Cabot (NYSE:CBT) vs. ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) Financial Survey

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) and ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Cabot and ARQ, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cabot	0	3	2	0	2.40
ARQ	0	0	0	0	N/A

Cabot currently has a consensus target price of $90.17, suggesting a potential downside of 3.54%. Given Cabot’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Cabot is more favorable than ARQ.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cabot and ARQ’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cabot	$3.93 billion	1.32	$445.00 million	$7.70	12.14
ARQ	$99.18 million	2.55	-$12.25 million	($0.50)	-15.10

Cabot has higher revenue and earnings than ARQ. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cabot, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Cabot has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARQ has a beta of 1.44, suggesting that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.2% of Cabot shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.5% of ARQ shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Cabot shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 22.2% of ARQ shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Cabot and ARQ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cabot	11.24%	25.52%	9.66%
ARQ	-12.35%	-8.35%	-6.16%

Summary

Cabot beats ARQ on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cabot

Cabot Corporation operates as a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. The company operates through two segments, Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals. It offers reinforcing carbons that are used in tires as a rubber reinforcing agent and performance additive, as well as in industrial products, such as hoses, belts, extruded profiles, and molded goods; and engineered elastomer composites solutions. The company also provides specialty carbons for use in inks, coatings, plastics, adhesives, toners, batteries, and displays; conductive additives and fumed alumina used in lead acid and lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles; fumed silica used in adhesives, sealants, cosmetics, batteries, inks, toners, silicone elastomers, coatings, polishing slurries, and pharmaceuticals; and fumed alumina for use in various products, including inkjet media, lighting, coatings, cosmetics, and polishing slurries. In addition, it offers aerogel, a hydrophobic, silica-based particle to use in various thermal insulation and specialty chemical applications; masterbatch and conductive compound products that are used in automotive, industrial, packaging, infrastructure, agriculture, consumer products, and electronics industries; and inkjet colorants for inkjet printing applications. The company sells its products through distributors and sales representatives in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Cabot Corporation was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About ARQ

Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The company's products include granular activated carbon, powdered and granular activated carbon, and colloidal carbon products; Arq Powder Wetcake, a fine and low-ash coal waste-derived particle; and additives for air emissions control. Its products are used in various applications, including water treatment, ground water remediation, soil sediments, air emissions, and asphalt additives. The company was formerly known as Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Arq, Inc. in February 2024. Arq, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.