JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC vs Owens Corning, two Building Materials stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Neither name is having an easy cycle, but only James Hardie is still in the black. The siding maker earns a slim 1.62% on equity with a 2.15% net margin, thin enough to push its earnings multiple to 140.11 times, a number that reflects depressed profit rather than excitement. Owens Corning, in insulation and roofing, has slipped into a loss after charges, at -14.5% on equity and -5.43% on sales. Owens Corning makes up ground on cash, yielding 7.53% in free cash against Hardie's 1.42%, and pays a bigger dividend, 2.11% to 1.43%. Owens Corning carries the heavier debt at 1.5 debt-to-equity against 0.71. Hardie is larger at $14.5B against $11.0B.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | JHX | OC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.80 | $143.34 |
| Market cap | $13.5B | $11.6B |
| Sector | Building Materials | Building Materials |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +21.1% |
| P/E | 130.5 | — |
| P/B | 2.11 | 3.16 |
| P/S | 2.80 | 1.18 |
| EV/EBITDA | 18.9 | 68.3 |
| Revenue growth | +8.0% | -5.0% |
| Gross margin | 35.8% | 22.5% |
| Operating margin | 9.3% | 5.3% |
| Net margin | 2.1% | -5.4% |
| Return on equity | 1.6% | -14.5% |
| Return on assets | 0.8% | -4.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 2.0% | 0.6% |
| FCF yield | 1.5% | 7.1% |
| Dividend yield | 1.5% | 2.0% |
| Debt / equity | 0.71 | 1.50 |
| Current ratio | 1.58 | 1.24 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.82 | 2.05 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 3 / 9 | 3 / 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.