SCL
BuyHot AirAI neutralStepan Company · Basic Materials · United States · $1.5B cap · $10.0M/day traded
$63.91 -0.6% · close 23 Oct · scored 24 Oct
Hot Air: Rising on momentum alone: weak business, rich price.
As of 24 Oct 2026, MoatMap's StockRank for Stepan Company (SCL) is 77/100, ranked against 24,000+ stocks in 35 markets (Quality 44, Value 50, Momentum 79, each scored against its sector).
Does StockRank work? Each month we publish how every decile did, whichever way it went. See the record →
Stepan makes surfactants and specialty chemicals for cleaning products and personal care, plus polyols for insulation. Second-quarter EBITDA grew strongly after a period of weak volumes, and its US Gulf Coast production may benefit from cheap feedstock relative to European rivals. It remains a capital-intensive chemical producer with low returns on capital in recent years, and the recovery is still early.
ABOUT STEPAN COMPANY
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Stepan Company manufactures specialty and intermediate chemicals that are critical ingredients in various consumer and industrial products, including surfactants, polymers, and phthalic anhydride. The company's competitive moat is built on its proprietary formulations, technical expertise, and deep customer relationships in niche chemical markets. Stepan serves as a vital supplier to diverse industries such as detergents, personal care, and building materials, offering essential components for their finished products.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY (USD)
| Year | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | CAGR | TTM | 2026E | 2027E | Fwd CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2.8B | 2.3B | 2.2B | 2.3B | -5.6% | 2.4B | 2.5B | 2.7B | 7.2% |
| EPS | 6.46 | 1.77 | 2.21 | 2.05 | -31.8% | — | 3.03 | — | 47.8% |
| Shares | 22.2M | 22.4M | 22.5M | 22.6M | +1.8% | 22.7M | — | — | — |
| Debt | 637.7M | 712.2M | 682.8M | 676.0M | 2.0% | 707.3M | — | — | — |
| Equity | 1.2B | 1.2B | 1.2B | 1.2B | 2.2% | — | — | — | — |
| Op CF | 160.8M | 174.9M | 162.1M | 147.9M | -2.7% | 155.0M | — | — | — |
| Inv CF | -308.1M | -258.7M | -116.9M | -89.0M | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fin CF | 166.2M | 33.3M | -64.5M | -35.4M | — | — | — | — | — |
Above its 200-day average and 4% below its 52-week high.
Calmer than 60% of stocks we rank over the past year (36% a year).
How this is worked out
StockRank judges the business. The price check reads only the chart: it is the price side of the Momentum score, in words.
The rules: Still falling is a new 52-week low in the last two weeks, at least 25% below the high. Finding a floor is no new low since. Turning up is 20 or more trading days without a new low, at least 10% off it, and back above a rising 50-day average. In an uptrend is above the 200-day average and within 15% of the high.
In 2,112 US drawdowns since 2001, buying while the price was still falling was followed by a further 20% drop 42% of the time. Waiting for a turn like this one cut that to 33%, at about 7% higher prices and with no better returns. Part of that cut is simply not buying: 13% of falls never turned, and waiting kept those out. Among turns that were bought, 38% still fell another 20%, and 33% of turns were followed by a new low within six months. The benefit was largest in crashes such as 2008 and 2020.
What it measures: day-to-day price moves over the past year, as a yearly figure, ranked against every stock we cover. Very calm under 20% a year, Calm 20 to 30%, Average 30 to 40%, Bumpy 40 to 55%, Very bumpy above that.
What we found: across about 13,500 stocks in 34 markets (2002 to 2025), past swings were a good guide to the next year's, and bumpier stocks fell further. How much further changed too much between eras to put a number on it.
Calm is not safe: a calm stock can still slide steadily.
Rules fixed before any data was fetched. Describes the chart, not a recommendation.
SCORE BREAKDOWN
FUNDAMENTALS
SECTOR PEERS
Closest peers in Basic Materials, ranked by industry match, size, and score similarity. Cross-listings of SCL are excluded.
| Ticker | Company | Mkt Cap | StockRank | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCL | Stepan Company(you) | $1.5B | 77 | Buy |
| ODC | Oil-Dri Corporation of America | $1.1B | 78 | Buy |
| KOP | Koppers Holdings Inc. | $760M | 79 | Buy |
| KRO | Kronos Worldwide, Inc. | $900M | 70 | Buy |
| NGVT | Ingevity Corporation | $2.4B | 69 | Buy |
| ASH | Ashland Inc. | $3.3B | 79 | Buy |
| KWR | Quaker Chemical Corporation | $2.7B | 69 | Buy |
| IOSP | Innospec Inc. | $2.4B | 89 | Strong Buy |
| FUL | H.B. Fuller Company | $2.7B | 65 | Hold |
| CBT | Cabot Corporation | $3.8B | 82 | Strong Buy |
Peer medians: ROE 1.8% · P/E 20.4x · Gross margin 27.5%
Company Deep Dive
Business segments breakdown, earnings transcript analysis, management credibility scoring, competitive landscape, and scenario modelling.