Ashland Inc. (ASH) Key Metrics
ASH valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $3.26B
- Enterprise value
- $4.20B
- P/E (TTM)
- 45.6 10-yr median 24.7
- Forward P/E
- 15.7
- PEG ratio
- 1.23
- Price / sales
- 1.8 10-yr median 2.1
- Price / book
- 1.7 10-yr median 1.4
- EV / EBITDA
- 11.2 10-yr median 16.4
- Dividend yield
- 2.36% $1.68 a year
- Beta
- 0.40
ASH key metrics, FY2016–FY2025
Fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 · U.S. dollarsASH valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
ASH returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
ASH per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
ASH financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
ASH efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
ASH valuation history
ASH returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
ASH debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
ASH cash returned to shareholders
ASH price vs earnings per share
ASH key metrics
FY2016–FY2025| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 | FY2018 | FY2017 | FY2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $2.20B | $4.35B | $4.41B | $5.32B | $5.44B | $4.33B | $4.85B | $5.37B | $4.05B | $3.57B |
| Enterprise value | $3.56B | $5.52B | $5.45B | $6.06B | $7.33B | $5.86B | $6.29B | $7.60B | $6.31B | $5.05B |
| P/E ratio | — | 25.7 | 24.8 | 5.7 | 24.7 | — | 9.6 | 47.1 | — | — |
| Price / sales | 1.2 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
| Price / book | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Price / free cash flow | — | 15.9 | 60.4 | — | 11.9 | 66.6 | 55.8 | 38.3 | 24.4 | 8.0 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 23.4 | 10.6 | 18.2 | — | 9.7 | 21.3 | 20.1 | 18.1 | 10.6 | 5.3 |
| EV / sales | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 1.7 |
| EV / EBITDA | — | 18.2 | 11.9 | 11.9 | 16.4 | — | 16.5 | 18.8 | 13.9 | 28.1 |
| EV / free cash flow | — | 20.1 | 74.7 | — | 16.1 | 90.2 | 72.3 | 54.3 | 38.0 | 11.3 |
| Earnings yield | −38.3% | 3.9% | 4.0% | 17.4% | 4.0% | −11.7% | 10.4% | 2.1% | 0.0% | −0.8% |
| Free cash flow yield | −0.2% | 6.3% | 1.7% | −6.1% | 8.4% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 4.1% | 12.5% |
| Dividend yield | 3.4% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 2.7% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 8.0% | 10.5% | 8.5% | 5.1% | 9.6% | 1.7% | 5.4% | 1.3% | 2.3% | 16.7% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $47.91 | $86.97 | $81.68 | $94.97 | $89.12 | $70.92 | $77.05 | $83.86 | $65.39 | $56.73 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $39.65 | $42.26 | $40.57 | $42.70 | $34.61 | $33.05 | $34.10 | $40.45 | $37.24 | $47.92 |
| Earnings per share | −$18.37 | $3.38 | $3.30 | $16.55 | $3.61 | −$8.33 | $8.02 | $1.78 | $0.02 | −$0.46 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $2.04 | $8.22 | $4.50 | −$3.80 | $9.18 | $3.33 | $3.83 | $4.64 | $6.18 | $10.76 |
| Free cash flow per share | −$0.09 | $5.48 | $1.35 | −$5.82 | $7.46 | $1.07 | $1.38 | $2.19 | $2.68 | $7.10 |
| Cash per share | $4.67 | $6.00 | $7.72 | $11.54 | $3.44 | $7.44 | $3.68 | $4.59 | $9.13 | $16.14 |
| Book value per share | $41.39 | $57.36 | $57.35 | $57.50 | $45.11 | $49.77 | $56.68 | $53.22 | $54.94 | $53.13 |
| Tangible book value per share | $13.83 | $14.60 | $15.61 | $16.77 | $3.54 | $11.70 | $3.65 | −$4.19 | −$6.10 | $2.02 |
| Dividends per share | $1.65 | $1.56 | $1.41 | $1.25 | $1.15 | $1.08 | $1.02 | $0.94 | $1.24 | $1.54 |
| Capex per share | $2.13 | $2.74 | $3.15 | $2.02 | $1.72 | $2.26 | $2.44 | $2.45 | $3.21 | $3.67 |
