Ashland Inc. Common Stock (ASH)

FairStock Score: 50/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I look for businesses that earn high returns on capital and sell at a sensible price. Ashland is a specialty ingredients company with 2,900 employees. The filed record is unsteady: in FY2023 revenue was $2.2B and net income was $178.0M; in FY2024 revenue was $2.1B and net income was $169.0M; then in FY2025 revenue was $1.8B and net income was a loss of $845.0M. That fits the Lynch TURNAROUND label—loss in the latest year after earlier profits. More recently, in fiscal Q1 2026, the quarter ended 2025-12-31, revenue was $386.0M and net loss was $12.0M; in fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-03-31, revenue was $482.0M and net income was $16.0M; and in fiscal Q3 2026, the quarter ended 2026-06-30, revenue was $497.0M and net income was $16.0M. So operations are moving in the right direction. But quality is not yet proven: FairStock's ROE is 3.99%, ROCE is 2.43%, and the Altman Z-Score is 1.79. Debt-to-equity is 0.79, and Piotroski is 6/9. Free cash flow is positive at $206.0M, a 6.2% FCF yield. Valuation is the stumbling block. At the 2026-10-13 close of $72.65, FairStock reports P/E 46.57, P/B 1.78, and a Graham Number of $37.86, leaving a margin of safety of -91.89%. The dividend yields 2.43% and beta is 0.39, which may attract income-focused investors. Growth is mixed: PEG 0.46 and EV/EBITDA 11.51 suggest expectations are not crazy if profits recover, but the current price already assumes a lot. I would want consistent profits, better returns on capital, and a lower price before calling this a bargain.

In plain English: Ashland makes specialty ingredients used in medicines, personal care, and other products. It lost a lot of money in fiscal 2025 after earning profits in the two years before, but the latest reported quarter showed a small profit. At $72.65, the stock looks expensive compared with the company's earnings and book value, even though it still produces positive cash flow.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q3 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2025-12-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-09-30) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-09-30) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-09-30)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer