One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$8.55 our estimate vs market $10.62
Wall Street consensus: $15.17 (77.3% higher than our fair-value estimate)
24% above our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
Ecovyst Inc.
ECVT · NYQ · Basic Materials · Specialty Chemicals
Current price
$10.62
52-week range
$7.41 - $15.09
Market cap
$1.16B
Balance sheet
Stretched
2.29x Stretched
Net debt $456.77M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
2 Rewards
2 Risks
2 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 20.1% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
- Risk Stock trades 177.3% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 15.4% to 8.8% over 3 years.
What this company does
Ecovyst Inc.
Ecovyst is a chemical company that produces and recycles sulfuric acid, a key ingredient used by oil refineries to make cleaner gasoline. They manage the entire supply chain (the process of making and delivering the acid) for their customers, which means their success is often tied to the demand for fuel and other industrial goods.
How the company got here
Ecovyst's roots go back to 1831, but its modern form was shaped by a major change in 2021. At that time, the company, then known as PQ Group Holdings Inc., sold off a large part of its business called Performance Chemicals. Following the sale, it changed its name to Ecovyst to signal a new direction. This move allowed the company to focus more on specialized products that help other industries become more environmentally friendly.
What it actually does
Ecovyst is a specialty chemical company, which means it makes specific chemical products that are essential for other businesses to make their own products. You won't find Ecovyst's name on a store shelf, but their products are critical behind the scenes. They specialize in sulfuric acid, a widely used chemical, and related products. Their offerings help oil refineries produce cleaner gasoline, assist mining companies in extracting metals needed for electronics and electric vehicles, and are used in water treatment and other industrial applications.
Ecoservices
This is the company's core business, centered on sulfuric acid. A big part of what they do is recycling, or 'regenerating,' used sulfuric acid for oil refineries, which use it to make high-octane, cleaner-burning gasoline. This recycling service is a steady, repeat business. Ecoservices also sells new, or 'virgin,' sulfuric acid to customers in industries like mining for metals such as copper, producing car batteries, and treating water. This segment forms the foundation of the company's operations, primarily in North America.
Calabrian
This is a newer part of the company, added through an acquisition (the process of one company buying another). The Calabrian business produces sulfur dioxide and related products. These are highly pure chemicals used in essential applications like water treatment to make it safe for drinking, in food preservation, and by other specialty industries. Adding this business allows Ecovyst to broaden its expertise in sulfur-based chemicals and serve a wider range of customers.
What management is betting on now
Management's strategy is focused on what they call "Growing and Greening." They are concentrating on providing essential sulfur-based products and services that support long-term sustainable trends. This includes helping to produce cleaner fuels, enabling the mining of copper for electric vehicles and data centers, and providing chemicals for clean water. By selling its catalyst business and acquiring Calabrian, the company is betting on becoming a more focused leader in the North American sulfur industry.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$44.86M
FY2024 Q4
$26.27M
FY2025 Q1
$-14.00M
FY2025 Q2
$7.76M
FY2025 Q3
$53.18M
FY2025 Q4
$22.94M
FY2026 Q1
$2.80M
FY2026 Q2
$3.68M
Revenue
$249.96M
Net income
$7.87M
Diluted EPS
0.07
Operating cash flow
$34.35M
Free cash flow
$3.68M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$214.95M
Net income
$4.31M
Diluted EPS
0.04
Operating cash flow
$16.94M
Free cash flow
$2.80M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$199.43M
Net income
$5.74M
Diluted EPS
0.05
Operating cash flow
$41.76M
Free cash flow
$22.94M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$204.91M
Net income
$-79.25M
Diluted EPS
-0.69
Operating cash flow
$55.25M
Free cash flow
$53.18M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$200.13M
Net income
$5.99M
Diluted EPS
0.05
Operating cash flow
$33.04M
Free cash flow
$7.76M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$162.20M
Net income
$-3.60M
Diluted EPS
-0.03
Operating cash flow
$10.26M
Free cash flow
$-14.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$148.87M
Net income
$-30.42M
Diluted EPS
-0.26
Operating cash flow
$43.49M
Free cash flow
$26.27M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$179.18M
Net income
$14.25M
Diluted EPS
0.12
Operating cash flow
$59.94M
Free cash flow
$44.86M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $8.55 vs current price $10.62
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $15.17 (77.3% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $8.55 a share — about 19.5% away from today's price of $10.62, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $456.8M. Interest coverage 2.3x.
Net debt
$456.77M
Interest coverage
2.29x
Ecovyst Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 2.3 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
ECVT
BASELINE
Ecovyst Inc.
Total debt $546.44M Interest coverage 2.29x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $1.24B Interest coverage 3.40x +48% vs ECVT Carries about 1.5x more debt cushion than ECVT.
Total debt $923.81M Interest coverage 4.02x +75% vs ECVT Carries about 1.8x more debt cushion than ECVT.
Total debt $47.90M Interest coverage 142.09x +6,097% vs ECVT Carries about 62.0x more debt cushion than ECVT.
What you should know
The case for and against ECVT
2 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 20.1% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 177.3% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Operating margin compressed from 15.4% to 8.8% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
46.20x
Forward P/E
12.12x
P/B
1.98x
P/S
1.34x
EV/EBITDA
8.81x
PEG ratio
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Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
21.3%
Operating margin
8.8%
Net margin
-7.1%
ROE
4.0%
ROA
3.7%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.93x
Current ratio
1.70x
Quick ratio
1.32x
Total debt
$546.44M
Total cash
$89.67M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$869.25M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
4.3%
EPS TTM
0.23
EPS 5Y CAGR
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Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$148.30M
Free CF TTM
$69.89M
FCF margin
8.0%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
—
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
2021-08-11