Element Solutions Inc. (ESI) Stock Price & How to Invest

Element Solutions Inc is a specialty chemicals company providing high-performance specialty chemistries to electronics, automotive, industrial, and energy customers. The company organizes around two main segments. Electronics provides specialty chemistries for printed circuit board manufacturing, semiconductor packaging, and electronics assembly (including the MacDermid Alpha brand, a major supplier to electronics manufacturers globally). Industrial and Specialty provides specialty surface treatment chemistries, oil and gas chemistries, graphics arts chemistries, and various other industrial specialty chemicals.

The Electronics segment has been the larger growth contributor, driven by semiconductor packaging investment (advanced packaging chemistries for chiplet integration), thermal interface materials for high-power AI GPUs and CPUs, and continued PCB manufacturing complexity. Electronics organic sales rose about 20% in Q2 2026, led by Semiconductor Solutions, while Industrial volumes were weaker. Acquisitions (Micromax and EFC) also lifted reported sales: revenue was about $978 million in Q2 2026 versus about $656 million in Q3 2025, and trailing twelve-month revenue reached about $3.15 billion.

2026 has been eventful for shareholders. In July, Solstice Advanced Materials agreed to buy Element Solutions for $10 in cash plus 0.5 Solstice shares per ESI share, roughly $50.10 at announcement. On August 27 the two companies mutually terminated the deal, citing shareholders on both sides who preferred independence, with no break fee paid. As of October 16, 2026 ESI closed near $35.50, up about 37% year to date and 40% over one year. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ben Gliklich has been CEO since 2018.

Cyclical exposure across electronics and industrial end markets, with the Industrial business already showing weaker volumes in 2026. Customer concentration in major electronics manufacturers, and a heavier reliance on AI-related semiconductor demand that could cool. Integration risk from the Micromax and EFC acquisitions, plus leverage of about $2.1 billion of debt. GAAP profitability is thin relative to the adjusted figures (trailing net margin about 5.7%, trailing P/E near 48), and free cash flow over the trailing twelve months was only about $51 million. The terminated Solstice deal removed a takeout price near $50 per share, and analyst targets have been trimmed (Mizuho to $42 from $45 in October 2026). Pass-through of raw material cost inflation can lag during volatile periods.

12 analysts publish price targets on ESI, averaging $47.08 against a $35.05 price as of October 2026, or +34.3%. The published targets run from $42.00 to $55.00, a narrow spread, and the ratings split 11 buy, 1 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 6 raises and 3 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 ESI forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Element Solutions Inc.. 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. Semiconductor advanced packaging. Element Solutions's MacDermid Alpha brand is a major supplier of specialty chemistries used in semiconductor advanced packaging (including chiplet integration and 2.5D/3D packaging). The most optimistic published target, $55.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Cyclical exposure across electronics and industrial end markets, with the Industrial business already showing weaker volumes in 2026. The most pessimistic target, $42.00, is roughly what ESI is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on ESI, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. Element Solutions Inc. (ESI) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Element Solutions Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$3.15 billion
• Revenue growth (Q2 2026, YoY): ~56% (incl. acquisitions)
• Operating margin: ~12%
• Net income (TTM): ~$179 million
• Q2 2026 adj. EPS: $0.47 vs $0.43 est.
• P/E (trailing / forward): ~48x / ~16.7x
• Dividend yield: ~0.9% ($0.32/yr)
• Market cap: ~$8.7 billion

The gap between a trailing GAAP P/E near 48 and a forward multiple near 17 reflects acquisition and deal costs in reported earnings versus the roughly $2.13 of adjusted EPS analysts expect in 2027. EV/EBITDA sits around 19x after the 2026 rally. Q3 2026 results on October 21 carry consensus of about $0.47 EPS on $961 million of revenue, and management has guided Q3 adjusted EBITDA to about $180 million.

If you want ESI exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

These are the investment theses ESI naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.

Other names that sit close to ESI: 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.

There are three common ways to get ESI exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (IJR, SPSM), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so ESI sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where ESI 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.

Element Solutions (ESI) pairs faster-growing semiconductor-packaging and PCB chemistries through MacDermid Alpha with steadier industrial surface-treatment and oil-and-gas chemistries that smooth cash flow. In 2026 the electronics side, plus the Micromax and EFC acquisitions, lifted quarterly revenue to nearly $1 billion and the stock gained about 37% year to date, even after a proposed $14.5 billion sale to Solstice Advanced Materials was called off in August. In a portfolio it behaves like a mid-cap materials satellite with AI-packaging exposure and a modest dividend rather than index-like stability. Q3 2026 results are due October 21.

Whether ESI 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 ESI a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the ESI stock forecast.

For income investors, whether ESI pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does ESI pay a dividend? And to weigh ESI against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: ESI vs NVDA and ESI vs AMD.