Stepan Company (SCL) Key Metrics
SCL valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $1.41B
- Enterprise value
- $2.04B
- P/E (TTM)
- — 10-yr median 21.9
- Forward P/E
- 17.5
- PEG ratio
- 1.75
- Price / sales
- 0.6 10-yr median 0.9
- Price / book
- 1.2 10-yr median 2.3
- EV / EBITDA
- 9.0 10-yr median 10.0
- Dividend yield
- 2.55% $1.58 a year
- Beta
- 0.95
SCL key metrics, 2016–2025
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · U.S. dollarsSCL valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
P/E ratio−21.5%
23.1
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Price / sales−31.7%
0.5
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Price / book−31.3%
0.9
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
EV / EBITDA−28.1%
7.7
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Price / free cash flow+13.1%
42.7
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Free cash flow yield−0.3 pts
2.3%
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
SCL returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
Return on equity−0.3 pts
3.9%
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Return on invested capital−0.3 pts
3.1%
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Return on assets−0.1 pts
2.0%
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Free cash flow margin−0.7 pts
1.1%
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Cash conversion (OCF / net income)−2.0%
3.15
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Asset turnover+7.1%
1.00
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
SCL per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
Revenue per share+7.2%
$101.88
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Earnings per share−6.7%
$2.05
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Free cash flow per share−35.3%
$1.11
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Book value per share+6.5%
$54.35
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Dividends per share+3.4%
$1.53
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Shares outstanding−0.2%
22.9M
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
SCL financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
Debt / equity−4.8%
0.56
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Net debt−$24.8M
$558.4M
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Net debt / EBITDA−0.40
2.63
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Current ratio+6.4%
1.29
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Interest coverage−26.9%
2.6
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Debt / assets−1.1%
0.29
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
SCL efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
Days sales outstanding−7 days
61 days
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Days of inventory−1 days
52 days
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Days payables outstanding−1 days
46 days
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Cash conversion cycle−7 days
67 days
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Capex / revenue−0.4 pts
5.3%
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
Dividends + buybacks / FCF+51.6 pts
138.1%
2025 · hover or tap a bar for each year
20162025
SCL valuation history
Fiscal year-endToday10-year median
SCL returns on capital
ROEROICROA
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
SCL debt vs cash
Total debtCash & short-term investments
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
SCL cash returned to shareholders
DividendsBuybacksFree cash flow
SCL price vs earnings per share
Share price at year-endEPS (right axis)
SCL key metrics
2016–2025| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $1.08B | $1.48B | $2.17B | $2.46B | $2.89B | $2.77B | $2.39B | $1.73B | $1.85B | $1.88B |
| Enterprise value | $1.64B | $2.07B | $2.75B | $2.92B | $3.10B | $2.62B | $2.30B | $1.70B | $1.84B | $1.97B |
| P/E ratio | 23.1 | 29.5 | 54.0 | 16.7 | 21.0 | 21.9 | 23.2 | 15.3 | 20.2 | 21.8 |
| Price / sales | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 |
| Price / book | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| Price / free cash flow | 42.7 | 37.8 | — | — | — | 25.4 | 21.2 | 20.4 | 15.4 | 17.2 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 7.3 | 9.2 | 12.4 | 15.3 | 40.1 | 11.8 | 10.9 | 10.1 | 9.3 | 8.9 |
| EV / sales | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 |
| EV / EBITDA | 7.7 | 10.8 | 16.2 | 9.9 | 11.5 | 10.1 | 10.6 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 9.7 |
