DD vs DOW: How DuPont de Nemours and Dow Compare (2026)
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
DD (DuPont de Nemours) and DOW (Dow) share investment themes but are different businesses. The right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme.
DD vs DOW: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | DD | DOW | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $18.51B | $21.55B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 18.09 | 16.18 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Beta | 1.08 | 0.44 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 71% of range | 42% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 1.33 | 1.36 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how DD and DOW affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. DD and DOW share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined DD and DOW exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does DuPont de Nemours (DD) do?
DuPont de Nemours is a diversified specialty chemicals and materials company. After the 2019 split of DowDuPont into three companies (Dow, DuPont, Corteva), DuPont retained the specialty materials businesses. The company has further restructured through multiple spinoffs and divestitures and is currently in the process of separating into three independent public companies: Electronics (semiconductor materials and interconnect solutions), Water (water purification and treatment), and Industrial (specialty industrial materials).
What does Dow (DOW) do?
Dow Inc. is a global materials-science company that makes plastics, industrial chemicals, and specialty materials. It operates in three segments: Packaging & Specialty Plastics (polyethylene and packaging resins for films, containers, and hygiene products), Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure (ethylene-oxide and propylene-oxide derivatives used in coatings, cleaning, construction, and polyurethanes), and Performance Materials & Coatings (silicones, acrylics, and cellulosics for consumer, infrastructure, and mobility markets). Dow makes money by converting oil-and-gas feedstocks into ethylene and downstream chemicals at enormous scale and selling them worldwide, so its margins depend heavily on the spread between feedstock and energy costs and the market price of its commodity products.
DD vs DOW: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- DD drivers: Three-way separation execution; Electronics business AI semiconductor exposure.
- DOW drivers: Chemical-cycle recovery; Restructuring and cost reduction.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Separation execution complexity. For DOW, the dominant risk is commodity-cycle cyclicality: Dow's plastics and chemicals sell into global markets at prices it does not control, so a prolonged downturn, weak industrial demand, or continued China-led oversupply can keep margins compressed and earnings in the red, as the Q1 2026 net loss showed.
DD or DOW: which should you pick?
DD vs DOW: the full fundamentals
DD. DuPont's current valuation reflects sum-of-parts expectations across the three pending separation entities. The Electronics business in particular is expected to trade at semiconductor-supply-chain multiples (~30-40x) post-separation. The implicit conglomerate discount is the central thesis.
DOW. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. For a cyclical chemicals producer, headline earnings multiples mean less than where the chemical cycle sits, because a depressed or negative earnings base distorts P/E. Dow's near-term results reflect a downturn, so the investment question centers on whether and when demand recovers and oversupply clears, not on any single quarter's number.
Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): DD shows revenue (ttm) ~$12 billion, operating margin ~18%, net income (ttm) ~$1 billion (GAAP, affected by restructuring), eps (ttm) ~$2.30; DOW shows revenue (q1 2026) ~$9.8 billion (approximate; down ~6% year over year; verify live), net result (q1 2026) GAAP net loss of roughly $445 million (approximate; verify live), eps (q1 2026) ~-$0.74 loss per share (approximate; verify live), market cap ~$23 billion (approximate; stock in the low $30s; verify live).
The bottom line: DD vs DOW
DD and DOW are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined DD and DOW exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Investing in DuPont de Nemours with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how DD 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 is the difference between DD and DOW?
+
DuPont de Nemours is a diversified specialty chemicals and materials company. Dow Inc. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is DD or DOW the better stock?
+
Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, DD or DOW?
+
On forward P/E (as of July 2026), DD trades at 18.09x and DOW at 16.18x, so DOW is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both DD and DOW?
+
Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of DD vs DOW?
+
DD: Separation execution complexity. Tax implications of the separation structure. Cyclical exposure in specialty industrials. Customer concentration in Electronics (the major semiconductor manufacturers). DOW: The dominant risk is commodity-cycle cyclicality: Dow's plastics and chemicals sell into global markets at prices it does not control, so a prolonged downturn, weak industrial demand, or continued China-led oversupply can keep margins compressed and earnings in the red, as the Q1 2026 net loss showed. Feedstock and energy-cost swings cut margins directly, and tariffs and trade policy add cost volatility outside the company's control. The 2026 restructuring carries execution risk, and shuttering assets involves charges and disruption. The rebased dividend could face further pressure if cash flow stays weak, and elevated leverage limits flexibility. Because results are tied to the cycle, a low headline multiple can be misleading when it reflects depressed rather than normalized earnings.
Related comparisons
Browse all stock comparisons.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell DD or DOW; figures are approximate and dated (as of July 2026). Verify current data before investing.