Health score, competitive moat, risk signals, and key metrics at a glance.
Cabot Corporation operates as a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. It operates through two segments, Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals. The company offers reinforcing carbons that are used in tires as a rubber reinforcing agent and performance additive, as well as in industrial products, such as hoses, belts, extruded profiles, and molded goods; and engineered elastomer composites solutions. It also provides specialty carbons for use in inks, coatings, plastics, adhesives, toners, batteries, and displays; conductive additives and fumed alumina used in lead acid and lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles; fumed silica used in adhesives, sealants, cosmetics, batteries, inks, toners, silicone elastomers, coatings, polishing slurries, and pharmaceuticals; and fumed alumina for use in various products, including inkjet media, lighting, coatings, cosmetics, and polishing slurries. In addition, it offers aerogel, a hydrophobic, silica-based particle to use in various thermal insulation and specialty chemical applications; masterbatch and conductive compound products that are used in automotive, industrial, packaging, infrastructure, agriculture, consumer products, and electronics industries; and inkjet colorants for inkjet printing applications, as well as carbon nanotubes and fumed metal oxides. The company sells its products through distributors and sales representatives in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Cabot Corporation was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Competitive analysis based on 64 quarters of fundamental data
Operating margins are positive at ~16.0% on average, but show some variability — pricing power may be sensitive to market conditions.
Consistently high ROE averaging 26.3% suggests a durable competitive advantage and efficient capital allocation.
Data-driven red flags and warnings across 64 quarters
Margins are stable or improving at ~15.7% — no sign of cost or pricing stress.
FCF/Net Income has dropped below 0.7x in 3 quarters — monitor for earnings quality deterioration.
D/E ratio is 0.6 — conservative capital structure with low financial risk.
Revenue declined in 6 of the last 7 quarters — persistent contraction signals a fundamental problem.
Free cash flow is consistently positive — the business self-funds without external capital reliance.
Shares decreased 5.6% — net buybacks are reducing shares outstanding and boosting per-share value.
as of March 2026
Revenue, EBITDA, operating income, net income, EPS, and shares
Gross, EBITDA, operating, and net margin trends
P/E, P/S, P/B, EV/EBITDA, FCF yield, and earnings yield
Total assets, cash, debt, book value, and leverage
Operating cash flow, free cash flow, FCF margin, and earnings quality
Free cash flow is consistently positive and growing — a hallmark of a capital-light business that can self-fund growth.
Revenue has been flat or declining over recent quarters, which may indicate eroding demand or competitive pressure.
