CF INDUSTRIES HOLDINGS, INC. vs ICL GROUP LTD., two Chemicals stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Both mine crop nutrients, but the earnings gap is wide. CF Industries makes nitrogen and is running hot: a 28.66% net margin, 25.71% return on equity, and a 9.52 earnings multiple, cheap for those returns. ICL Group mines potash and specialty minerals in Israel and earns far less, a 3.91% net margin and 4.49% return on equity, priced richer at 27.89 times earnings. ICL's edge is cash conversion, a 16.3% free-cash yield against CF's 9.93%, and it trades at book, 1.04, while CF sits at 1.98. Neither carries much debt. Same fertilizer shelf, very different profitability and pricing.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CF | ICL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $116.83 | $4.86 |
| Market cap | $18.1B | $6.3B |
| Sector | Chemicals | Chemicals |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | -3.5% |
| P/E | 10.5 | 27.0 |
| P/B | 2.19 | 1.00 |
| P/S | 2.44 | 0.88 |
| EV/EBITDA | 7.1 | 4.6 |
| Revenue growth | +20.9% | +3.6% |
| Gross margin | 37.6% | 30.6% |
| Operating margin | 43.5% | 8.1% |
| Net margin | 28.7% | 3.9% |
| Return on equity | 25.7% | 4.5% |
| Return on assets | 14.5% | 2.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 18.9% | 5.9% |
| FCF yield | 9.0% | 16.8% |
| Dividend yield | 1.7% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.39 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 3.54 | 1.33 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.32 | 1.44 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 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.