JHX vs. VALE: James Hardie Industries vs. Vale Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE) 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

James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE) both fall under the Materials industry group, but JHX is classified in Construction Materials while VALE is classified in Metals & Mining.

James Hardie Industries (JHX) trades as ordinary local shares, while Vale (VALE) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Profile Item	JHX	VALE
Name	James Hardie Industries plc	Vale S.A. American Depositary Shares
Country/Region	Ireland	Brazil
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Construction Materials	Metals & Mining
GICS Sub-Industry	Construction Materials	Steel
Market Capitalization	16.20 billion USD	49.32 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	October 22, 2001	March 21, 2002
Security Type	Common Stock	ADR

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

JHX

VALE

GSPC

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE), 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Metric	JHX	VALE
Total Return (1Y)	72.20%	6.20%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	0.38%	3.12%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-5.23%	8.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

JHX

VALE

GSPC

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE), 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

James Hardie Industries (JHX) has an aggressive beta of 1.74, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Vale (VALE) is defensive at 0.48 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Metric	JHX	VALE
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	44.97%	33.88%
Beta (5Y)	1.74	0.48
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-60.26%	-49.81%
Avg. Volume (3M)	9.36M	32.62M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

JHX and VALE 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Metric	JHX	VALE
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.51	0.06
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.59	0.08

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 5.46% and Vale (VALE) at 0.26% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

JHX

Materials industry group

5.46%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
JHX: 5.46%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

VALE

Materials industry group

0.26%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
VALE: 0.26%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 6.22% and Vale (VALE) at 1.01% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

JHX

Materials industry group

6.22%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
JHX: 6.22%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

VALE

Materials industry group

1.01%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
VALE: 1.01%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 19.56% and Vale (VALE) at 19.31% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

JHX

Materials industry group

19.56%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
JHX: 19.56%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

VALE

Materials industry group

19.31%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
VALE: 19.31%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Metric	JHX	VALE
ROE (TTM)	5.46%	0.26%
ROA (TTM)	4.42%	6.97%
Net Margin (TTM)	6.22%	1.01%
Operating Margin (TTM)	19.56%	19.31%
Gross Margin (TTM)	38.25%	32.06%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 24.71% and Vale (VALE) at 0.91% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Vale (VALE) at -61.81% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while James Hardie Industries (JHX) at -80.61% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Metric	JHX	VALE
Revenue Growth (YoY)	24.71%	0.91%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.59%	-4.32%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-80.61%	-61.81%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-45.13%	-48.60%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.12 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Vale (VALE) at 1.10 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for VALE.

JHX

Materials industry group

2.12

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
JHX: 2.12
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

VALE

Materials industry group

1.10

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
VALE: 1.10
Min: 0.16

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 0.63 and Vale (VALE) at 0.55 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

JHX

Materials industry group

0.63

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
JHX: 0.63
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

VALE

Materials industry group

0.55

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
VALE: 0.55
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Metric	JHX	VALE
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.12	1.10
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.63	0.55
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.43	1.20

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

James Hardie Industries (JHX) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Vale (VALE) reports a yield of 49.02%, ranking against industry peers normally.

JHX

Materials industry group

0.00%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
JHX: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

VALE

Materials industry group

49.02%

VALE: 49.02%
Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Vale (VALE) reports payout ratio above 100% at 526.96%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings; James Hardie Industries (JHX) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%).

JHX

Materials industry group

0.00%

Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
JHX: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

VALE

Materials industry group

526.96%

VALE: 526.96%
Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Metric	JHX	VALE
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	49.02%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	526.96%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on trailing earnings: James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 48.02 sits in the richer P/E ratio quartile, and Vale (VALE) at 72.44 is richer still, above its industry range.

JHX

Materials industry group

48.02

Max: 59.00
JHX: 48.02
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

VALE

Materials industry group

72.44

VALE: 72.44
Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Vale (VALE) at 0.23 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.86 prices around its industry’s middle — VALE costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

JHX

Materials industry group

2.86

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
JHX: 2.86
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

VALE

Materials industry group

0.23

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
VALE: 0.23
Min: 0.00

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.41 and Vale (VALE) at 1.27 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

JHX

Materials industry group

2.41

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
JHX: 2.41
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

VALE

Materials industry group

1.27

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
VALE: 1.27
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Vale (VALE): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Vale (VALE)
Metric	JHX	VALE
P/E Ratio (TTM)	48.02	72.44
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.86	0.23
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.41	1.27
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.98%	17.51%