Start here if you're new
what it is
Kronos makes titanium dioxide, the white pigment that makes paint, plastic, paper, and cosmetics look bright and opaque.
how it gets paid
Last year Kronos World made $1.9B in revenue. Coatings was the main engine at $1.12B, or 59% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 1.5% last year. Demand was weak, selling prices likely fell, and management cut production to match a softer 2026 environment.
what just happened
The last report was ugly: EPS came in at -$0.72 versus a -$0.26 estimate.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
15/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
9.7x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
3.5% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
5.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 48/100 — below average
What they do
Kronos makes titanium dioxide, the white pigment that makes paint, plastic, paper, and cosmetics look bright and opaque.
This is a scale commodity business, which means size and customer reach matter more than storytelling. Kronos sells to 3,000 customers in 100 countries, and 59% of sales go into coatings, so you are plugged into everyday products people keep buying even in slow years. The catch is simple: 99% of sales still come from TiO2, so the moat is distribution, not product variety.
How they make money
$1.9B
annual revenue · their business grew -1.5% last year
Coatings
$1.12B
Plastics
$0.53B
Paper
$0.15B
Other applications
$0.10B
The products that matter
coatings pigment input
Coatings
inside 99% of sales
Kronos does not break out coatings revenue, but demand like this sits inside the TiO2 business that generated 99% of 2024 sales.
core end market
plastic whitening additive
Plastics
part of a $1.9B revenue base
Plastic applications matter because the whole company only produced a 3.8% net margin, so volume and pricing in these markets carry outsized weight.
demand lever
specialty and personal care uses
Cosmetics
not separately disclosed
This is a real end market, but Kronos is honest with your time: the company still lives or dies by the TiO2 segment that accounts for 99% of sales.
mix watch
Key numbers
99%
single-product exposure
99% of 2024 sales came from TiO2 pigments. Plain English: one chemical pays the bills, so a weak TiO2 market hits almost all revenue.
41%
long-term debt
Long-term debt was $501M, or 41% of capital. Plain English: borrowed money funds a big chunk of the business, so weak years hurt more.
+59%
18-month target
The published 18-month target is $10 versus a $6.30 stock price. So what: the bull case needs earnings and sentiment to recover from a bad cycle.
2.0%
operating margin
Operating margin was negative even with $1.9B in annual revenue. Plain English: sales alone are not fixing the business right now.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 40 / 100
- long-term debt $501M (41% of capital)
- net profit margin 3.8% — keeps 4 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 8% — $0.08 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in KRO 3 years ago → it's now worth $6,670.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
The last report was ugly: EPS came in at -$0.72 versus a -$0.26 estimate.
Demand was weak, selling prices likely fell, and management cut production to match a softer 2026 environment. Revenue was $1.4B in the latest quarter, up 215% vs. prior year, but the earnings miss shows volume and pricing quality still matter more than headline sales.
$1.4B
revenue
$0.72
eps
15.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 15.0% gross margin matters most because this is a commodity business, and small pricing changes can wipe out profit fast.
-
kronos worldwide’s 2025 fourth-quarter results were likely down from the year-ago numbers. (the company is due to report results on march 10th.) demand for kronos’ only product, titanium dioxide (tio2) pigment (99% of sales), has been slipping.
-
this chemical is used in a wide variety of consumer and commercial products as a whitening agent.customers are reverting to just-in-time inventory methods as economic growth uncertainties become pervasive.
-
the lack of demand probably resulted in kronos having to reduce its selling prices.in addition, rising raw material costs due to higher tariffs, and less efficient supply chains, likely caused the bottom line to sink to a deficit of around $0.25.
-
kronos is cutting back production of tio2 in order to better meet an anticipated lower demand environment in 2026.
-
to wit, it’s consolidating its five european plants to four, and implementing more stringent cost cuts at its four north american facilities.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is titanium dioxide pricing and demand rolling over again.
med
TiO2 pricing pressure
99% of revenue comes from titanium dioxide pigments. When your entire business leans on one product, price pressure does not stay in one corner of the income statement.
99% of revenue comes from titanium dioxide pigments. When your entire business leans on one product, price pressure does not stay in one corner of the income statement.
med
industrial demand stays soft
Revenue already slipped 1.5% from last year. If coatings, plastics, and related end markets stay weak, a cyclical rebound thesis just becomes waiting.
Revenue already slipped 1.5% from last year. If coatings, plastics, and related end markets stay weak, a cyclical rebound thesis just becomes waiting.
med
thin margins get thinner
A 9.5% operating margin and 3.8% net margin leave limited cushion. This is not a business that can casually absorb bad pricing or underused plants.
A 9.5% operating margin and 3.8% net margin leave limited cushion. This is not a business that can casually absorb bad pricing or underused plants.
If TiO2 pricing stays weak, the mix of 99% product concentration and 41% debt-to-capital leaves you very little room for error.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
key metric
operating margin
At 9.5%, this number is doing a lot of work. If margins improve, the value case gets real fast. If they do not, 9.7x earnings is not the bargain it looks like.
risk watch
revenue direction
Revenue fell 1.5% from last year. You want to see that number turn positive before calling this a recovery instead of a hold-your-breath cycle bet.
capital return
dividend durability
A 3.5% yield matters in a $6 stock. Watch whether cash generation keeps supporting it while debt remains $501M.
ownership trend
institutional appetite
55 buyers versus 67 sellers in 3q2025 is a small but clear tell. You want to see the big money stop trimming before assuming sentiment has turned.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
15 / 100
Earnings are hard to forecast here. In human-speak: expect choppy results, not a tidy trend line.
risk rank
3
This sits around the middle of the risk pack. Not a bunker stock. Not a total chaos trade either.
price stability
40 / 100
The stock has been less stable than you would want from a sleepy value name. The chart has opinions.
valuation read
9.7x
That is cheap for a stable business. This one is not stable. In human-speak, you are buying a discount because the market does not trust the cycle.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
55 buyers vs. 67 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 18.4M shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$5
$14
$6
current price
$10
target midpoint · +59% from current · 3-5yr high: $12 (+90% · 20% ann'l return)
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