AXALTA COATING SYSTEMS LTD. vs Westlake Corporation. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Axalta Coating Systems earns 14.96% on equity and a 7.22% net margin from coatings that customers respecify and reorder. Westlake makes commodity chemicals and building products, and this cycle it lost money, a negative 18.09% return on equity and a negative 14.91% margin as its end markets softened. Westlake also burned cash, a negative 5.18% free-cash yield, while Axalta produced a positive 6.59%. The market prices the difference plainly: Westlake sits at 1.08 times book, near liquidation math, while Axalta holds 3.00 times. Westlake pays a 2.75% dividend to wait out the downturn; Axalta pays none and simply keeps earning.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | AXTA | WLK |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $32.48 | $75.50 |
| Market cap | $7.0B | $9.7B |
| Sector | Specialty Chemicals | Chemicals |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -2.4% | — |
| P/E | 19.0 | — |
| P/B | 2.83 | 1.07 |
| P/S | 1.36 | 0.88 |
| EV/EBITDA | 6.3 | — |
| Revenue growth | -2.5% | -8.7% |
| Gross margin | — | 4.2% |
| Operating margin | 11.6% | -6.5% |
| Net margin | 7.2% | -14.9% |
| Return on equity | 15.0% | -18.1% |
| Return on assets | 4.9% | -8.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 24.6% | -9.0% |
| FCF yield | 7.0% | -5.3% |
| Dividend yield | — | 2.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.01 | 0.67 |
| Current ratio | 2.10 | 2.17 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.19 | 1.87 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 4 / 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.