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The useful comparison is not “which paint stock has the lowest P/E?” Start by matching the businesses: Sherwin-Williams’ company-operated paint stores, consumer brands and performance-coatings operations should be compared with the specific architectural, industrial, automotive or specialty businesses of each peer. Then align fiscal periods, currencies and accounting definitions before comparing growth, margins, cash flow, leverage, capital allocation and valuation.
This guide gives you a repeatable process for comparing Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) with coatings companies without treating a broad shareholder-return peer group as a list of identical operating businesses.
What Sherwin-Williams actually does
A fair comparison begins with the operating model. Sherwin-Williams reports three segments: Paint Stores Group, Consumer Brands Group and Performance Coatings Group. Its 2025 filing describes sales to professional, industrial, commercial and retail customers, with a geographic footprint centered primarily on North and South America and additional operations elsewhere. Read the segment descriptions in the company’s 2025 Form 10-K before selecting peers.
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Paint Stores Group
This segment gives Sherwin-Williams a large company-operated store network serving painting contractors and other professional customers. Store density, contractor relationships, local inventory and delivery capability can make this business behave differently from a coatings manufacturer that sells mainly through independent distributors or directly to industrial customers.
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Consumer Brands Group
Consumer Brands covers products sold through retail and other consumer channels. Brand spending, retailer bargaining power, do-it-yourself demand and shelf placement matter here. A company whose revenue is mostly consumer paint should not be compared with SHW on a consolidated basis without separating channel mix.
Performance Coatings Group
Performance coatings serves industrial and other specialized applications. End markets such as automotive refinish, manufacturing, infrastructure or transportation can have different volume cycles, specifications and switching costs than architectural paint. The relevant peer may change depending on which application you are analyzing.
Which companies are reasonable starting peers?
Sherwin-Williams’ 2025 industry peer group names Akzo Nobel, Axalta, BASF, PPG and RPM. The same formal list also includes companies such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Genuine Parts, Masco, Newell Brands and Stanley Black & Decker. The list is designed for a shareholder-return benchmark, not to certify that every member is an equally similar coatings manufacturer. The names and the purpose of the group appear in the 2025 Form 10-K.
| Company or category | Why it may be useful | Why it is not automatically comparable to SHW |
|---|---|---|
| PPG Industries | Large coatings business with architectural and industrial exposure; its 2025 filing provides segment and business context. | Mix of businesses, geographies and channels can differ from Sherwin-Williams. Compare the relevant segment, not just consolidated revenue. |
| RPM International | Portfolio of specialty coatings, sealants and related products can provide a specialty-materials comparison. | Different brands, end markets and acquisition history can change margins and capital needs. |
| Axalta | Useful when the question is automotive and transportation coatings. | More concentrated end-market exposure can produce a different cycle from architectural paint and company-operated stores. |
| Akzo Nobel | International coatings exposure broadens a global-manufacturer comparison. | Currency, regional demand, portfolio mix and reporting conventions may differ from SHW. |
| BASF | Can be relevant for a broader chemicals or materials screen. | It is a diversified chemicals company, not a pure coatings peer; keep it in a separate diversified-chemicals comparison. |
| Home Depot and Lowe’s | Relevant only when studying retail distribution, renovation demand or channel economics. | They are retailers, not coatings manufacturers. Their retail margins and inventory economics should not be benchmarked as if they were SHW’s manufacturing segments. |
| Other companies in SHW’s formal peer group | Useful for the company’s disclosed shareholder-return benchmark. | Retailers, suppliers and diversified industrial or consumer companies may have little operating overlap with paint and coatings. |
Write down your selection rule before collecting numbers. For example, you might compare global coatings manufacturers, companies with material architectural-paint exposure, or businesses serving industrial and transportation coatings. A list that mixes all three purposes can be informative, but only if each subgroup is labeled.
Start with a same-period data sheet
Most bad stock comparisons are denominator problems. Build one worksheet and record the period, currency, accounting basis and source for every number.
