Cabot Corporation (CBT) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
Cabot (CBT) is the world's largest carbon black maker plus a growing specialty chemicals arm, and investing in it is a bet on steady tire demand and a slow mix shift toward battery and specialty materials. Shares trade near ~$74 at roughly 12x adjusted earnings with a ~2.6% dividend yield, so the stock is priced as a cash-generative cyclical, not a growth story.
CBT stock price
As of 2026-10-23, Cabot Corporation (CBT) last closed at $73.36, up 3.2% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $58.71 and $93.40.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Cabot Corporation's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Cabot Corporation (CBT) do?
Cabot Corporation, based in Boston and founded in 1882, makes the black powder that gives tires their strength and wear resistance. Carbon black is mostly sold through its Reinforcement Materials segment to tire makers such as Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear, and that segment produced roughly $599 million of the ~$982 million in sales in the June 2026 quarter. The second segment, Performance Chemicals, sells specialty carbons for plastics and coatings, fumed silica and alumina, inkjet colorants and conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries. Cabot sold its activated carbon (Purification Solutions) unit in 2024 to concentrate on these two businesses, and it runs a global network of plants across the Americas, Europe and Asia, including new capacity in Indonesia and a Mexican carbon black producer bought in early 2026.
Fiscal 2026, which ended September 30, has been a year of mixed signals. Adjusted EPS was ~$1.53, ~$1.61 and ~$1.67 across the first three quarters, down roughly 12% to 13% year over year, because the calendar 2026 tire customer contracts settled at lower gross profit per ton after a wave of low-cost Asian tire imports pressured Western customers. Performance Chemicals moved the other way: segment EBIT rose ~19% to ~$68 million in the June quarter, helped by battery materials that management expects to earn about $40 million of EBITDA this year. Management narrowed full-year adjusted EPS guidance to ~$6.15 to $6.45, versus $7.25 in fiscal 2025, and is spending about $79 million in pre-tax charges to close its Campana, Argentina plant and units at Botlek in the Netherlands for roughly $22 million of annual savings. Erica McLaughlin became CEO on October 1, 2026, succeeding Sean Keohane, and full fiscal 2026 results are expected in early November. The investment picture is a company with a dominant position in a mature product, a modest balance sheet (net debt about 1.5x EBITDA), a dividend raised 5% to ~$0.4725 a quarter, and a valuation of roughly 12x earnings that reflects a trough in tire pricing rather than collapse.
What's driving Cabot Corporation (CBT)?
1. Tire contract pricing and volume recovery
Reinforcement Materials is still about 60% of sales and most of the profit, so the annual tire contract negotiation is the single biggest swing factor. Calendar 2026 agreements reset gross profit per ton lower, which cut segment EBIT ~24% to ~$97 million in the June quarter even as volumes rose ~5%. Asia Pacific volumes grew ~10% and the Americas ~4%, while Europe fell ~4%. If anti-dumping duties on imported tires in the US and Europe help Western tire makers regain share, Cabot's local plants run fuller and the calendar 2027 negotiations, which take place this autumn, could stabilize pricing. A flat contract round would let volume growth flow straight through to earnings.
2. Battery materials and conductive additives
Cabot sells conductive carbon additives, carbon nanotubes and blended dispersions that help lithium-ion cathodes and anodes carry current. Management has guided to about $40 million of battery materials EBITDA in fiscal 2026, a business that barely registered a few years ago, with customers among Asian cell makers and new Western gigafactories. Performance Chemicals EBIT rose ~18% to ~19% year over year in the March and June quarters partly on this line. Growth depends on electric vehicle and energy storage battery demand, the pace of North American and European cell plant ramps, and Cabot holding share against Chinese nanotube suppliers that compete hard on price.
3. Specialty carbons, fumed metal oxides and mix
Beyond batteries, Performance Chemicals sells specialty carbon blacks for plastics, wire and cable and coatings, plus fumed silica and alumina used in adhesives, sealants, silicone rubber and semiconductor polishing slurries. These products earn higher margins than tire grade carbon black and are less tied to the tire contract cycle. Segment sales rose ~9.7% to ~$351 million in the June quarter. The bull case for the stock rests largely on this segment growing toward a bigger share of profit over time, which would gradually justify a higher multiple than a pure commodity producer receives. Recovery in construction and industrial demand would help the specialty grades most.
4. Cost restructuring and capital returns
Cabot is closing its Campana, Argentina carbon black plant by the end of 2026 and intends to shut several units at Botlek in the Netherlands over fiscal 2026 and 2027, subject to works council consultation. The program carries roughly $79 million of pre-tax charges and targets about $22 million of annual fixed cost savings. Fiscal 2025 operating cash flow was ~$665 million, funding ~$274 million of capital spending, ~$96 million of dividends and ~$168 million of buybacks. With liquidity of ~$1.3 billion and net debt near 1.5x EBITDA, the company has room to keep returning cash while new CEO Erica McLaughlin sets her own priorities, which investors will hear at the November results.
What are the risks to Cabot Corporation (CBT)?
