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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

CRH vs The Sherwin-Williams Company: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

The Sherwin-Williams Company holds the cleaner structural position, with profitability as the main driver and valuation adding further support. CRH still has the edge on valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

Most of the separation is still concentrated in profitability. The overall score gap is 13 points in favour of The Sherwin-Williams Company.

Trajectory Similarity
0.80
Similar
Peer-set rank: #1
within CRH plc's functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

The pair sits on a clearly comparable long-term path, though it is not a near-twin match.

Most of the shared profile comes through margin consistency and revenue stability.

Similarity drivers
margin consistencyrevenue stability
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
CRH
CRH plc
52
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
SHW
The Sherwin-Williams Company
65
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: CRH vs SHW Profitability 10 63 Stability 50 64 Valuation 82 63 Growth 71 69 CRH SHW
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +53
#2 Valuation +19
#3 Stability +14
#4 Growth +2
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CRH and SHW Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CRHSHW Relative valuation Structural strength

The Sherwin-Williams Company occupies the cheaper side of the setup map, although CRH plc still holds the stronger structural profile.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where CRH and SHW each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CRH Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 34 pct gap SHW Neutral · below norm 0th 50th 100th 85th 51st
Today SHW sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (51st percentile), while CRH sits higher in its own history (85th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, SHW is at a historically more favourable entry position than CRH. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
The Sherwin-Williams Company sits in the stronger part of the group on profitability, while CRH plc is closer to mid-pack.
Valuation
Both profiles are strong on valuation, but CRH plc leads clearly.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
CRH
10
SHW
63
Gap+53in favour of SHW

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 14.2-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for CRH, with a forward P/E that is 7.2 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

The profitability lead is clear, but pricing and valuation still pull in the other direction — the result holds, but not without friction.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the CRH vs SHW comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar profitability-driven comparisons

Explore how CRH and SHW each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.