Align fiscal years and trailing periods
Use the same fiscal year for all companies, or use a clearly defined trailing-twelve-month period for all of them. State the period end date. Do not compare SHW’s latest quarter with a peer’s prior-year earnings or with a trailing period that includes a different cycle.
Sherwin-Williams’ investor-relations site lists 2026 quarterly results and updates. Before publishing or relying on a valuation comparison, check the latest filing and earnings release at Sherwin-Williams Investor Relations and obtain the corresponding period for each peer.
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For an international company, record the reporting currency and the exchange rate convention used in your worksheet. Distinguish reported growth from constant-currency growth when a company provides both. A stronger translated dollar can reduce reported revenue even when local-currency demand is unchanged; the reverse can inflate reported growth.
Separate reported and adjusted figures
Mark every earnings figure as GAAP, IFRS, company-defined adjusted or another basis. Adjusted earnings may exclude restructuring, acquisition costs, impairments, amortization or other items. They are not interchangeable with GAAP earnings. If you use an adjusted number for one company, use a consistently defined adjusted measure for every company and preserve each issuer’s reconciliation.
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Use Sherwin-Williams’ 2025 figures as a dated baseline
The following figures are reported for 2025 by The Sherwin-Williams Company; they are a starting point, not a current market snapshot.
| Measure | 2025 SHW figure | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidated net sales | $23.574 billion | Compare with a peer’s same-period reported revenue only after confirming fiscal year, currency and acquisition effects. |
| Diluted net income per share | $10.26 | GAAP diluted EPS; use this basis for a GAAP P/E. |
| Adjusted diluted EPS | $11.43 | Company-defined non-GAAP measure; use only with a clearly identified reconciliation and comparable adjusted figures. |
| Net operating cash flow | $3.452 billion | One year of cash generation; it does not by itself establish a sustainable free-cash-flow run rate. |
| Listing | New York Stock Exchange, ticker SHW | Use the correct share class and share count when calculating market capitalization. |
These figures are in The Sherwin-Williams Company’s 2025 Form 10-K. The filing also states, in management’s own words, that “Sherwin-Williams delivered strong 2025 results driven by solid core performance and a focus on operational discipline despite continued demand choppiness.” That is company-authored management language, not an independent analyst conclusion.
Compare growth without hiding the mix
Consolidated sales growth is a useful first screen, but it can conceal the reason revenue changed. A company may grow through acquisitions while its organic volume falls, or report flat sales while price increases offset lower physical volume.
Build a multi-year growth view
- Collect at least three to five fiscal years of reported sales for SHW and each peer.
- Record acquisitions, divestitures and discontinued operations that affect comparability.
- Calculate compound annual growth using the same formula:
(ending sales / beginning sales)^(1 / years) - 1. - Add organic growth, price and volume contributions when the company discloses them.
- Annotate years affected by unusual currency movements, major raw-material inflation, plant closures or large acquisitions.
A multi-year view helps distinguish durable expansion from a single price increase or acquisition. It also prevents a temporary downturn in a cyclical end market from being mistaken for a permanent loss of competitiveness.
Compare like-for-like end markets
Match architectural paint with architectural paint, automotive refinish with automotive refinish and industrial coatings with industrial coatings wherever segment disclosures permit. PPG’s 2025 Form 10-K provides its own segment and business context. Use that filing to map overlapping activities rather than assuming that a similar product label means similar economics.
Ask what drove the change
- Volume: Did customers buy more or fewer units?
- Price and mix: Did price increases, premium products or customer mix lift revenue?
- Currency: How much came from translation rather than local demand?
- Acquisitions: Is reported growth mostly newly acquired revenue?
- Geography: Did North American, Latin American, European or other markets move differently?
Compare profitability at the segment level
Margins are meaningful only when the business models are comparable. A company-operated store network carries selling and distribution costs that a manufacturer selling through distributors may not. A specialty-coatings portfolio can have different gross margins, research spending and customer qualification costs than architectural paint.