The biggest risk is that tire pricing keeps resetting lower. Western tire makers face heavy competition from low-cost Asian imports, and if they keep losing share or push Cabot harder in the calendar 2027 contract round, Reinforcement Materials earnings could fall again even with higher volumes. Feedstock is another exposure: carbon black is made from heavy oil residues, and while contracts include pass-through mechanisms, sharp oil swings can squeeze margins for a quarter or two. Cabot runs energy-intensive plants that emit significant CO2, so tighter European carbon pricing and US EPA consent-decree obligations raise compliance costs. Battery materials face fierce price competition from Chinese nanotube makers and depend on an electric vehicle market that has slowed in the West. Restructuring brings execution risk, and the Botlek closures still need local approval. A CEO transition adds strategic uncertainty, the former CEO sold about 25% of his stake in August, and Cabot's large operations in China, Indonesia and Latin America expose it to currency moves, tariffs and geopolitical disruption. Finally, analyst consensus sits at Hold, with targets clustered near the current price.
What is the Cabot Corporation (CBT) forecast?
6 analysts publish price targets on CBT, averaging $90.33 against a $73.86 price as of October 2026, or +22.3%. The published targets run from $78.00 to $100.00, a narrow spread, and the ratings split 2 buy, 3 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 5 raises and 2 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.
Read the full CBT forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is CBT a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on Cabot Corporation. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.
The case for buying. Tire contract pricing and volume recovery. Reinforcement Materials is still about 60% of sales and most of the profit, so the annual tire contract negotiation is the single biggest swing factor. The most optimistic published target, $100.00, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. The biggest risk is that tire pricing keeps resetting lower. The most pessimistic target, $78.00, is roughly what CBT is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on CBT, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
How is Cabot Corporation (CBT) valued? (approximate, October 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Cabot Corporation's investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$3.6 billion (June 2026 quarter ~$982 million, up ~6% year over year)
- Adjusted EPS (FY2026 guidance): ~$6.15 to $6.45 vs $7.25 in FY2025; June quarter ~$1.67
- Segment EBIT (June 2026 quarter): Reinforcement Materials ~$97 million (down ~24%); Performance Chemicals ~$68 million (up ~19%)
- P/E (adjusted, forward): ~12x on FY2026 guidance at a share price near ~$74
- Dividend yield: ~2.6% (~$0.4725 quarterly, ~$1.89 a year, raised 5% in May 2026)
- Market cap: ~$3.8 billion; net debt ~1.5x EBITDA
Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Fiscal 2026 ended September 30 and full-year results are expected in early November 2026, so trailing figures will shift soon. GAAP earnings look far weaker than adjusted earnings this year because of restructuring and benefit plan charges, including a ~$1.55 per share hit in the June quarter. At roughly 12x adjusted earnings the stock trades near specialty chemical peers' low end, and the average analyst target of ~$89 to $91 sits well above the ~$74 quote, after the shares slid from the mid-$80s in August.
Who competes with Cabot Corporation (CBT)?
Global carbon black producers
Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC), Birla Carbon (part of India's Aditya Birla Group), Tokai Carbon of Japan and Continental Carbon are Cabot's direct rivals in tire and rubber grades. Orion is the closest listed comparison and has struggled more with the same tire weakness. Several Chinese producers compete aggressively on price, especially in Asian markets.
Specialty silica and metal oxides
In fumed silica and alumina, Cabot competes mainly with Evonik (Aerosil) and Wacker Chemie, plus Tokuyama and Chinese makers. These are higher margin markets serving adhesives, silicones, coatings and semiconductor slurries, where product consistency and technical service matter as much as price, which favors established producers.
Battery conductive additives
In lithium-ion conductive additives, Cabot faces Jiangsu Cnano and other Chinese carbon nanotube suppliers, LG Chem's nanotube business, Denka in acetylene black, and Imerys in conductive graphite and carbon black. Chinese suppliers dominate volume, so Cabot leans on quality, formulation support and proximity to Western cell plants.
What stocks are similar to Cabot Corporation (CBT)?
Other names that sit close to CBT: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
How to invest in Cabot Corporation (CBT)
There are three common ways to get CBT exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so CBT sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where CBT fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on Cabot Corporation (CBT)
Cabot is a disciplined, cash-generative carbon black leader whose earnings are softening in tires while specialty and battery materials grow. It suits patient, income-minded holders more than anyone seeking fast growth.
More on Cabot Corporation (CBT)
Whether CBT is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is CBT a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the CBT stock forecast.
For income investors, whether CBT pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does CBT pay a dividend? And to weigh CBT against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: CBT vs GLW and CBT vs LIN.
Wondering how CBT fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Cabot Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how CBT fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does Cabot Corporation actually make?
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Cabot's core product is carbon black, a fine black powder made by partially burning heavy oil feedstocks. Roughly 70% of the world's carbon black ends up in tires, where it reinforces rubber and improves wear and grip; the rest goes into belts, hoses, seals and other rubber goods. That business sits in the Reinforcement Materials segment, about 60% of sales. The Performance Chemicals segment makes specialty carbon blacks that color and protect plastics, wire and cable and coatings; fumed silica and alumina used in silicones, adhesives and chip polishing slurries; inkjet colorants; and conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries. Cabot sold its activated carbon purification business in 2024, so today it is essentially a two-segment company built around carbon and particle chemistry, with plants on every major continent.
