WinstonWınston
Back
Croda International logo

Croda International

CRDA.L
43
Chemicals - Specialty · Basic Materials
Price
3,433.00 GBp
+98.00 (+2.94%)
Market Cap
£4.78B
Exchange
London Stock Exchange
Winston Score
43
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Weak
Cash Flow
Strong
Stability
Strong
Valuation
Weak
Dividends
Mixed

Winston Score History

The full picture

Croda International is a British specialty chemicals company. It makes high-performance ingredients that other companies use inside their products — things like moisturizers in skincare creams, delivery systems in medicines, and additives in crop protection sprays. Its main customers are consumer goods brands, pharmaceutical companies, and agricultural businesses.

Croda earns money by selling these specialty ingredients to manufacturers around the world. It operates globally, with a strong presence in Europe, North America, and Asia, and generates roughly $2 billion in annual revenue. Its competitive edge comes from deep formulation expertise and long-standing customer relationships — switching to a rival supplier is costly and slow for customers. The key growth driver is its life sciences division, particularly lipid systems used in drug delivery, including mRNA vaccines. The main risk is that demand in its consumer care segment has been soft as large consumer brands work through excess inventory, which has pressured margins and returns in recent years.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+2.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+27.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

£60M/ year

Declining (-5% vs prior year)

3.5% of revenue

In line with sector average (3%)

R&D spend declining — could signal cost-cutting or efficiency

Insider Activity

8.5%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

£207M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Croda International is growing revenue at 3% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

0.1% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 139.8M (2021) → 139.6M (2025)

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
36.7%
Modest — 36.7% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
15.7%
Healthy — 15.7% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
8.7%
Below par — 8.7% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+3.4%
Slow sales growth (+3.4% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-43.4%
Earnings shrinking (-43.4% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
1/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
356%
Turns 356% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
10.9%
Modest free cash flow (10.9%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.33
Conservative — low debt load (0.33)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
9.03x
Comfortably covers interest (9.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
60.7x
Expensive — P/E 60.7

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
3.40%
Moderate income — 3.40% yield

Standard yield zone for stable dividend payers. A meaningful piece of total return.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
N/A
Data not available

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free
🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.
Start free trial