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The useful comparison is not “which ticker has the lowest P/E?” Start by matching Sherwin-Williams with companies that have similar products, customers and end markets, then align their fiscal periods, accounting definitions and currencies. Compare segment growth, margins, cash generation, debt and capital allocation before applying a valuation multiple. PPG, RPM, Axalta and Akzo Nobel can be relevant operating peers, while BASF and retail companies belong in separate groups because their business mixes are different.
Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is unusually integrated: it operates company-owned paint stores, sells consumer brands and runs performance-coatings businesses. That combination means a headline comparison with any single coatings manufacturer can conceal important differences. The framework below shows how to build a defensible peer set and score each company without turning a dated snapshot into a buy-or-sell call.
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What Sherwin-Williams actually does
Sherwin-Williams reports three operating segments: Paint Stores Group, Consumer Brands Group and Performance Coatings Group. Its 2025 filing describes sales to professional, industrial, commercial and retail customers, with operations concentrated primarily in North and South America and additional activities in other regions. The mix of company-operated stores, branded consumer products and industrial coatings makes SHW different from a pure-play manufacturer.
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SHW trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SHW. The company’s investor-relations site posts filings, earnings releases and 2026 quarterly updates, so market multiples should be refreshed from the latest filing and share price rather than copied from an old comparison.
Read Sherwin-Williams’ 2025 Form 10-K at the SEC and check its investor-relations releases and filings.
Build the right peer set before calculating ratios
A peer set is a statement about what you are trying to compare. Write the rule first, then select companies that satisfy it. “All companies in the same formal peer group” is usually too broad because companies create peer groups for different purposes, including executive compensation or shareholder-return analysis.
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PPG, RPM, Axalta and Akzo Nobel are reasonable starting points for an operating comparison because each has substantial coatings exposure. They still differ in architectural paint, automotive refinish, industrial, packaging, marine, aerospace and other end markets. Compare the relevant business lines rather than assuming their consolidated margins or growth rates represent the same economics.
BASF is a diversified chemicals company, not a coatings pure play. It can be useful when studying chemical input exposure or a broad industrial cycle, but it should sit in a diversified-chemicals group rather than beside focused coatings manufacturers in a single ranking.
Retailers and other companies in the formal peer group
Sherwin-Williams’ 2025 industry peer group includes Akzo Nobel, Axalta, BASF, PPG and RPM, but it also names companies such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Genuine Parts, Masco, Newell Brands and Stanley Black & Decker. The company’s filing presents that list as a shareholder-return benchmark, not as a claim that every member has the same operating model.
| Comparison group | Examples | What the comparison can answer | What it cannot answer by itself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coatings manufacturers | PPG, RPM, Axalta, Akzo Nobel | Relative growth, margins, cash conversion and leverage in overlapping coatings markets | Whether differences come from mix, geography or accounting rather than execution |
| Diversified chemicals | BASF | Sensitivity to industrial demand, raw materials and broad chemical cycles | How a coatings segment would be valued as a stand-alone business |
| Retail and distribution | Home Depot, Lowe’s and other listed retailers | Channel conditions, renovation demand and consumer exposure | Factory economics, coatings formulation or manufacturer margins |
| Other diversified industrials | Genuine Parts, Masco, Newell Brands, Stanley Black & Decker | Relative shareholder returns against a broad industrial benchmark | Direct product or end-market comparability |
Keep these groups separate in tables and charts. If you combine them, label the reason—for example, a shareholder-return study—and do not describe the result as a coatings operating ranking.
Step 1: State the question and the peer-selection rule
Different questions require different peers. Write one sentence before collecting numbers:
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- Global coatings manufacturers: include companies with material coatings revenue and compare their coatings segments where disclosed.
- Architectural paint: emphasize businesses serving professional contractors, dealers and retail paint buyers; separate industrial and automotive operations.
- Industrial and transportation coatings: compare exposure to automotive refinish, OEM, aerospace, packaging, marine and general industrial customers.
- Shareholder-return benchmarking: use Sherwin-Williams’ formal peer list, but identify retailers and diversified companies rather than treating them as operating peers.
Record exclusions as well as inclusions. A company can be a valid reference for one question and a poor peer for another.
Step 2: Align fiscal periods, currency and accounting definitions
Use the same fiscal year or the same trailing-period window for every company. A current-quarter P/E for one stock paired with a prior-year EPS denominator for another is not a meaningful comparison. Put the period end and the data date in every table.
Period alignment checklist
- Choose a common period, such as the latest fiscal year completed by all companies or a trailing 12-month period ending on a stated date.
- Use reported revenue and GAAP earnings first. Add adjusted figures in separate columns, with each company’s reconciliation linked.
- For companies with non-calendar fiscal years, show the fiscal-year end and explain which calendar months it covers.
- For international companies, record the reporting currency, the exchange rate method and whether growth is reported or constant-currency.
- Do not mix a company’s current share price with earnings from a different period without labeling the mismatch.
The Sherwin-Williams investor-relations site lists 2026 quarterly results and updates. Before publishing or making a decision, replace an old annual denominator with the latest filing if the comparison date has changed.
Step 3: Map each company’s segments and end markets
Consolidated revenue can hide very different businesses. Build a segment map with revenue, operating income, geography, customer type and major end markets. For SHW, the first pass should distinguish Paint Stores Group, Consumer Brands Group and Performance Coatings Group. Then identify which peer segments are closest to each of those activities.
For example, architectural paint sold through company stores has different channel economics from automotive refinish sold through distributors. Consumer-branded products can have different promotional patterns from industrial coatings sold under contracts. A peer with a larger automotive or aerospace exposure may experience a different volume cycle even when both companies report “coatings” revenue.
PPG’s 2025 Form 10-K provides its own segment and business context. Use the filing to match businesses at the segment level instead of comparing only company-wide totals: PPG’s 2025 Form 10-K.
Segment questions to record
- What percentage of sales comes from architectural, industrial, automotive, packaging or other coatings?
- Which sales are made through company stores, independent dealers, distributors, contractors or direct industrial accounts?
- How concentrated are revenue and profit by geography?
- Which segments disclose price, volume, mix and foreign-exchange effects?
- Are corporate costs allocated consistently, or does one company report more costs at the segment level?
Step 4: Compare growth over several years
Use at least a three-year view where filings permit. A single year can be distorted by acquisitions, divestitures, currency translation, unusual demand or a low comparison base.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute| Growth measure | How to calculate or record it | Why it matters | Main caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported sales growth | Year-over-year change in reported revenue | Shows the result delivered to shareholders | Includes currency, acquisitions and divestitures |
| Organic growth | Use the company’s disclosed definition and reconciliation | Helps isolate continuing operations | Definitions are not automatically comparable |
| Price and volume | Record each contribution when disclosed | Separates pricing power from demand | Mix and timing can sit in an unallocated category |
| Segment growth | Calculate by segment and geography | Reveals which businesses drive the group | Segment boundaries may differ across companies |
Explain whether growth came from price, volume, mix, acquisitions, divestitures or currency. A company that grows sales through an acquisition should not be described as having the same organic momentum as one growing its continuing operations.
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Step 5: Compare profitability on a like-for-like basis
Start with gross margin, operating margin and, where useful, segment operating margin. Then investigate the drivers: price realization, raw-material costs, manufacturing utilization, freight, labor, selling expenses, store density and product mix.
Use GAAP operating income for the primary comparison. If you add adjusted operating income or adjusted EBITDA, put the adjustment list beside the figure. Restructuring, acquisition costs, impairment charges and stock compensation may be recurring in practice even when labeled “one-time.” Never place a non-GAAP margin beside a GAAP margin without a clear label.
Questions that prevent a misleading margin ranking
- Are company-operated stores included in the segment being compared?
- Does one company capitalize costs that another expenses?
- Are restructuring or acquisition charges removed from the adjusted figure?
- Did a price increase lift margin while volumes fell?
- Is the margin affected by a temporary raw-material or freight benefit?
Track margins over several years and through different demand conditions. A stable margin through a weak volume period can mean pricing power, but it can also reflect cost cutting or a favorable mix. The filings should determine which explanation is supportable.
Step 6: Test cash generation and capital allocation
Profit is not the same as cash available to owners. Compare operating cash flow, capital expenditures and a consistently defined free-cash-flow measure. One transparent definition is free cash flow = net cash provided by operating activities − capital expenditures. Use the same treatment for every company and state whether acquisitions are excluded.
Sherwin-Williams generated $3.452 billion of operating cash in 2025. That is a useful reference point, but one year does not establish a sustainable run rate. Examine working-capital movements, inventory, receivables and customer prepayments to understand why cash differed from net income.
Capital-allocation checklist
- Capital expenditures as a percentage of sales and the split between maintenance and growth spending, if disclosed.
- Acquisition spending, purchase accounting and integration costs.
- Dividends, dividend growth and the payout ratio using the same earnings basis.
- Share repurchases, average repurchase price and dilution from stock compensation.
- Debt maturities, interest expense and refinancing needs.
Do not call a company “cash rich” solely because it reports high operating cash flow. Subtract required capital spending and consider debt service, pension obligations, lease commitments and acquisition demands.
Step 7: Examine the balance sheet and risk exposure
Record total debt, cash, net debt, interest expense and leverage using a consistent denominator. Net debt-to-EBITDA can be useful, but only if EBITDA is defined consistently and exceptional adjustments are not selectively removed. Also review fixed-rate versus floating-rate debt and the maturity schedule.
