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Side-by-side financial comparison of STEPAN CO (SCL) and Trinseo PLC (TSE). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Trinseo PLC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($662.6M vs $604.5M, roughly 1.1× STEPAN CO). STEPAN CO runs the higher net margin — 3.3% vs -37.9%, a 41.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, STEPAN CO posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (1.9% vs -19.3%). Over the past eight quarters, STEPAN CO's revenue compounded faster (4.2% CAGR vs -14.4%).
Stepan Company is an American manufacturer of specialty chemicals headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. The company was founded in 1932 by Alfred C. Stepan, Jr., and has approximately 2,000 employees. It is currently run by his grandson, F. Quinn Stepan, Jr. The company describes itself as the largest global merchant manufacturer of anionic surfactants, which are used to enhance the foaming and cleaning capabilities of detergents, shampoos, toothpastes, and cosmetics.
Trinseo is a company focusing particularly on the manufacture of plastics and latex binders. Trinseo was part of the Dow Chemical Company until Dow grouped several of its businesses for potential sale in 2009. In 2010, under the name Styron, those holdings were sold to private equity firm Bain Capital for $1.63 billion. As of 2016, Bain sold all of its stock in Trinseo, grossing $1.69 billion for 37,269,567 shares, resulting in Trinseo's “full independence as a public company.”
SCL vs TSE — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $604.5M | $662.6M |
| Net Profit | $19.7M | $-251.4M |
| Gross Margin | 10.7% | 4.2% |
| Operating Margin | 4.7% | -24.7% |
| Net Margin | 3.3% | -37.9% |
| Revenue YoY | 1.9% | -19.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | — | -113.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.86 | $-7.02 |
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.
| Q1 26 | $604.5M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $553.9M | $662.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $590.3M | $743.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $594.7M | $784.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $593.3M | $784.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $525.6M | $821.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $546.8M | $867.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $556.4M | $920.0M |
| Q1 26 | $19.7M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $5.0M | $-251.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $10.8M | $-109.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.3M | $-105.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $19.7M | $-79.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.4M | $-117.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $23.6M | $-87.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $9.5M | $-67.8M |
| Q1 26 | 10.7% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 9.3% | 4.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 12.0% | 5.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 12.1% | 4.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 12.7% | 8.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 10.8% | 6.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 13.8% | 9.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 12.5% | 7.4% |
| Q1 26 | 4.7% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.9% | -24.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.7% | -3.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.0% | -4.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.8% | -3.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.5% | -5.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.4% | -1.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 1.5% |
| Q1 26 | 3.3% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.9% | -37.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.8% | -14.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.9% | -13.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.3% | -10.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.6% | -14.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.3% | -10.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.7% | -7.4% |
| Q1 26 | $0.86 | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.22 | $-7.02 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.47 | $-3.05 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.50 | $-2.95 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.86 | $-2.22 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.14 | $-3.33 | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.03 | $-2.47 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.42 | $-1.92 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | — | $146.7M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $328.4M | $2.5B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $1.2B | $-1.1B |
| Total Assets | $2.3B | $2.3B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.28× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $132.7M | $146.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $118.5M | $112.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $88.9M | $137.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $107.5M | $126.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $99.7M | $209.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $147.3M | $165.3M | ||
| Q2 24 | $124.7M | $105.6M |
| Q1 26 | $328.4M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $626.7M | $2.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $655.5M | $2.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $658.0M | $2.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $659.3M | $2.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $625.4M | $2.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | $688.5M | $2.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $657.1M | $2.3B |
| Q1 26 | $1.2B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.2B | $-1.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.2B | $-861.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.2B | $-750.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.2B | $-679.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.2B | $-619.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.2B | $-480.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.2B | $-413.8M |
| Q1 26 | $2.3B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.4B | $2.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.4B | $2.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.4B | $2.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.4B | $2.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.3B | $2.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.4B | $2.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.3B | $2.8B |
| Q1 26 | 0.28× | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.50× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.53× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.53× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.55× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.53× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.56× | — | ||
| Q2 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 | — | $22.6M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $6.6M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 1.0% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | 2.4% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $-153.4M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $60.0M | $22.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $69.8M | $-21.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $11.2M | $6.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $6.9M | $-110.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $68.3M | $85.1M | ||
| Q3 24 | $22.7M | $8.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $29.5M | $-41.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $25.4M | $6.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $40.2M | $-38.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-14.4M | $-3.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-25.8M | $-118.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $32.1M | $63.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-4.0M | $-3.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-208.0K | $-56.1M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 4.6% | 1.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 6.8% | -5.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | -2.4% | -0.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | -4.3% | -15.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 6.1% | 7.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | -0.7% | -0.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | -0.0% | -6.1% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 6.3% | 2.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 5.0% | 2.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 1.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.5% | 1.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 6.9% | 2.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.9% | 1.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 5.3% | 1.5% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 11.99× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 6.44× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.99× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.35× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 20.38× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.96× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.10× | — |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
SCL
| Surfactants | $453.7M | 75% |
| Polymers | $130.0M | 22% |
| Specialty Products | $20.8M | 3% |
TSE
| Other | $325.2M | 49% |
| Asia Pacific | $142.2M | 21% |
| Engineered Materials | $105.0M | 16% |
| Latex | $59.9M | 9% |
| Polymer Solutions | $30.3M | 5% |