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Use a consistent margin set
For each company, collect gross margin where disclosed, operating margin, segment operating margin and adjusted operating measures. Keep reported and adjusted columns separate. Calculate operating margin as operating income / net sales and label whether the numerator is GAAP, IFRS or an issuer-defined adjusted figure.
Explain the causes, not just the ranking
- Raw-material costs can expand or compress margins depending on pricing lag and contract structure.
- Store labor, delivery and distribution costs matter more for a company-operated retail network.
- Industrial and transportation volumes can swing sharply with production cycles.
- Premium brands and technical specifications may support pricing, but the effect varies by market.
- Acquisition integration, restructuring and impairment charges can distort a single year.
Track margin direction over several years and reconcile major changes to management’s segment discussion. A higher margin is not automatically better if it comes with weaker volume, underinvestment or greater leverage.
Evaluate cash generation and reinvestment
Cash flow tests whether accounting earnings are converting into funds available for stores, plants, research, acquisitions, debt reduction, dividends and repurchases.
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Operating cash flow
SHW reported $3.452 billion of net operating cash in 2025. Compare that number with the same cash-flow line for peers and inspect working-capital movements. A one-year increase can reflect inventory releases or collections that may not repeat.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow has no single universal definition. State yours, for example:
free cash flow = net cash from operating activities - capital expenditures
Use the same definition across the set. Explain whether capital expenditures include only purchases of property and equipment or also software, capitalized development and other items. Do not compare one company’s “adjusted free cash flow” with another’s unadjusted figure.
Capital intensity and working capital
Compare capital expenditures as a percentage of sales, inventory days, receivables and payables when disclosures support it. A store-heavy model may require different working-capital and maintenance-investment levels than a network of specialized coating plants.
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A profitable coatings company can still be vulnerable if debt service consumes cash during a downturn. Collect total debt, cash, net debt, interest expense and maturity information for the same date.
Useful balance-sheet measures
- Net debt to EBITDA: State whether EBITDA is reported or adjusted and which period it covers.
- Interest coverage: Compare operating income or EBITDA with interest expense using a consistent definition.
- Debt maturity profile: Note near-term maturities and floating-rate exposure.
- Liquidity: Include cash and available committed facilities when disclosed.
Review where cash went
Separate maintenance and growth capital expenditures from acquisitions, dividends, share repurchases and debt repayment. Record the timing and size of acquisitions, then ask whether the acquired revenue is included in the growth rate and whether integration costs are excluded from adjusted earnings.
Share repurchases reduce the share count only when the company buys shares at prices that make sense relative to its cash generation and balance-sheet capacity. Do not treat a lower share count as proof of operating improvement.
Compare valuation only with current, matching inputs
Valuation ratios change whenever share prices or earnings estimates change. The materials available here do not establish synchronized current multiples for SHW and its potential peers, so they cannot support a claim about which stock is currently cheapest.
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Price-to-earnings
For a GAAP P/E, use the share price on a stated date divided by diluted GAAP EPS for the same trailing or forward period. If you use adjusted EPS, label it non-GAAP and identify the company’s reconciliation. Never place SHW’s $10.26 2025 GAAP EPS beside a peer’s forward adjusted EPS and call the resulting ratios comparable.
Enterprise value to EBITDA
Calculate enterprise value as equity value plus debt and other debt-like claims minus cash, using a consistent convention. Divide by EBITDA for the same period and define whether EBITDA is reported or adjusted. Different lease, pension and minority-interest treatments can materially change the result.
Free-cash-flow yield
Free-cash-flow yield is free cash flow / equity market capitalization. Date the share price and market capitalization, use the same free-cash-flow definition for every company and explain whether the cash flow is trailing, forecast or normalized.
Use a valuation range, not a single magic number
Show the multiple at several dates or against a multi-year range when reliable data is available. Then connect the valuation to growth, margins, cyclicality, leverage and capital needs. A lower multiple may reflect weaker end markets or higher financial risk rather than an overlooked bargain.
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- Define the question. Choose global coatings manufacturers, architectural paint, industrial and transportation coatings, retail-channel economics or another explicit scope.