| Debt per share | $34.24 | $29.36 | $27.00 | $24.70 | $34.48 | $32.61 | $26.46 | $39.52 | $45.47 | $39.60 |
| Shares outstanding | 46.0M | 50.0M | 54.0M | 56.0M | 61.0M | 61.0M | 63.0M | 64.0M | 62.0M | 63.0M |
| Change in shares outstanding | −8.0% | −7.4% | −3.6% | −8.2% | 0.0% | −3.2% | −1.6% | +3.2% | −1.6% | −8.7% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | −35.4% | 5.7% | 5.6% | 31.0% | 7.6% | −15.4% | 14.5% | 3.3% | 0.0% | −0.9% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | −16.8% | −0.5% | 4.2% | 6.8% | 4.2% | −7.6% | 1.3% | 1.8% | 0.7% | −0.8% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | −16.5% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 14.5% | 3.3% | −7.2% | 6.5% | 1.4% | 0.0% | −0.3% |
| Return on tangible assets | −25.3% | 4.8% | 4.8% | 23.6% | 5.4% | −11.2% | 12.9% | 2.5% | 0.0% | −0.4% |
| Free cash flow margin | −0.2% | 13.0% | 3.3% | −13.6% | 21.6% | 3.2% | 4.1% | 5.4% | 7.2% | 14.8% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | — | 2.43 | 1.37 | −0.23 | 2.55 | — | 0.48 | 2.61 | 383.00 | — |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $1.57B | $1.47B | $1.46B | $1.38B | $2.10B | $1.99B | $1.67B | $2.53B | $2.82B | $2.50B |
| Cash & short-term investments | $215.0M | $300.0M | $417.0M | $646.0M | $210.0M | $454.0M | $232.0M | $294.0M | $566.0M | $1.02B |
| Net debt | $1.36B | $1.17B | $1.04B | $737.0M | $1.89B | $1.53B | $1.44B | $2.23B | $2.25B | $1.48B |
| Debt / equity | 0.83 | 0.51 | 0.47 | 0.43 | 0.76 | 0.66 | 0.47 | 0.74 | 0.83 | 0.75 |
| Debt / assets | 0.34 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.22 | 0.32 | 0.29 | 0.23 | 0.31 | 0.33 | 0.25 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 3.85 | 2.28 | 1.45 | 4.23 | — | 3.76 | 5.53 | 4.97 | 8.21 |
| Current ratio | 2.85 | 2.44 | 3.30 | 3.20 | 1.84 | 1.90 | 1.89 | 1.59 | 1.97 | 2.33 |
| Quick ratio | 1.51 | 1.33 | 1.93 | 2.06 | 1.33 | 1.28 | 1.10 | 0.98 | 1.31 | 1.90 |
| Interest coverage | -12.3 | -0.5 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 2.6 | -5.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Working capital | $782.0M | $705.0M | $1.05B | $1.22B | $783.0M | $734.0M | $676.0M | $637.0M | $935.0M | $1.65B |
| Invested capital | $3.26B | $4.04B | $4.14B | $3.96B | $4.64B | $4.57B | $5.01B | $5.64B | $5.66B | $4.83B |
| Tangible asset value | $636.0M | $730.0M | $843.0M | $939.0M | $216.0M | $714.0M | $230.0M | −$268.0M | −$378.0M | −$55.0M |
| Net current asset value | −$1.50B | −$1.58B | −$1.34B | −$1.23B | −$2.14B | −$2.29B | −$2.25B | −$3.13B | −$3.31B | −$3.95B |
| Graham number | — | $66.05 | $65.22 | $146.34 | $60.51 | — | $101.11 | $46.18 | $4.47 | — |
| Graham net-net per share | −$44.05 | −$40.45 | −$34.42 | −$30.91 | −$51.42 | −$46.02 | −$44.27 | −$57.96 | −$62.42 | −$82.02 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $76.0M | $78.0M | $76.0M | $70.0M | $70.0M | $66.0M | $64.0M | $60.0M | $77.0M | $97.0M |
| Share buybacks (net) | $100.0M | $380.0M | $300.0M | $200.0M | $450.0M | $7.0M | $200.0M | $10.0M | $15.0M | $500.0M |
| Dividend payout ratio | — | 46.2% | 42.7% | 7.6% | 31.8% | — | 12.7% | 52.6% | — | — |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | — | 167.2% | 515.1% | — | 114.3% | 112.3% | 303.4% | 50.0% | 55.4% | 133.6% |
| Capex / revenue | 5.4% | 6.5% | 7.8% | 4.7% | 5.0% | 6.8% | 7.2% | 6.1% | 8.6% | 7.7% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 104.3% | 33.3% | 70.0% | — | 18.8% | 68.0% | 63.9% | 52.9% | 52.0% | 34.1% |
| Capex / depreciation | 0.41 | 0.50 | 0.70 | 0.47 | 0.43 | 0.56 | 0.56 | 0.57 | 0.66 | 0.76 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 1.0% |
