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Element Solutions vs Johnson Matthey: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Johnson Matthey holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across valuation and growth. Element Solutions still has the edge on stability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup is broadly comparable for both — no clear directional signal from price behavior. The market is not adding a decisive signal either way — the structural read carries the weight.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Peer scores are normalised within each company's primary universe (ESI: Russell 1000, JMAT.L: STOXX 600).

Updated 2026-05-17

This is not just a one-metric split: both valuation and growth materially support the lead. Johnson Matthey Plc leads by 27 points on the overall comparison score.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Specialty Chemicals

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. ESI and JMAT.L share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Element Solutions and Johnson Matthey each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
ESI
Element Solutions Inc
44
Peer-Score
Signal qualityHigh
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
JMAT.L
Johnson Matthey Plc
71
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: STOXX 600

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: ESI vs JMAT.L Profitability 55 74 Stability 47 35 Valuation 27 83 Growth 50 86 ESI JMAT.L
Gap Ranking
#1 Valuation +56
#2 Growth +36
#3 Profitability +19
#4 Stability +12
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for ESI and JMAT.L Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer ESIJMAT.L Relative valuation Structural strength

Johnson Matthey Plc looks stronger both structurally and on relative valuation.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) and Forward P/E where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where ESI and JMAT.L each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY ESI Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 24 pct gap JMAT.L Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 76th
Today JMAT.L sits in the upper portion of its own 5-year history (76th percentile), while ESI sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, JMAT.L is at a historically more favourable entry position than ESI. 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
Valuation
Johnson Matthey Plc ranks near the top of the group on valuation; Element Solutions Inc sits in the weaker half.
Growth
On growth, the same pattern holds: both are strong, but Johnson Matthey Plc still leads clearly.
Valuation — Dominant Gap
ESI
27
JMAT.L
83
Gap+56in favour of JMAT.L

The multiple-based pricing edge comes from a forward P/E that is 7.9 turns lower.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Element Solutions Inc still shows lower market-fundamental divergence, which keeps the wider picture mixed rather than completely one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both valuation and growth — though stability still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the ESI vs JMAT.L comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar valuation-and-growth comparisons

Explore how ESI and JMAT.L 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.