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Side-by-side financial comparison of NL INDUSTRIES INC (NL) and VALHI INC (VHI). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
VALHI INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($494.5M vs $37.7M, roughly 13.1× NL INDUSTRIES INC). VALHI INC runs the higher net margin — -10.8% vs -82.2%, a 71.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, VALHI INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (2.8% vs -1.9%). VALHI INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($89.8M vs $-4.7M). Over the past eight quarters, NL INDUSTRIES INC's revenue compounded faster (-0.4% CAGR vs -3.5%).
NL Industries, formerly known as the National Lead Company, is a lead smelting company currently based in Houston, Texas. National Lead was one of the 12 original stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the time of its creation on May 26, 1896.
Valhi, Inc. is an American holding company operating through wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries in a number of different industries. It was founded in 1987 as a result of the merger of the LLC Corporation and Amalgamated Sugar Company. The Contran Corporation owned 93% of Valhi's common stock as of December 2014. The chairman of the company was Harold Simmons until his death in 2013. As of 2014 it was a Fortune 1000 company.
NL vs VHI — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $37.7M | $494.5M |
| Net Profit | $-31.0M | $-53.2M |
| Gross Margin | 32.1% | 6.9% |
| Operating Margin | 7.6% | -6.2% |
| Net Margin | -82.2% | -10.8% |
| Revenue YoY | -1.9% | 2.8% |
| Net Profit YoY | -287.2% | -333.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $-0.63 | $-1.86 |
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.
| Q4 25 | $37.7M | $494.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $40.0M | $503.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $40.4M | $540.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $40.3M | $538.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $38.4M | $480.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $33.7M | $533.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $35.9M | $559.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $38.0M | $530.6M |
| Q4 25 | $-31.0M | $-53.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-7.9M | $-22.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $355.0K | $900.0K | ||
| Q1 25 | $667.0K | $16.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $16.5M | $22.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $36.0M | $57.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $7.8M | $19.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $6.8M | $7.8M |
| Q4 25 | 32.1% | 6.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 27.6% | 12.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 31.9% | 14.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 30.2% | 22.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 28.8% | 20.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 28.1% | 21.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 31.1% | 21.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 25.5% | 16.3% |
| Q4 25 | 7.6% | -6.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 4.6% | 1.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 6.9% | 6.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.8% | 9.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 87.7% | 11.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.0% | 12.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.2% | 9.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.6% | 5.9% |
| Q4 25 | -82.2% | -10.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | -19.7% | -4.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.9% | 0.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.7% | 3.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 43.1% | 4.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 107.0% | 10.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 21.8% | 3.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 18.0% | 1.5% |
| Q4 25 | $-0.63 | $-1.86 | ||
| Q3 25 | $-0.16 | $-0.78 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.01 | $0.03 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.01 | $0.59 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.34 | $0.81 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.74 | $2.01 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.16 | $0.70 | ||
| Q1 24 | $0.14 | $0.27 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $110.6M | $216.9M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $590.9M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $358.8M | $1.0B |
| Total Assets | $464.2M | $2.6B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 0.58× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $110.6M | $216.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $101.9M | $186.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $111.5M | $190.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $110.0M | $196.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $163.2M | $350.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $146.0M | $316.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $179.4M | $386.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $167.9M | $372.7M |
| Q4 25 | — | $590.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $661.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $544.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $525.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $484.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $526.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $497.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $511.2M |
| Q4 25 | $358.8M | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $375.4M | $1.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $397.6M | $1.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $397.6M | $1.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $396.9M | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $386.0M | $1.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $373.1M | $962.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $368.1M | $928.2M |
| Q4 25 | $464.2M | $2.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $500.2M | $2.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $523.7M | $2.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $520.0M | $2.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $578.3M | $2.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $585.6M | $2.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | $580.0M | $2.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | $568.8M | $2.6B |
| Q4 25 | — | 0.58× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 0.63× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 0.51× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 0.49× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 0.47× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.52× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 0.52× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.55× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $-4.2M | $100.6M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-4.7M | $89.8M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -12.6% | 18.2% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 1.6% | 2.2% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-40.1M | $-82.1M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $-4.2M | $100.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.9M | $-1.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $7.3M | $21.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-47.5M | $-155.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $9.0M | $45.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-5.7M | $13.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $15.5M | $33.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $6.7M | $-48.8M |
| Q4 25 | $-4.7M | $89.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.0M | $-12.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $5.9M | $9.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-48.3M | $-168.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $8.7M | $33.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-6.1M | $3.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $15.1M | $29.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $6.4M | $-53.8M |
| Q4 25 | -12.6% | 18.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 17.4% | -2.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 14.7% | 1.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | -119.9% | -31.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 22.8% | 6.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | -18.3% | 0.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 42.1% | 5.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 17.0% | -10.1% |
| Q4 25 | 1.6% | 2.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.5% | 2.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.3% | 2.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.0% | 2.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.6% | 2.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.4% | 1.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.2% | 0.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 20.53× | 24.11× | ||
| Q1 25 | -71.18× | -9.22× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.54× | 2.01× | ||
| Q3 24 | -0.16× | 0.23× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.98× | 1.68× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.99× | -6.26× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
NL
| Security Products | $29.5M | 78% |
| Marine Components | $8.2M | 22% |
VHI
| Chemicals | $418.3M | 85% |
| Real Estate Management And Development | $38.5M | 8% |
| Security Products | $29.5M | 6% |
| Marine Components | $8.2M | 2% |