| R&D / revenue | 3.0% | 2.6% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3.6% | 2.9% |
| SG&A / revenue | 18.9% | 19.1% | 16.8% | 16.5% | 17.0% | 19.9% | 19.8% | 23.3% | 26.4% | 28.6% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 48.5 | 50.2 | 61.6 | 58.8 | 69.6 | 83.0 | 98.7 | 91.1 | 88.5 | 88.8 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 159.3 | 142.9 | 150.4 | 128.8 | 124.0 | 142.1 | 153.6 | 137.1 | 135.5 | 106.6 |
| Days payables outstanding | 57.7 | 51.8 | 56.9 | 58.6 | 56.6 | 67.5 | 78.5 | 78.2 | 90.7 | 81.2 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 150.2 | 141.4 | 155.1 | 129.1 | 137.0 | 157.6 | 173.8 | 150.0 | 133.3 | 114.1 |
| Receivables turnover | 7.52 | 7.27 | 5.92 | 6.20 | 5.24 | 4.40 | 3.70 | 4.00 | 4.12 | 4.11 |
| Payables turnover | 6.33 | 7.05 | 6.41 | 6.23 | 6.45 | 5.41 | 4.65 | 4.66 | 4.03 | 4.49 |
| Inventory turnover | 2.29 | 2.55 | 2.43 | 2.83 | 2.94 | 2.57 | 2.38 | 2.66 | 2.69 | 3.42 |
| Asset turnover | 0.36 | 0.36 | 0.36 | 0.37 | 0.31 | 0.29 | 0.28 | 0.31 | 0.25 | 0.30 |
| Average receivables | $242.5M | $290.5M | $370.0M | $385.5M | $402.5M | $458.5M | $581.0M | $646.5M | $560.0M | $734.5M |
| Average payables | $201.5M | $212.0M | $237.5M | $250.5M | $223.5M | $262.0M | $322.0M | $370.0M | $392.5M | $474.5M |
| Average inventory | $556.5M | $585.5M | $627.5M | $551.0M | $489.5M | $551.5M | $630.0M | $648.5M | $586.5M | $622.5M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 27.5% | 37.9% | 38.0% | 36.7% | 38.4% | 33.8% | 46.1% | 44.5% | 43.9% | 32.2% |
Computed from ASH's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed November 20, 2025) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
ASH valuation and financial ratios
Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 45.6 and the forward P/E is 15.7. Ashland earned a return on equity of −35.4% and a return on invested capital of −16.8% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $1.6 billion of debt and $215.0 million in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $1.4 billion. It returned $176.0 million to shareholders: $76.0 million in dividends and $100.0 million in share buybacks. The share count fell 27.0% from 63.0M to 46.0M over 9 years.
See the ASH income statement, the ASH chart for price history, or the ASH stock overview for the latest quote and news.
ASH key metrics FAQ
What is Ashland's P/E ratio?
Ashland's trailing P/E ratio is 45.6 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 15.7. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was —, compared with a 10-year median of 24.7.
What is Ashland's return on equity?
Ashland's return on equity (ROE) was −35.4% in fiscal 2025: net income of -$845.0 million on average shareholders' equity of $2.4 billion.
What is Ashland's ROIC?
Ashland's return on invested capital was −16.8% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Ashland have?
Ashland had total debt of $1.6 billion at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.
What is Ashland's dividend yield?
Ashland's forward dividend yield is 2.36%. Ashland paid $76.0 million in dividends in fiscal 2025 ($1.65 per share), a payout ratio of —.
Does Ashland buy back its shares?
Yes. Ashland spent $100.0 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025 Shares outstanding changed −8.0% over the year, to 46.0M..
What is Ashland's free cash flow yield?
Ashland generated -$4.0 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of −0.2% on its market value at year-end ($2.2 billion).
What is Ashland's current ratio?
Ashland's current ratio was 2.85 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 2.85 times current liabilities.