Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AXTA scored 52.5, HUN scored 25.5 — AXTA leads.
Compare another set
AXTA
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.
Specialty Chemicals · Quality-Growth
52.5
$32.63 · $7.0B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
27.0
AXTA leads
HUN
Huntsman Corp
Chemicals · Quality-Growth
25.5
$8.14 · $1.5B
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthHUN+0.6%
Strongest balance sheetHUN0.73
Highest qualityAXTA65 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AXTA
stronger →← stronger
HUN
65
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
35
33
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
19
68
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
25
AXTA is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AXTA
HUN
$488mC
FCF
-$9mF
-2.6%D+
Rev
+0.6%C
1.19C
D/E
0.73B
20.0xB
P/E
—
2.04C
PEG
—
—
P/S
0.3xA
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
AXTA
HUN
10% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
—
~8%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
—
-12%
1-yr DCF upside
—
-9%
5-yr DCF upside
—
-4%
10-yr DCF upside
—
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AXTA
Why this score
Buying back stock
HUN
Why this score
Cut its dividend
The companies
AXTAAxalta Coating Systems Ltd.
Specialty Chemicals · $32.63 · beta 1.26
Why now
Specialty Chemicals · market cap $7.0b. 15% off the 52-week high of $38.61. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $39.27 (implying +20% upside).
Moat
ROE 15% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 132% 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.
HUNHuntsman Corp
Chemicals · $8.14 · beta 0.80
Why now
Chemicals · market cap $1.5b. Down 49% from 52-week high of $16.09 — deep drawdown territory.
Moat
Turnaround / out-of-favor name — GAAP-unprofitable for now, so the durability case is forward-looking: it rests on a recovery (margin normalization, a cyclical upturn or restructuring) or an un-monetized asset (IP / network effects / first-mover position) rather than on current reported results.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$9m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Currently unprofitable (margin -3.0%) — path to GAAP profitability is the core thesis risk. Down 49% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
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 AXTA and HUN diverge
On the headline score the gap is 27.0 points in favor of AXTA. The widest single difference is Value, where AXTA leads by 42.7 points.
ValueAXTA 67.5 · HUN 24.8AXTA +42.7
QualityAXTA 64.6 · HUN 35.0AXTA +29.6
GrowthAXTA 33.1 · HUN 19.2AXTA +13.9
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 AXTA or HUN the better stock?
AXTA scores higher: AXTA 52.5, HUN 25.5 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 AXTA and HUN differ most?
The widest gap is value, where AXTA leads by 43 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. AXTA leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are AXTA and HUN 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.