Coatings companies can react differently to raw-material inflation, currency movements and end-market cycles. Read the risk and geographic sections of each filing for exposure to resins, pigments, solvents, energy, transportation, construction activity, automotive production and industrial capital spending. A similar revenue label does not imply similar sensitivity.
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Step 8: Use valuation only after the operating comparison
Common measures include price-to-earnings, enterprise value to EBITDA and free-cash-flow yield:
P/E = share price ÷ earnings per shareEV/EBITDA = enterprise value ÷ EBITDA, where enterprise value includes equity value, debt and other defined claims, less cashFCF yield = free cash flow ÷ equity value
For every multiple, record the share-price date, the fiscal or trailing earnings period, the currency, the GAAP or adjusted basis and the treatment of exceptional items. Use diluted shares consistently and explain whether enterprise value includes leases or other adjustments.
Share prices and denominators move daily. The available filings do not establish synchronized current multiples for SHW and its potential peers, so they cannot support a claim that one of these stocks is currently the cheapest. A publishable valuation table must be rebuilt from same-date prices and the latest comparable financial periods.
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Once the data is aligned, use a scorecard that keeps operating facts separate from interpretation. The following layout works in a spreadsheet:
| Category | Fields to enter for each company | Interpretation to test |
|---|---|---|
| Business mix | Segment sales, segment profit, end markets, channels and regions | Are the businesses genuinely comparable? |
| Growth | Three-year sales CAGR, latest growth, organic growth, price and volume | Is growth broad-based or acquisition- or price-led? |
| Profitability | Gross margin, GAAP operating margin, segment margins and trend | Are margins structurally different or temporarily elevated? |
| Cash | Operating cash flow, capital expenditures and defined free cash flow | How much profit converts to cash after reinvestment? |
| Balance sheet | Cash, debt, net debt, interest burden and maturities | How resilient is the company in a downturn? |
| Capital allocation | Acquisitions, dividends, repurchases and dilution | Where does excess cash go, and at what price? |
| Valuation | P/E, EV/EBITDA and FCF yield with dates and definitions | What expectations are embedded in the price? |
Do not collapse the scorecard into a single number unless you disclose the weights. A low multiple may reflect weaker growth, higher leverage or a less attractive business mix rather than an overlooked opportunity.
Common comparison mistakes and how to fix them
Using the entire formal peer group as an operating peer set
Problem: retailers and diversified industrial companies are treated as if they manufacture coatings.
Fix: keep the shareholder-return list intact for that purpose, then create a separate coatings-manufacturer set for operating analysis.
Mixing GAAP and adjusted earnings
Problem: an adjusted EPS for one company is compared with GAAP EPS for another.
Fix: show GAAP first, then use adjusted figures only when every company’s adjustments are identified and comparable.
Comparing different fiscal years
Problem: one company’s recent quarter is matched with another’s prior-year quarter.
Fix: select a common period, show each fiscal year-end and date every market value.
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Ignoring currency translation
Problem: reported international growth is interpreted as local demand growth.
Fix: separate reported and constant-currency figures and state the translation method.
Ranking on one year of cash flow
Problem: a working-capital release or unusually low investment is treated as normal.
Fix: review several years, reconcile cash flow to earnings and identify one-off movements.
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Calling a multiple “cheap” without stating the denominator
Problem: the article does not say whether earnings are trailing, forward, GAAP or adjusted.
Fix: put the denominator, period and share-price date in the table heading or footnote.
How to read Sherwin-Williams’ management language
Sherwin-Williams’ 2025 Form 10-K says: “Sherwin-Williams delivered strong 2025 results driven by solid core performance and a focus on operational discipline despite continued demand choppiness.” This is management’s statement in a company filing, not an independent analyst conclusion. Test it against segment revenue, margins, volume trends and cash flow rather than treating the wording as evidence by itself.
A repeatable workflow for updating the comparison
- Download the latest annual and quarterly filings for SHW and each selected peer.
- Copy reported segment sales, operating income, cash flow, debt and share-count data into a common spreadsheet.
- Tag each number as GAAP, adjusted, reported-currency or constant-currency.
- Reconcile non-GAAP measures to the company’s filing and preserve the adjustment list.
- Calculate multi-year growth, margins, cash conversion and leverage using identical formulas.
- Collect share prices on one stated date and calculate valuation ratios from the aligned denominators.
- Write the conclusion by business model and risk exposure first; use valuation as the final context, not the starting premise.
This process produces a comparison that remains useful when prices change because the operating definitions, peer rules and limitations are visible. It also makes clear when two companies should not be forced into a single ranking.
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