Chemicals valuation multiples
Worldwide, the median listed chemicals company was valued at 12.4x EBITDA and 22.4x normalised earnings at 30 September 2026. By region, the median was 9.6x in the United States, 9.5x in Europe, 7.2x in Japan and 15.6x in Emerging Asia.
Global 918 listed chemicals companies at 30 September 2026
median
median
median
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*Excludes companies with negative EBITDA. **Excludes companies with negative normalised earnings. ***Excludes companies with negative operating profit (EBIT). How the figures are built
| EV/EBITDA | P/E | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Companies | Median | Aggregate | Median | Aggregate |
| Global | 787 | 12.4x | 12.2x | 22.4x | 28.2x |
| United States | 52 | 9.6x | 13.0x | 19.7x | 27.9x |
| Europe | 60 | 9.5x | 11.8x | 21.7x | 31.6x |
| Japan | 114 | 7.2x | 8.9x | 16.0x | 18.4x |
| Emerging Asia | 540 | 15.6x | 16.0x | 26.9x | 37.8x |
Companies: those in the EV/EBITDA median. Median: the typical chemicals company. Aggregate: the industry as a whole, total value over total revenue, earnings or book value, with larger companies weighing more and loss-makers included. In the United States, Europe and Japan the larger companies trade on higher multiples than the typical one, so the aggregate sits above the median. n/m: not meaningful, or too few companies. How both are calculated
Valuation multiples by sector and region
What listed companies trade on worldwide, by region and sector, in ten pages. It may be shared and quoted with attribution to Siblis Research.
- Market multiples for eight regions: EV/EBITDA, P/E, EV/Sales, P/B
- 13 sectors by region: EV/EBITDA and P/E
- The most and least expensive industries
- Twelve quarters of history
| Multiple | Global | United States | Europe | Japan | Emerging Asia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV/EBITDAEnterprise value to EBITDA; share-based pay counted as an expense. The key multiple for chemicals companies. | 12.4x | 9.6x | 9.5x | 7.2x | 15.6x |
| P/ENormalised earnings: one-off items removed. | 22.4x | 19.7x | 21.7x | 16.0x | 26.9x |
| EV/EBITEnterprise value to operating profit, after depreciation. | 18.4x | 16.5x | 15.6x | 12.1x | 24.5x |
| P/BMarket value to book equity. | 1.9x | 1.6x | 2.0x | 1.0x | 2.1x |
| Ratio | Global | United States | Europe | Japan | Emerging Asia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | 13.2% | 16.3% | 15.3% | 14.1% | 12.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 5.5% | 6.4% | 7.2% | 7.0% | 4.7% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.8x | 2.6x | 1.4x | 0.0x | 0.5x |
| Capex to revenue | 5.7% | 5.1% | 4.8% | 6.3% | 5.9% |
Each ratio is the median of the companies that report the figure. Revenue growth compares the last twelve months with the twelve months before.
Global
- Linde plcUS
- Air Liquide SAFrance
- Sherwin-Williams CoUS
- Ecolab IncUS
- Shin-Etsu Chemical Co LtdJapan
of 918 companies
United States
- Linde plcUS
- Sherwin-Williams CoUS
- Ecolab IncUS
- Air Products & Chemicals IncUS
- PPG Industries IncUS
of 58 companies
Europe
- Air Liquide SAFrance
- Basf SEGermany
- Givaudan SASwitzerland
- Sika AGSwitzerland
- Novonesis (Novozymes) A/SDenmark
of 70 companies
Japan
- Shin-Etsu Chemical Co LtdJapan
- Resonac Holdings CorpJapan
- Nippon Paint Holdings Co LtdJapan
- Nippon Sanso Holdings CorpJapan
- Nitto Denko CorpJapan
of 116 companies
Emerging Asia
- Nan Ya Plastics CorpTaiwan
- Wanhua Chemical Group Co LtdChina
- Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Co LtdChina
- Asian Paints LtdIndia
- Rongsheng Petrochemical Co LtdChina
of 647 companies
Subscribers get the figures of all 918 companies at 30 Sep 2026, and of every company in earlier quarters, delisted ones included, with their key multiples, size band, last reporting date and data flags. Every median and aggregate can be checked company by company, and every company figure traced back to that company's own filings.