| EV / free cash flow | 64.7 | 52.6 | — | — | — | 24.0 | 20.3 | 20.1 | 15.3 | 18.1 |
| Earnings yield | 4.3% | 3.4% | 1.9% | 6.0% | 4.8% | 4.6% | 4.3% | 6.5% | 5.0% | 4.6% |
| Free cash flow yield | 2.3% | 2.6% | −3.9% | −5.7% | −4.2% | 3.9% | 4.7% | 4.9% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Dividend yield | 3.2% | 2.3% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 0.9% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 3.2% | 2.3% | 1.5% | 2.3% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 1.3% | 1.0% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $47.36 | $64.70 | $94.55 | $106.46 | $124.29 | $119.32 | $102.44 | $74.00 | $78.97 | $81.48 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $101.88 | $95.08 | $101.36 | $120.24 | $100.74 | $80.40 | $79.72 | $85.48 | $82.35 | $76.48 |
| Earnings per share | $2.05 | $2.20 | $1.75 | $6.38 | $5.92 | $5.45 | $4.42 | $4.83 | $3.92 | $3.73 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $6.46 | $7.07 | $7.62 | $6.97 | $3.10 | $10.11 | $9.37 | $7.34 | $8.51 | $9.19 |
| Free cash flow per share | $1.11 | $1.71 | −$3.72 | −$6.10 | −$5.25 | $4.71 | $4.84 | $3.62 | $5.14 | $4.72 |
| Cash per share | $5.80 | $4.35 | $5.66 | $7.53 | $6.84 | $15.05 | $13.53 | $12.87 | $12.79 | $9.77 |
| Book value per share | $54.35 | $51.02 | $53.02 | $50.56 | $46.13 | $42.50 | $38.28 | $33.63 | $31.69 | $27.54 |
| Tangible book value per share | $48.58 | $45.17 | $46.48 | $43.88 | $39.34 | $40.26 | $36.50 | $32.04 | $29.83 | $25.47 |
| Dividends per share | $1.53 | $1.48 | $1.43 | $1.33 | $1.21 | $1.09 | $0.99 | $0.89 | $0.81 | $0.75 |
| Capex per share | $5.35 | $5.35 | $11.35 | $13.07 | $8.35 | $5.41 | $4.53 | $3.71 | $3.36 | $4.46 |
| Debt per share | $30.19 | $29.78 | $31.04 | $27.65 | $15.61 | $8.54 | $9.53 | $11.84 | $12.44 | $13.73 |
| Shares outstanding | 22.9M | 22.9M | 22.9M | 23.1M | 23.3M | 23.3M | 23.3M | 23.3M | 23.4M | 23.1M |
| Change in shares outstanding | −0.2% | −0.1% | −0.5% | −1.0% | +0.1% | −0.3% | −0.0% | −0.2% | +1.2% | +1.0% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 3.9% | 4.2% | 3.4% | 13.1% | 13.4% | 13.5% | 12.3% | 14.8% | 13.3% | 14.4% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 3.1% | 3.3% | 2.8% | 11.1% | 12.9% | 15.6% | 13.4% | 16.4% | 13.9% | 13.3% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 2.0% | 2.2% | 1.7% | 6.5% | 7.2% | 7.6% | 6.7% | 7.6% | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| Return on tangible assets | 2.1% | 2.3% | 1.8% | 6.5% | 7.2% | 7.5% | 6.7% | 7.8% | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| Free cash flow margin | 1.1% | 1.8% | −3.7% | −5.1% | −5.2% | 5.9% | 6.1% | 4.2% | 6.2% | 6.2% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 3.15 | 3.22 | 4.35 | 1.09 | 0.52 | 1.86 | 2.12 | 1.52 | 2.17 | 2.46 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $691.0M | $682.8M | $712.2M | $637.7M | $363.6M | $198.7M | $222.1M | $276.1M | $290.8M | $317.0M |
| Cash & short-term investments | $132.7M | $99.7M | $129.8M | $173.8M | $159.2M | $349.9M | $315.4M | $300.2M | $298.9M | $225.7M |
| Net debt | $558.4M | $583.2M | $582.3M | $463.9M | $204.4M | −$151.3M | −$93.3M | −$24.1M | −$8.1M | $91.3M |
| Debt / equity | 0.56 | 0.58 | 0.59 | 0.55 | 0.34 | 0.20 | 0.25 | 0.35 | 0.39 | 0.50 |
| Debt / assets | 0.29 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.26 | 0.18 | 0.11 | 0.14 | 0.19 | 0.20 | 0.23 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.63 | 3.04 | 3.43 | 1.58 | 0.76 | −0.58 | −0.43 | −0.10 | −0.03 | 0.45 |
| Current ratio | 1.29 | 1.21 | 1.40 | 1.56 | 1.82 | 2.17 | 2.41 | 2.37 | 2.46 | 2.31 |
| Quick ratio | 0.84 | 0.78 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 1.21 | 1.65 | 1.81 | 1.78 | 1.92 | 1.72 |
| Interest coverage | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 19.0 | 24.4 | 22.6 | 10.9 | 12.0 | 11.5 | 8.7 |
| Working capital | $192.5M | $141.4M | $244.0M | $374.2M | $412.9M | $489.1M | $479.7M | $463.9M | $468.5M | $388.3M |
| Invested capital | $1.80B | $1.75B | $1.80B | $1.63B | $1.28B | $837.1M | $799.2M | $760.4M | $732.8M | $727.2M |
| Tangible asset value | $1.11B | $1.04B | $1.07B | $1.01B | $916.2M | $936.3M | $851.1M | $747.3M | $697.3M | $588.3M |
| Net current asset value | −$254.7M | −$324.3M | −$295.0M | −$222.3M | −$78.1M | $141.7M | $131.9M | $102.4M | $58.8M | −$32.4M |
