 | 24.4 | 3.55 | Analyst | high |
| Own P/E history | 5Y | $78.59 | 22.1 | 3.55 | Analyst | high |