How did Cabot perform in fiscal 2026?
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Through the first three quarters of fiscal 2026, adjusted EPS came in at ~$1.53, ~$1.61 and ~$1.67, each down roughly 12% to 13% from a year earlier but rising sequentially. The June quarter brought ~$982 million in sales, up ~6%, and slightly beat consensus. Reinforcement Materials EBIT fell ~24% to ~$97 million because calendar 2026 tire contracts settled at lower margins per ton, while Performance Chemicals EBIT rose ~19% to ~$68 million on battery materials and specialty grades. GAAP net income was only ~$6 million that quarter after ~$1.55 per share of restructuring and benefit plan charges. Management guided full-year adjusted EPS to ~$6.15 to $6.45, versus $7.25 in fiscal 2025, with final results due in early November 2026.
Why did Cabot's tire carbon black earnings fall?
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Cabot negotiates most tire grade carbon black supply on annual calendar-year contracts with large tire makers. Over 2025 Western tire producers lost share to low-cost imported tires from Asia, which left them with lower utilization and more pressure on suppliers. Cabot's own volumes in the Americas and Europe softened, and in the calendar 2026 negotiations it accepted lower gross profit per ton to hold volume. The result was segment EBIT down ~22% to ~29% year over year in each of the first three fiscal quarters, even as volumes recovered later in the year, helped by a new Indonesian plant and a Mexican producer acquired in early 2026. Trade duties on imported tires and the calendar 2027 contract round, negotiated this autumn, are the main things that could change the trend.
Is Cabot a battery or electric vehicle stock?
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Only partly. Battery materials are Cabot's fastest-growing line, with management guiding to about $40 million of EBITDA in fiscal 2026, but that is a small slice of a company earning several hundred million dollars of segment EBIT a year. Cabot supplies conductive carbon additives, carbon nanotubes and pre-made dispersions that improve electrical conductivity in lithium-ion electrodes, and it has invested in capacity in China, the US and Europe to serve cell makers. The business gives Cabot some exposure to electric vehicles and grid storage, but most of its earnings still depend on tires and industrial demand. Investors drawn to the battery angle would be getting a mature chemicals company with an option on battery growth, not a pure play.
Does Cabot pay a dividend?
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Yes. Cabot has paid a dividend for decades and raised its quarterly payout 5% in May 2026 to ~$0.4725 a share, or about $1.89 a year, which works out to a yield of roughly 2.6% at a share price near ~$74. The payout is well covered: at the midpoint of fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of ~$6.30, the dividend uses under a third of earnings. In fiscal 2025 the company paid ~$96 million in dividends and also spent ~$168 million on buybacks, both funded from ~$665 million of operating cash flow. Future increases will depend on how the new CEO balances shareholder returns against restructuring costs and growth investment, but the balance sheet, at about 1.5x net debt to EBITDA, supports the current payout.
How is Cabot stock valued compared with peers?
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At a share price near ~$74 and fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of ~$6.15 to $6.45, Cabot trades at roughly 12x adjusted earnings, with a market value near ~$3.8 billion. That is cheaper than large diversified specialty chemical companies and roughly in line with its own history during weaker parts of the cycle. Orion, its closest listed rival, trades at a lower multiple but carries more debt and has seen sharper earnings pressure. GAAP P/E looks much higher, around the mid-20s, because restructuring charges depress reported profit. Analyst consensus is Hold, with an average 12-month target around $89 to $91 and a range of roughly $78 (JPMorgan) to $100 (Truist), a range that sits mostly above the current quote.
Who is Cabot's new CEO and what changes?
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Erica McLaughlin became president and CEO on October 1, 2026, succeeding Sean Keohane, who led Cabot since 2016 and oversaw the sale of the purification business, the push into battery materials and steady buybacks. McLaughlin previously served as Cabot's chief financial officer and head of corporate strategy, so the change looks like continuity rather than a reset. Investors will be watching her first results call in early November for fiscal 2027 guidance, any update on the calendar 2027 tire contract round, the pace of the Argentina and Netherlands closures, and whether capital allocation shifts between buybacks, dividends and growth projects. Keohane sold about 134,900 shares near $85 in late August, roughly 25% of his holding, ahead of his retirement.
What are the main ways to get exposure to Cabot?
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CBT trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is available at most US brokerages, many of which offer fractional shares. It is a mid-cap stock held in small and mid-cap index funds and in many materials and specialty chemicals ETFs, such as mid-cap value and materials sector funds, though usually at small weights. Some investors group it with other tire supply chain names (tire makers, synthetic rubber producers) or with battery materials suppliers to express a theme. Because Cabot's results swing with tire contract pricing and industrial demand, people often look at how it fits alongside other cyclical holdings rather than on its own. Walnut is not an investment adviser, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell; figures are approximate as of October 2026.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Cabot Corporation's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.