| Graham number | $50.05 | $50.22 | $45.72 | $85.19 | $78.37 | $72.20 | $61.72 | $60.49 | $52.85 | $48.09 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$23.62 | −$26.15 | −$24.74 | −$24.47 | −$15.67 | −$3.38 | −$2.66 | −$3.85 | −$5.33 | −$9.00 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $35.0M | $34.0M | $32.9M | $30.6M | $28.1M | $25.4M | $23.1M | $20.9M | $18.9M | $17.3M |
| Share buybacks (net) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $24.9M | $17.0M | $15.3M | $13.2M | $15.5M | $6.0M | $2.4M |
| Dividend payout ratio | 74.7% | 67.4% | 81.8% | 20.8% | 20.4% | 20.0% | 22.4% | 18.5% | 20.6% | 20.1% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 138.1% | 86.4% | — | — | — | 37.2% | 32.1% | 43.0% | 20.7% | 18.1% |
| Capex / revenue | 5.3% | 5.6% | 11.2% | 10.9% | 8.3% | 6.7% | 5.7% | 4.3% | 4.1% | 5.8% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 82.8% | 75.8% | 148.9% | 187.6% | 269.6% | 53.5% | 48.3% | 50.6% | 39.5% | 48.6% |
| Capex / depreciation | 0.97 | 1.09 | 2.47 | 3.19 | 2.14 | 1.54 | 1.34 | 1.07 | 0.99 | 1.37 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| R&D / revenue | 2.5% | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.7% | 3.1% | 3.0% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3.2% |
| SG&A / revenue | 6.0% | 6.6% | 6.1% | 3.7% | 6.5% | 7.6% | 7.5% | 6.8% | 6.7% | 7.5% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 60.7 | 67.8 | 67.4 | 56.4 | 56.1 | 56.4 | 54.7 | 52.5 | 52.8 | 53.0 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 52.0 | 53.0 | 59.5 | 55.1 | 49.1 | 51.9 | 48.5 | 41.2 | 39.8 | 44.0 |
| Days payables outstanding | 46.1 | 47.0 | 54.2 | 54.4 | 52.4 | 52.9 | 48.1 | 45.4 | 41.8 | 36.7 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 66.7 | 73.8 | 72.7 | 57.1 | 52.7 | 55.4 | 55.1 | 48.3 | 50.9 | 60.3 |
| Receivables turnover | 6.01 | 5.38 | 5.42 | 6.48 | 6.51 | 6.47 | 6.68 | 6.95 | 6.91 | 6.89 |
| Payables turnover | 7.92 | 7.76 | 6.73 | 6.71 | 6.96 | 6.90 | 7.59 | 8.04 | 8.74 | 9.95 |
| Inventory turnover | 7.02 | 6.88 | 6.13 | 6.63 | 7.44 | 7.04 | 7.52 | 8.86 | 9.16 | 8.30 |
| Asset turnover | 1.00 | 0.93 | 0.97 | 1.23 | 1.23 | 1.12 | 1.21 | 1.35 | 1.36 | 1.36 |
| Average receivables | $388.0M | $405.0M | $429.5M | $428.2M | $360.4M | $289.1M | $278.4M | $286.8M | $278.5M | $256.5M |
| Average payables | $260.3M | $245.9M | $304.4M | $349.5M | $280.1M | $215.5M | $200.1M | $205.5M | $181.6M | $143.5M |
| Average inventory | $293.8M | $277.1M | $334.0M | $354.0M | $262.2M | $211.2M | $201.9M | $186.5M | $173.2M | $172.0M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 5.6% | 5.8% | 6.3% | 6.3% | 7.6% | 3.0% | 2.6% | 2.5% | 3.0% | 3.5% |
Computed from SCL's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed February 26, 2026) 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.
SCL valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (December 31, 2025), Stepan traded at 23.1 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 21.9. Stepan earned a return on equity of 3.9% and a return on invested capital of 3.1% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $691.0 million of debt and $132.7 million in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $558.4 million. It returned $35.0 million to shareholders: $35.0 million in dividends and $0 in share buybacks, 138% of free cash flow.
See the SCL income statement, the SCL chart for price history, or the SCL stock overview for the latest quote and news.
SCL key metrics FAQ
What is Stepan's P/E ratio?
Stepan traded at 23.1 times earnings at the end of fiscal 2025.
What is Stepan's EV/EBITDA?
Stepan's enterprise value was 7.7 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $1.6 billion, EBITDA $212.2 million); the current EV/EBITDA is 9.0.
What is Stepan's return on equity?
Stepan's return on equity (ROE) was 3.9% in fiscal 2025: net income of $46.9 million on average shareholders' equity of $1.2 billion.
What is Stepan's ROIC?
Stepan's return on invested capital was 3.1% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Stepan have?
Stepan had total debt of $691.0 million at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56 and $558.4 million of net debt (2.63 times EBITDA).
What is Stepan's dividend yield?
Stepan's forward dividend yield is 2.55%. Stepan paid $35.0 million in dividends in fiscal 2025 ($1.53 per share), a payout ratio of 74.7%.
What is Stepan's free cash flow yield?
Stepan generated $25.4 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of 2.3% on its market value at year-end ($1.1 billion).
What is Stepan's current ratio?
Stepan's current ratio was 1.29 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 1.29 times current liabilities.