Ashland Inc. (ASH) Stock

Ashland Inc. (ASH) is a Consumer Discretionary stock trading at $72.67 (as of 2026-08-21), with a market capitalization of $3.33B and a trailing P/E of 65.3. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Ashland Inc. develops and supplies additives and specialty ingredients for customers worldwide through segments including Life Sciences, Personal Care & Household, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates and Solvents. These offerings include pharmaceutical, nutrition, and nutraceutical solutions, along with ingredients and additives used in personal care and household products.

Understand Ashland Inc.: how it makes money

Ashland Inc. provides additives and specialty ingredients used in pharmaceuticals, nutrition, personal care and household products, and industrial applications. It makes money by selling these specialty formulations through its Life Sciences, Personal Care & Household, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates and Solvents segments.

Ashland’s profit model is built around selling specialty ingredients into multiple end markets, with results tied to the mix of segment sales across Life Sciences, Personal Care & Household, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates and Solvents.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
LifeSci	$0.1B
PersCare	$0.2B
SpecAdd	$0.1B
InterSolv	$0.1B

Business quality (Weak): Clear segment structure and definable operating drivers (segment revenue). However, the provided facts do not include key demand or volume indicators, and they include only one-quarter financial context.

Bull case

Broad end-market portfolio: Ashland operates across Life Sciences (including pharmaceutical and nutrition solutions), Personal Care & Household, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates and Solvents, which can spread demand across different application areas.
Specialty positioning in formulations: The Life Sciences segment includes controlled release polymers and tablet coatings, and the nutrition and nutraceutical offerings include ingredients for areas like joint comfort, stomach and intestinal health, and sports nutrition.

Bear case

Margins are not large: For the period ended 2026-03-31, gross margin was 30.5% and operating margin was 8.1%, so operating results may be sensitive to cost changes.
Lower contribution from Intermediates and Solvents: In the provided breakdown, Intermediates and Solvents are the smallest segment at 0.05B, so segment mix shifts could meaningfully affect overall performance.

Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price	$72.67
Market Cap	$3.33B
P/E Ratio	65.3
EV / EBITDA	13.8
Price / Book	1.78
Price / Sales	1.81
DCF Value (model)	$17.70
DCF Upside vs Price	-75.6%

Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)	$1.82B
Net Margin	-46.3%
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.3%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-102.2%

Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score	1.48 (distress)

Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E	65.3
Sector P/E (Consumer Discretionary)	20.7
Industry P/E (Wholesale)	24.0
vs Sector	215.3%
vs Industry	172.2%

Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional Holder	BlackRock Fund Advisors ($275.47M)
Institutional Holders Tracked	10

Company
Sector	Consumer Discretionary
Industry	Wholesale
CEO	Guillermo Novo
Employees	3,200
Country	US
IPO Date	1980-03-17

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Data as of 2026-08-21.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.