| Sub-industry | Covers | EV/EBITDA | P/E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commodity & Diversified Chemicals | Basic, petrochemical and diversified chemical producers | See plans | See plans |
| Specialty Chemicals | Performance and specialty chemicals, coatings, additives; industrial and medical gases | See plans | See plans |
| Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals | Fertilizers, crop protection, seeds | See plans | See plans |
Global medians, 30 Sep 2026
Global median EV/EBITDA, 12 quarters
Chemicals in the full data
The global median is a Chinese median
Of the 892 chemicals companies in the statistics, 628 are in Emerging Asia and 470 in China alone. Every company counts once in a median, so the global median of 12.4x EBITDA sits above the United States' 9.6x and Europe's 9.5x. For a Western target, the regional median is the better starting point.
The highest multiple on the lowest returns
Emerging Asia's median of 15.6x is the highest of the four regions, on a median return on invested capital of 4.7%, the lowest of the four. US companies earn 6.4%, European ones 7.2% and Japanese ones 7.0%.
Japan: the lowest multiple and the lowest price to book
Japanese chemicals companies trade at a median 7.2x EBITDA and 1.0x book value, the lowest of the four regions on both. Their median net debt is 0.0x EBITDA.
Moving in opposite directions
The US median has fallen from 10.7x in Q4 2023 to 9.6x; Europe's has risen from 8.5x to 9.5x. A commodity producer and a specialty or coatings company are both in this industry, and they are valued far apart.
What EV/EBITDA multiple do chemicals companies trade at?
The median listed chemicals company traded at 12.4x EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) at 30 September 2026, across 787 companies above USD 100m; the aggregate was 12.2x. United States 9.6x, Europe 9.5x, Japan 7.2x, Emerging Asia 15.6x.
What is the median P/E of chemicals companies?
22.4x at 30 September 2026, across 597 companies; the aggregate was 28.2x.
Should a valuation use the median or the aggregate?
The median, with the 25th and 75th percentiles of a peer group close to the target in sub-industry and size. The aggregate describes the industry as an investor holding all of it would see it, and it is pulled towards the largest companies.
Do these figures include private chemicals companies?
No. They cover listed companies with a market value above USD 100m. Data for US companies of USD 25–100m is available to subscribers as a separate universe.
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Companies with a market value above USD 100m whose main business is commodity, specialty and agricultural chemicals, industrial gases and coatings, listed on the largest stock markets in every region. Delisted companies are included for the dates they were listed, so past figures carry no survivorship bias.
Financial statements come from official filing databases where they exist, such as SEC EDGAR in the United States and EDINET in Japan, and otherwise from the companies' own published reports.
918 chemicals companies at 30 September 2026. The number changes every quarter as companies list, delist or change industry. Companies with accounts more than about nine months old, and holding companies whose results are mainly revaluations of their investments, are left out.
The typical company: each counts once, from at least five values. A company with negative EBITDA, operating profit or normalised earnings is left out of the median of that multiple, as are multiples above 50x for EV/Sales or 100x for earnings multiples. So each median has its own number of companies.
The industry as a whole: total value over total revenue or earnings in US dollars, each company weighted by its free float, loss-makers included. Where one company is more than half the industry's value, the aggregate mostly describes that company; use the median.
Each figure uses only the financial statements public on the valuation date, over the last twelve months. Later restatements never change it.
Market value plus debt, preferred equity and minority interests, less cash. Lease liabilities are included on the IFRS 16 basis.
Restructuring, deal and litigation costs are added back; share-based pay stays an expense. Adjusted EBITDA adds share-based pay back as well.
Net earnings with one-off items removed, such as impairments, restructuring costs and disposal gains. The P/E uses these, never reported earnings.
Cite this page
Siblis Research (2026). Chemicals Valuation Multiples [Data set]. Valuation date 30 September 2026. siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/chemicals/
Charts on this page may be reproduced with attribution to Siblis Research and a link to this page.
@misc{siblis_chemicals_multiples,
title = {Chemicals Valuation Multiples},
author = {{Siblis Research}},
year = {2026},
note = {Valuation date 30 September 2026},
url = {https://siblisresearch.com/valuation-multiples-by-industry/chemicals/}
}