Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ALB scored 44.2, RPM scored 58.2 — RPM leads.
Compare another set
ALB
Albemarle Corporation
Specialty Chemicals · Quality-Growth
44.2
$101.27 · $12.0B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
14.0
RPM leads
RPM
RPM International Inc.
Specialty Chemicals · Quality-Growth
58.2
$97.73 · $12.5B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthALB+18.3%
Strongest balance sheetALB0.19
Highest qualityRPM74 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueALB-33%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ALB
stronger →← stronger
RPM
49
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
74
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
35
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
54
RPM is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ALB
RPM
$1.3bC+
FCF
$706mC+
+18.3%B+
Rev
+6.0%C+
0.19B+
D/E
0.79C
2.0xB
P/S
—
0.79A-
PEG
1.67C+
—
P/E
18.4xB
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ALB
RPM
33% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
17% above
~-3%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~9%/yr
+38%
1-yr DCF upside
-17%
+50%
5-yr DCF upside
-15%
+68%
10-yr DCF upside
-11%
These two disagree on this pair: the Value pillar ranks cheapness against sector peers, while price-vs-fair-value is an absolute read. A name can be the better value in its sector and still the dearer one on cash flows.
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ALB
Why this score
Cyclical growth
RPM
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
Cyclical growth
The companies
ALBAlbemarle Corporation
Specialty Chemicals · $101.27 · beta 1.36
Why now
Specialty Chemicals · market cap $12.0b. Down 54% from 52-week high of $221.00 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +18%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.79 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 20 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $168.56 (implying +66% upside).
Moat
Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income, mostly because of depreciation and amortization ($642m) — non-cash charges that hold down reported earnings while cash generation stays strong.
Risk
Down 54% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Net margin 3.8% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first. ROE 2% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
RPMRPM International Inc.
Specialty Chemicals · $97.73 · beta 1.04
Why now
Specialty Chemicals · market cap $12.5b. 20% off the 52-week high of $121.78. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $124.60 (implying +27% upside).
Moat
ROE 20% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 102% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ALB and RPM diverge
On the headline score the gap is 14.0 points in favor of RPM. The widest single difference is Quality, where RPM leads by 24.4 points.
QualityALB 49.3 · RPM 73.7RPM +24.4
ValueALB 35.1 · RPM 53.6RPM +18.5
GrowthALB 50.0 · RPM 50.0level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is RPM or ALB the better stock?
RPM scores higher: RPM 58.2, ALB 44.2 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do RPM and ALB differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where RPM leads by 24 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. RPM also leads value, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are RPM and ALB scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.