- Select peers by operating overlap. Start with PPG, RPM, Axalta and Akzo Nobel for coatings comparisons, then add BASF or retailers only in clearly labeled separate groups.
- Freeze the date. Record the fiscal year or trailing period, share-price date and filing dates.
- Map segments and channels. Create a one-line description of each company’s relevant businesses, customers and geographies.
- Collect operating data. Capture revenue, organic growth, price and volume, segment margins and management explanations.
- Collect cash and balance-sheet data. Record operating cash flow, your stated free-cash-flow calculation, capital expenditures, debt, cash, interest and capital allocation.
- Calculate valuation. Use current prices and matching GAAP or consistently defined adjusted denominators; show the date and formula.
- Write the limitations beside the result. Identify currency, acquisitions, mix, exceptional items and any missing disclosure before drawing a conclusion.
A practical comparison table to maintain
| Column | What to enter | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal period end | Date and number of months | Prevents mismatched annual or quarterly comparisons. |
| Reporting currency | Currency and translation treatment | Separates operating change from exchange-rate effects. |
| Relevant segments | Architectural, consumer, industrial, automotive, specialty or retail | Shows whether the peer really overlaps with the question. |
| Revenue growth | Reported, organic, price and volume where disclosed | Distinguishes acquisition and pricing effects from demand. |
| Operating margin | GAAP/IFRS and adjusted, each labeled | Avoids mixing accounting bases. |
| Operating cash flow | Period total and working-capital notes | Tests earnings conversion and repeatability. |
| Capital expenditures | Reported amount and definition | Supports a consistent free-cash-flow calculation. |
| Net debt | Date, debt components and cash | Frames financial risk and enterprise value. |
| Valuation | Price date, market cap, denominator and formula | Makes the ratio reproducible. |
| Known caveats | Acquisitions, currency, restructuring, impairments or missing data | Stops a precise-looking table from implying false precision. |
Common mistakes and how to correct them
Treating the formal peer group as a pure coatings basket
Problem: The disclosed group includes retailers and diversified companies.
Correction: Use it for shareholder-return context, then create a narrower operating peer set and explain the rule.
Comparing headline revenue without segment mapping
Problem: A diversified chemical company or retailer may have a very different profit engine.
Correction: Compare the closest disclosed segments and keep unrelated businesses outside the operating ranking.
Mixing GAAP and adjusted earnings
Problem: Adjusted EPS can exclude material costs that another company records in earnings.
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Correction: Present GAAP/IFRS first, then a separately labeled adjusted view with each issuer’s reconciliation.
Using stale or mismatched market data
Problem: A multiple based on an old share price or a different earnings period can be misleading.
Correction: Put the share-price date and denominator period in every valuation table and refresh them together.
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Calling one year of cash flow “normal”
Problem: Working-capital releases, inventory changes or temporary tax effects can inflate operating cash.
Correction: Review several years, reconcile unusual movements and state when sustainability is uncertain.
Ignoring currency and geography
Problem: Reported growth can move because of translation rather than local demand.
Correction: Show reported and constant-currency figures separately when disclosed and identify the regions driving the result.
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A useful article, spreadsheet or investment memo should let a reader reproduce the result. Lead with the peer-selection rule, show the operating-model differences, then provide same-period metrics with definitions. Keep a separate section for valuation and put every market figure beside its date.
For SHW specifically, identify the three segments, its professional and consumer channels, the geographic scope and the company-operated-store element before discussing multiples. Use the 2025 figures—$23.574 billion in net sales, $10.26 in GAAP diluted EPS, $11.43 in adjusted diluted EPS and $3.452 billion in operating cash flow—as dated baseline facts, not as current quotes or forecasts. Confirm subsequent results through the investor-relations site and the latest filings before making a time-sensitive comparison.
The result should be a like-for-like map of businesses and financial claims. It can show where Sherwin-Williams differs from a coatings manufacturer, a specialty-materials company or a retailer without pretending that a single ratio answers every question.
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