ASHLAND INC. vs Seaboard Corporation, two Wholesale stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Ashland makes specialty chemicals and additives, and a large impairment pushed it into a loss, so there is no earnings multiple worth quoting and its margin sits deep in the red. Seaboard, a diversified pork, trading, and shipping conglomerate, at least earns money: 10.99% on equity, 5.99% net, and 7.78 times earnings. Both leaned on cash rather than generated it lately, Ashland at a negative 6.56% free-cash yield and Seaboard at negative 0.33%. Ashland trades at 1.58 times book while Seaboard sits below its own at 0.84. Ashland pays a 2.56% dividend against Seaboard's token 0.19%. Ashland is loss-making after charges while Seaboard grinds out a profit.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | ASH | SEB |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $66.72 | $4666.00 |
| Market cap | $3.1B | $4.5B |
| Sector | Wholesale | Wholesale |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | -1.9% |
| P/E | — | 7.7 |
| P/B | 1.64 | 0.83 |
| P/S | 1.70 | 0.45 |
| EV/EBITDA | 12.2 | 8.6 |
| Revenue growth | -6.8% | +6.9% |
| Gross margin | 30.5% | 9.0% |
| Operating margin | 8.1% | 4.0% |
| Net margin | -39.1% | 6.0% |
| Return on equity | -37.9% | 11.0% |
| Return on assets | -15.7% | 7.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 2.7% | 3.9% |
| FCF yield | -6.3% | -0.3% |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | 0.2% |
| Debt / equity | 0.74 | 0.18 |
| Current ratio | 3.06 | 2.38 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.65 | 3.33 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.