AXALTA COATING SYSTEMS LTD. vs Sensient Technologies Corp. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Sensient Technologies makes colors and flavors, ingredients that get written into recipes and reordered, yet its 0.43% free-cash yield says the cash is thin right now. Axalta Coating Systems, in coatings, throws off a 6.59% free-cash yield, far more of its earnings landing as cash. Sensient trades at 35.46 times earnings, near double Axalta's 20.18, and at 4.21 times book against 3.00. On returns the two run closer, Sensient at 11.83% on equity and Axalta at 14.96%. Sensient pays a 1.36% dividend; Axalta pays none. The color maker carries the richer price while the coatings maker carries the stronger cash conversion.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | AXTA | SXT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $32.48 | $115.84 |
| Market cap | $7.0B | $4.9B |
| Sector | Specialty Chemicals | Chemicals |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -2.4% | +16.1% |
| P/E | 19.0 | 34.2 |
| P/B | 2.83 | 4.06 |
| P/S | 1.36 | 2.99 |
| EV/EBITDA | 6.3 | 20.1 |
| Revenue growth | -2.5% | +5.8% |
| Operating margin | 11.6% | 15.3% |
| Net margin | 7.2% | 8.7% |
| Return on equity | 15.0% | 11.8% |
| Return on assets | 4.9% | 6.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 24.6% | 8.3% |
| FCF yield | 7.0% | 0.4% |
| Dividend yield | — | 1.4% |
| Debt / equity | 0.01 | 0.63 |
| Current ratio | 2.10 | 5.01 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.19 | 8.44 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 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.