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what it is
Orion makes carbon black, the industrial powder that helps tires, plastics, batteries, inks, and coatings work the way customers need.
how it gets paid
Last year Orion S.A made $1.8B in revenue. Rubber carbon black was the main engine at $1.08B, or 60% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 3.8% last year. Gross margin was 20.2%, but the business still posted a loss.
what just happened
A recent quarter is on the order of ~$450M in revenue while full-year revenue is closer to ~$1.8B—do not mix periods (a “$1.4B quarter” is usually a mashed TTM or wrong line item). EPS stayed negative at about -$0.87 in the window this page used, which tells you scale is not the same as profitability.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
40/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
1.7% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.9% return on capital — nothing to write home about
GAAP EPS negative in recent filings — do not trust stale positive “FY2024 EPS est” without checking the filing
xvary composite: 34/100 — weak
What they do
Orion makes carbon black, the industrial powder that helps tires, plastics, batteries, inks, and coatings work the way customers need.
This is a scale business. Orion runs 15 plants and 4 innovation centers worldwide, and its corporate lineage stretches back more than 160 years. If your product needs a carbon black formula with specific electrical, physical, or optical traits, that engineering depth matters because switching suppliers risks your product performance, not just your input cost.
How they make money
$1.8B
annual revenue · their business grew -3.8% last year
Rubber carbon black
$1.08B
4.0%
Specialty carbon black
$0.54B
+2.0%
Other industrial applications
$0.18B
6.0%
The products that matter
tire reinforcement and industrial rubber
Rubber Carbon Black
$1.08B · about 60% of revenue
it is the center of gravity in the segment table above. when management says volume slipped, this is where you feel most of it.
~60% of revenue
pigments for coatings, inks, plastics
Specialty Carbon Black
$0.54B · about 30% of revenue
this specialty bucket is the part management often leans on with pricing and surcharges. if customers accept it, margins get a breather.
pricing test
battery and industrial end markets
Industrial and Energy Exposure
data is thin
the filing detail here is light in this snapshot, so we are not pretending there is a clean growth engine. for now, the bet is still cyclical recovery more than mix shift.
thin disclosure
Key numbers
$681M
long-term debt
That debt equals 72% of capital. Plain English: creditors matter more here than you may want in a business with a 1.5% operating margin.
1.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit left after running the business → so what: Orion has almost no cushion if raw materials, energy, or volumes move the wrong way.
~$2.0B
prior FY guide (vs filed)
Management had signaled on the order of ~$2.0B for the 2024 fiscal year while reported revenue in filings tracked closer to ~$1.8B—treat the gap as guidance vs actual, not a fresh forward estimate sitting on top of the bridge.
8.9%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit generated from the money invested in the business → so what: 8.9% is decent, but not enough to make the debt load feel comfortable.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 30 / 100
- long-term debt $681M (72% of capital)
C++ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for OEC right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Revenue hit $1.4B, but EPS stayed negative at -$0.87, which tells you scale is not the same as profitability.
Gross margin was 20.2%, but the business still posted a loss. That gap is the whole story here: Orion can sell a lot and still leave you with weak earnings.
$1.4B
revenue
$0.87
eps
20.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was 20.2% gross margin, because even that was not enough to keep EPS above zero.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is price increases failing to offset weaker carbon black demand.
high
volume keeps falling
Q4 volume was down 4%. if that trend carries into 2026, the core problem is not price. it is utilization. commodity businesses do not hide idle capacity well.
the hit lands on both revenue and margin, which is why weak volume matters more than a modest miss on price.
high
guidance proves too optimistic
management guided 2026 adjusted EBITDA to $160M–$200M. that is the bar. if results drift below the low end, the stock stops being a recovery story and starts being a balance-sheet story.
with $681M of long-term debt, a bad guide miss would pressure equity value faster than it would at a cleaner company.
med
customer pushback on the 25% specialty price hike
management added a variable surcharge and pushed through a large specialty price increase. that is the right move if costs are sticky. it is a bad move if customers resist or switch volumes elsewhere.
20.2% gross margin leaves only so much room for pricing to fail before earnings disappoint again.
you are underwriting a turnaround in pricing and demand at the same time, with debt equal to 72% of capital limiting how patient the market will be.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
trend
quarterly volume direction
Q4 volume fell 4%. if that number is still negative next quarter, the price action will care more about demand than any multiple argument.
metric
adjusted EBITDA versus the $160M low end
that low end is your first hard kill line. below it, the 2026 reset is worse than management is already telling you.
calendar
q1 2026 earnings report
consensus EPS is $0.12. more important than the EPS print is whether the 25% specialty price increase shows up in margin stabilization.
risk
institutional patience
94.33% institutional ownership cuts both ways. if funds decide the cycle is taking too long, you can get sharp air pockets in a small-cap name like this.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
40 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust this business to produce smooth quarters.
risk rank
4
that places OEC on the riskier side of the market. you are getting cycle sensitivity, leverage, and weaker price stability in one package.
price stability
30 / 100
the stock does not trade like a utility. if you own it, expect sharper moves than the average portfolio holding.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for OEC is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$5
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
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