Start here if you're new
what it is
Ingevity makes specialty chemicals and materials used in auto parts, pavement, adhesives, and industrial products.
how it gets paid
Last year Ingevity made $1.2B in revenue. Performance Materials was the main engine at $0.52B, or 43% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 2.7% last year. Management plans to focus on its remaining performance materials and pavement technologies holdings.
what just happened
The latest quarter was a miss, with EPS at $0.63 versus a $1.10 estimate.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
14.6x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
10.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 55/100 — below average
What they do
Ingevity makes specialty chemicals and materials used in auto parts, pavement, adhesives, and industrial products.
Ingevity wins by selling into boring but sticky industrial niches. Performance Materials and Performance Chemicals made 86% of 2024 sales, and customers buy these inputs because they need the product to work the same way every time. Overseas markets were 42% of sales, so your bet is not one factory or one customer.
How they make money
$1.2B
annual revenue · their business grew -2.7% last year
Performance Materials
$0.52B
Performance Chemicals
$0.52B
Advanced Polymer Technologies
$0.17B
The products that matter
specialty chemicals for autos
Performance Materials
~$572M revenue · 48% of sales
it's roughly $572M of revenue, or 48% of sales. this is still the center of gravity, which also means auto demand matters more than management would probably like.
48% of revenue
asphalt additives
Pavement Technologies
~$257M revenue · 21% of sales
this business is about $257M, or 21% of sales. if management wants a cleaner story next, this segment has to carry more weight after the portfolio simplification.
21% of revenue
business segment being divested
Industrial Specialties
~$257M revenue · 21% of sales
it's about $257M of revenue, or 21% of sales, and it is being sold. that's not a side project leaving the building — that's a real chunk of the mix.
portfolio reset
Key numbers
14.6x
trailing p/e
You are paying 14.6 times trailing earnings for a company expected to earn $5.30 by 2027. Cheap versus growth stories, but not cheap if the reset fails.
27.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit left after running the business → so what: the core business is still very profitable even during the cleanup.
$1.2B
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over many years → so what: debt equals the company's whole annual revenue base, which limits room for mistakes.
10.0%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit generated from money invested in the business → so what: decent, but not elite for a company in the middle of a strategic reset.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 30 / 100
- long-term debt $1.2B (31% of capital)
- net profit margin 11.8% — keeps 12 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 19% — $0.19 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 NGVT 3 years ago → it's now worth $8,440.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
The latest quarter was a miss, with EPS at $0.63 versus a $1.10 estimate.
Revenue hit $912M, up 174% vs. prior year, but EPS still cratered to negative $2.27 in the EDGAR figures. Quiet part loud: a huge revenue jump is not helpful if profits still fall apart.
$300M
revenue
-$2.27
eps
41.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 42.73% earnings miss matters most because turnarounds only work if management starts beating low expectations, not missing them.
-
ingevity has been overhauling its business.
-
over the past few years, the company has been shifting its asset roster.in january, ingevity further simplified its organization by completing the sale of the north charleston crude tall oil refinery and the majority of the industrial specialties line to mainstream pine products for $110 million, marking its exit from that space.
-
it also initiated the sale of its advanced polymer technologies and road markings subsidiaries.management plans to focus on its remaining performance materials and pavement technologies holdings, and we expect it will continue to pursue higher-margin specialty applications, such as those in the activated carbon and pavement technologies. likewise, other expense controls and productivity improvements should help it bolster profits moving forward.
-
ingevity may also use the proceeds from recent divestitures to reduce debt and buy back stock.
-
the company could well face headwinds in the near term.the chinese market may be affected by tariffs and trade restrictions, and rising export costs will probably weigh on margins. moreover, the company’s performance materials arm is fairly dependent on the automotive industry, and is therefore susceptible to volatility if growth in the hybrid and electric car space slows further.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
the #1 risk is selling real revenue before the remaining portfolio proves it deserves a higher multiple.
med
divestiture execution
Industrial Specialties is about 21% of sales in this snapshot. selling that business can simplify the story, but it also creates a real hole the remaining segments need to fill.
if the portfolio gets smaller without getting better, the 14.6x earnings multiple stops looking cheap and starts looking correct.
med
auto demand weakness
Performance Materials is roughly $572M, or 48% of sales. that's a large dependency on a cyclical end market tied to vehicle production and customer demand.
when nearly half the business leans on one end market, a slowdown is not a side issue. it's the story.
med
margin giveback
operating margin sits at 28.5%. that is strong. it also means investors will notice quickly if tariffs, freight, or weaker mix start pulling it down.
high margins buy patience until they don't. a smaller company with lower margins is not the rerating story shareholders want.
med
debt allocation
long-term debt is $1.2B, or 31% of capital. management may use sale proceeds to pay that down or buy back stock, and those are not equally forgiving choices.
if proceeds do not improve the balance sheet or per-share economics, the cleanup looks cosmetic instead of value-creating.
between the 48% Performance Materials exposure and the 21% Industrial Specialties divestiture, about 69% of the reported segment mix is tied to either auto demand or portfolio surgery.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
next quarter's margin math
28.5% operating margin is the number to watch. if the portfolio is getting better, not just smaller, it should stay resilient.
trend
post-sale revenue base
fy2026 revenue is estimated at $1B versus $1.2B last year. that shrink needs to come with cleaner margins or stronger per-share earnings.
risk
china cost pressure
tariffs, trade restrictions, and export costs are one of the few clearly identified pressures on the page. if those worsen, margin pressure shows up fast.
metric
how proceeds get used
with $1.2B of long-term debt and buybacks also in the mix, capital allocation after divestitures may matter more than the divestitures themselves.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts do not see a strong near-term edge either way.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — the stock sits near the market's middle ground on risk, not in the bunker and not in the casino.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is behaving normally. nobody is paying a momentum premium for this turnaround yet.
earnings predictability
65 / 100
the business is predictable enough to model, but the active divestiture cycle raises the odds of messy quarters.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 2 consecutive quarters — 138 buyers vs. 122 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 36.4M shares. net buying for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$25
$99
$73
current price
$62
target midpoint · 15% from current · 3-5yr high: $115 (+55% · 12% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive