Quaker Houghton

KWR

Chemicals - Specialty · Basic Materials

Winston Score

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

Mixed

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Strong

Valuation

Strong

Dividends

Mixed

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Winston Score History

The full picture

Quaker Houghton (ticker: KWR) makes specialty fluids and chemicals used in industrial manufacturing. Its products include metalworking fluids, lubricants, and surface treatments that help factories shape, cut, and protect metal parts. The main customers are steel mills, automakers, aerospace manufacturers, and other heavy industries that need these fluids to keep their production lines running smoothly.

The company earns revenue by selling its chemical products directly to industrial customers, often under long-term supply relationships that create steady repeat business. Quaker Houghton operates globally, with a significant presence in North America, Europe, and Asia, and it is one of the largest specialty process fluids companies in the world following its 2019 merger with Houghton International. Its close technical partnerships with customers make switching suppliers difficult, which provides some competitive protection. The key risk is that demand for its products is tied closely to industrial output, meaning a slowdown in auto production or steel manufacturing can quickly pressure sales and margins.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

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

Revenue Growth

+10.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+141.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

Insider Activity

22.0%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$261M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

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

Growth + cash flow

Quaker Houghton is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 10%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

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.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

35.5%

Modest — 35.5% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

7.6%

Modest — 7.6% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

7.5%

Weak — 7.5% return on capital

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

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+7.8%

Steady sales growth (+7.8% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

3/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

134%

Turns 134% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

5.1%

Thin free cash flow (5.1%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.66

Moderate — manageable debt (0.66)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

53.75x

Comfortably covers interest (53.7x)

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

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

29.0x

no trend

Growth-priced — P/E 29.0

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+6.9

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (29.0 → 22.1)

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

1.31%

no trend

Small dividend — 1.31% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+4.6%

no trend

Dividend growing modestly (4.6% YoY)

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