LYB vs. SHW: LyondellBasell Industries vs. Sherwin-Williams Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) 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

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) both belong to the Chemicals industry, though LYB is classified under Commodity Chemicals while SHW falls under Specialty Chemicals.

Company profile comparison for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Profile Item	LYB	SHW
Name	LyondellBasell Industries N.V.	The Sherwin-Williams Company
Country/Region	Netherlands	United States
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Chemicals	Chemicals
GICS Sub-Industry	Commodity Chemicals	Specialty Chemicals
Market Capitalization	19.63 billion USD	83.13 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 28, 2010	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

LYB

SHW

GSPC

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW), 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 LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Metric	LYB	SHW
Total Return (1Y)	49.52%	5.74%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-7.11%	13.18%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-1.68%	2.84%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

LYB

SHW

GSPC

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW), 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 LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Metric	LYB	SHW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.84%	29.59%
Beta (5Y)	0.32	1.02
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-55.35%	-42.46%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.62M	1.72M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

LYB and SHW 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 LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Metric	LYB	SHW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.06	0.05
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.63	0.08

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 63.70% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 12.18%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

LYB

Materials industry group

12.18%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
LYB: 12.18%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

SHW

Materials industry group

63.70%

SHW: 63.70%
Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 4.05% and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 10.74% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

LYB

Materials industry group

4.05%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
LYB: 4.05%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

SHW

Materials industry group

10.74%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
SHW: 10.74%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 13.40% and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 17.56% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

LYB

Materials industry group

13.40%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
LYB: 13.40%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

SHW

Materials industry group

17.56%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
SHW: 17.56%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Metric	LYB	SHW
ROE (TTM)	12.18%	63.70%
ROA (TTM)	5.36%	9.48%
Net Margin (TTM)	4.05%	10.74%
Operating Margin (TTM)	13.40%	17.56%
Gross Margin (TTM)	14.56%	48.60%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 2.06% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at -9.71% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at -2.75% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at -156.39% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Metric	LYB	SHW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-9.71%	2.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-15.77%	2.10%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-156.39%	-2.75%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	9.95%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 1.78 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 0.71 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for SHW.

LYB

Materials industry group

1.78

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
LYB: 1.78
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

SHW

Materials industry group

0.71

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
SHW: 0.71
Min: 0.16

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both balance sheets lean debt-heavy versus peers, but SHW is more stretched: LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 1.21 sits in the higher-leverage quartile and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 3.72 is above its industry benchmark range.

LYB

Materials industry group

1.21

Max: 1.98
LYB: 1.21
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

SHW

Materials industry group

3.72

SHW: 3.72
Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Metric	LYB	SHW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.78	0.71
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.21	3.72
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.47	3.04

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 0.91% pays an industry-typical yield; LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 5.58% is above its entire peer range — the higher number, but one that calls for a look at payout sustainability before treating it as an advantage.

LYB

Materials industry group

5.58%

LYB: 5.58%
Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SHW

Materials industry group

0.91%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
SHW: 0.91%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 29.35% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 83.29% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

LYB

Materials industry group

83.29%

Max: 83.62%
LYB: 83.29%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SHW

Materials industry group

29.35%

Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
SHW: 29.35%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Metric	LYB	SHW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	5.58%	0.91%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	83.29%	29.35%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 14.70 and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 31.66 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

LYB

Materials industry group

14.70

Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
LYB: 14.70
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

SHW

Materials industry group

31.66

Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
SHW: 31.66
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 0.61 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 3.34 prices around its industry’s middle — LYB costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

LYB

Materials industry group

0.61

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
LYB: 0.61
Min: 0.00

SHW

Materials industry group

3.34

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
SHW: 3.34
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) at 1.74 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Sherwin-Williams (SHW) at 20.78 prices above its benchmark range — SHW looks rich relative to book.

LYB

Materials industry group

1.74

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
LYB: 1.74
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

SHW

Materials industry group

20.78

SHW: 20.78
Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) vs. Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW)
Metric	LYB	SHW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	14.70	31.66
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.61	3.34
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.74	20.78
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	9.06%	2.98%