BALL vs. CF: Ball vs. CF Industries Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF) both fall under the Materials industry group, but BALL is classified in Containers & Packaging while CF is classified in Chemicals.

Company profile comparison for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Profile Item	BALL	CF
Name	Ball Corporation	CF Industries Holdings, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Containers & Packaging	Chemicals
GICS Sub-Industry	Metal, Glass & Plastic Containers	Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals
Market Capitalization	17.16 billion USD	17.46 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	August 11, 2005
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BALL

GSPC

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Metric	BALL	CF
Total Return (1Y)	38.59%	49.36%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	12.78%	17.00%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-4.75%	16.09%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BALL

GSPC

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Metric	BALL	CF
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	27.54%	43.66%
Beta (5Y)	0.94	0.56
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-54.87%	-48.36%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.12M	2.49M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BALL and CF are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Metric	BALL	CF
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.25	1.03
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.02	1.59

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

CF Industries (CF) at 30.86% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Ball (BALL) at 9.49% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for CF.

BALL

Materials industry group

9.49%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
BALL: 9.49%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

CF

Materials industry group

30.86%

Max: 52.88%
CF: 30.86%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

CF Industries (CF) at 27.48% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Ball (BALL) at 3.52%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

BALL

Materials industry group

3.52%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
BALL: 3.52%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

CF

Materials industry group

27.48%

Max: 38.66%
CF: 27.48%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

CF Industries (CF) at 34.36% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Ball (BALL) at 9.67%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

BALL

Materials industry group

9.67%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
BALL: 9.67%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

CF

Materials industry group

34.36%

Max: 66.70%
CF: 34.36%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Metric	BALL	CF
ROE (TTM)	9.49%	30.86%
ROA (TTM)	4.65%	12.61%
Net Margin (TTM)	3.52%	27.48%
Operating Margin (TTM)	9.67%	34.36%
Gross Margin (TTM)	17.84%	42.52%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Ball (BALL) at 11.58% and CF Industries (CF) at 19.34% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

CF Industries (CF) at 33.09% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Ball (BALL) at -74.62% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Metric	BALL	CF
Revenue Growth (YoY)	11.58%	19.34%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-0.53%	-14.12%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-74.62%	33.09%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	13.62%	-18.19%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

CF Industries (CF) at 2.98 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Ball (BALL) at 1.04 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for BALL.

BALL

Materials industry group

1.04

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
BALL: 1.04
Min: 0.16

CF

Materials industry group

2.98

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
CF: 2.98
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

CF Industries (CF) at 0.41 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Ball (BALL) at 1.33 uses more debt funding than most peers.

BALL

Materials industry group

1.33

Max: 1.98
BALL: 1.33
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

CF

Materials industry group

0.41

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
CF: 0.41
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Metric	BALL	CF
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.04	2.98
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.33	0.41
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.45	0.21

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Ball (BALL) at 1.20% and CF Industries (CF) at 1.77% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

BALL

Materials industry group

1.20%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
BALL: 1.20%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CF

Materials industry group

1.77%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
CF: 1.77%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Ball (BALL) at 40.20% and CF Industries (CF) at 14.81% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

BALL

Materials industry group

40.20%

Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
BALL: 40.20%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CF

Materials industry group

14.81%

Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
CF: 14.81%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Metric	BALL	CF
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.20%	1.77%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	40.20%	14.81%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

CF Industries (CF) at 8.42 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Ball (BALL) at 33.13 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

BALL

Materials industry group

33.13

Max: 59.00
BALL: 33.13
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

CF

Materials industry group

8.42

Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
CF: 8.42
Min: 3.93

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Ball (BALL) at 1.13 and CF Industries (CF) at 2.20 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

BALL

Materials industry group

1.13

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
BALL: 1.13
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

CF

Materials industry group

2.20

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
CF: 2.20
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Ball (BALL) at 3.02 and CF Industries (CF) at 3.10 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

BALL

Materials industry group

3.02

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
BALL: 3.02
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

CF

Materials industry group

3.10

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
CF: 3.10
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

Ball (BALL) vs. CF Industries (CF): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ball (BALL) and CF Industries (CF)
Metric	BALL	CF
P/E Ratio (TTM)	33.13	8.42
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.13	2.20
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.02	3.10
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.54%	9.10%