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Side-by-side financial comparison of Element Solutions Inc (ESI) and STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP (SF). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.1B vs $840.0M, roughly 1.3× Element Solutions Inc). STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP runs the higher net margin — 23.5% vs 6.7%, a 16.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Element Solutions Inc posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (41.0% vs 23.0%). STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP produced more free cash flow last quarter ($369.0M vs $-74.2M). Over the past eight quarters, STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP's revenue compounded faster (21.1% CAGR vs 17.1%).

Element Solutions Inc is an American specialty chemicals production corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Stifel Financial Corp. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company created under the Stifel name in July 1983 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 24, 1986. Its predecessor company was founded in 1890 as the Altheimer and Rawlings Investment Company and is headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

ESI vs SF — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SF
SF
1.3× larger
SF
$1.1B
$840.0M
ESI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ESI
ESI
+18.0% gap
ESI
41.0%
23.0%
SF
Higher net margin
SF
SF
16.8% more per $
SF
23.5%
6.7%
ESI
More free cash flow
SF
SF
$443.2M more FCF
SF
$369.0M
$-74.2M
ESI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SF
SF
Annualised
SF
21.1%
17.1%
ESI

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Revenue
$840.0M
$1.1B
Net Profit
$56.0M
$264.4M
Gross Margin
38.4%
Operating Margin
13.3%
27.3%
Net Margin
6.7%
23.5%
Revenue YoY
41.0%
23.0%
Net Profit YoY
-42.9%
8.3%
EPS (diluted)
$0.23
$2.30

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
$840.0M
Q4 25
$676.2M
$1.1B
Q3 25
$656.1M
$962.6M
Q2 25
$625.2M
$838.9M
Q1 25
$593.7M
$842.5M
Q4 24
$624.2M
$916.0M
Q3 24
$645.0M
$810.9M
Q2 24
$612.7M
$798.9M
Net Profit
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
$56.0M
Q4 25
$6.2M
$264.4M
Q3 25
$39.3M
$211.4M
Q2 25
$47.4M
$155.1M
Q1 25
$98.0M
$53.0M
Q4 24
$54.7M
$244.0M
Q3 24
$40.3M
$158.5M
Q2 24
$93.2M
$165.3M
Gross Margin
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
38.4%
Q4 25
40.9%
Q3 25
42.2%
Q2 25
42.6%
Q1 25
42.2%
Q4 24
41.0%
Q3 24
41.5%
Q2 24
43.6%
Operating Margin
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
13.3%
Q4 25
10.3%
27.3%
Q3 25
15.4%
29.7%
Q2 25
15.1%
25.5%
Q1 25
13.0%
7.5%
Q4 24
12.0%
29.1%
Q3 24
14.7%
26.7%
Q2 24
15.7%
28.4%
Net Margin
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
6.7%
Q4 25
0.9%
23.5%
Q3 25
6.0%
22.0%
Q2 25
7.6%
18.5%
Q1 25
16.5%
6.3%
Q4 24
8.8%
26.6%
Q3 24
6.2%
19.5%
Q2 24
15.2%
20.7%
EPS (diluted)
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
$0.23
Q4 25
$0.03
$2.30
Q3 25
$0.16
$1.84
Q2 25
$0.20
$1.34
Q1 25
$0.40
$0.39
Q4 24
$0.22
$2.10
Q3 24
$0.17
$1.34
Q2 24
$0.39
$1.41

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$177.3M
$2.3B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$617.4M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.7B
$6.0B
Total Assets
$5.7B
$41.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.10×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
$177.3M
Q4 25
$626.5M
$2.3B
Q3 25
$594.3M
$3.2B
Q2 25
$529.9M
$1.9B
Q1 25
$499.2M
$2.7B
Q4 24
$359.4M
$2.6B
Q3 24
$376.0M
$1.9B
Q2 24
$309.3M
$2.6B
Total Debt
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.6B
$617.4M
Q3 25
$1.6B
$617.2M
Q2 25
$1.6B
$617.0M
Q1 25
$1.6B
$616.8M
Q4 24
$1.8B
$616.6M
Q3 24
$1.9B
$616.4M
Q2 24
$1.9B
$1.1B
Stockholders' Equity
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
$2.7B
Q4 25
$2.7B
$6.0B
Q3 25
$2.7B
$5.8B
Q2 25
$2.6B
$5.6B
Q1 25
$2.5B
$5.5B
Q4 24
$2.4B
$5.7B
Q3 24
$2.4B
$5.6B
Q2 24
$2.4B
$5.4B
Total Assets
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
$5.7B
Q4 25
$5.1B
$41.3B
Q3 25
$5.0B
$41.7B
Q2 25
$5.0B
$39.9B
Q1 25
$4.8B
$40.4B
Q4 24
$4.9B
$39.9B
Q3 24
$5.1B
$38.9B
Q2 24
$5.0B
$37.8B
Debt / Equity
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.61×
0.10×
Q3 25
0.61×
0.11×
Q2 25
0.62×
0.11×
Q1 25
0.64×
0.11×
Q4 24
0.76×
0.11×
Q3 24
0.78×
0.11×
Q2 24
0.81×
0.21×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$382.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-74.2M
$369.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-8.8%
32.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
3.0%
1.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.45×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.1B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
Q4 25
$382.4M
Q3 25
$100.1M
$338.3M
Q2 25
$607.5M
Q1 25
$26.0M
$-211.2M
Q4 24
$694.6M
Q3 24
$98.5M
$198.3M
Q2 24
$207.2M
Free Cash Flow
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
$-74.2M
Q4 25
$369.0M
Q3 25
$83.6M
$321.1M
Q2 25
$592.7M
Q1 25
$15.0M
$-227.8M
Q4 24
$677.2M
Q3 24
$85.9M
$185.6M
Q2 24
$173.3M
FCF Margin
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
-8.8%
Q4 25
32.7%
Q3 25
12.7%
33.4%
Q2 25
70.6%
Q1 25
2.5%
-27.0%
Q4 24
73.9%
Q3 24
13.3%
22.9%
Q2 24
21.7%
Capex Intensity
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
3.0%
Q4 25
2.5%
1.2%
Q3 25
2.5%
1.8%
Q2 25
2.8%
1.8%
Q1 25
1.9%
2.0%
Q4 24
3.6%
1.9%
Q3 24
2.0%
1.6%
Q2 24
2.4%
4.2%
Cash Conversion
ESI
ESI
SF
SF
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.45×
Q3 25
2.55×
1.60×
Q2 25
3.92×
Q1 25
0.27×
-3.99×
Q4 24
2.85×
Q3 24
2.44×
1.25×
Q2 24
1.25×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ESI
ESI

Electronics ex-Metals$377.8M45%
Pass-through Metals$255.7M30%
Other$206.5M25%

SF
SF

Segment breakdown not available.

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