Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. BCPC scored 52.2, SHW scored 53.1 — SHW leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. SHW's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but BCPC's are as of March 2026 — a 3-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
BCPC
Balchem Corporation
Specialty Chemicals · Quality-Growth
52.2
$167.83 · $5.4B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
0.9
SHW leads
SHW
The Sherwin-Williams Company
Specialty Chemicals · Quality-Growth
53.1
$319.36 · $77.5B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestSHW29.4x
Fastest growthBCPC+8.8%
Strongest balance sheetBCPC0.13
Highest qualitySHW78 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
BCPC
stronger →← stronger
SHW
75
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
78
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
50
38
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
38
SHW is stronger on 1 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
BCPC
SHW
$176mC
FCF
$3.2bB
+8.8%B
Rev
+5.8%C+
0.13A-
D/E
3.90D
33.2xC
P/E
29.4xC+
3.26D
PEG
2.07C
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
BCPC
SHW
65% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
66% above
~19%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~18%/yr
-43%
1-yr DCF upside
-41%
-39%
5-yr DCF upside
-40%
-34%
10-yr DCF upside
-37%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
BCPC
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Cyclical growth
SHW
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
Cyclical growth
The companies
BCPCBalchem Corporation
Specialty Chemicals · $167.83 · beta 0.85
Why now
Specialty Chemicals · market cap $5.4b. 9% off the 52-week high of $183.90. 4 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $209.25 (implying +25% upside).
Moat
Net margin 15% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 13% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. FCF converts 107% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 33x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
SHWThe Sherwin-Williams Company
Specialty Chemicals · $319.36 · beta 1.08
Why now
Specialty Chemicals · market cap $77.5b. 15% off the 52-week high of $377.77. 23 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $385.87 (implying +21% upside).
Moat
ROE 70% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 120% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $77.5b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
D/E 3.90 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer.
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 BCPC and SHW diverge
On the headline score the gap is 0.9 points in favor of SHW. The widest single difference is Quality, where SHW leads by 3.6 points.
QualityBCPC 74.8 · SHW 78.4SHW +3.6
GrowthBCPC 50.0 · SHW 50.0level
ValueBCPC 38.1 · SHW 38.1level
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 SHW or BCPC the better stock?
SHW scores higher: SHW 53.1, BCPC 52.2 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 SHW and BCPC differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where SHW leads by 4 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. The other two pillars are close enough to call level, so this is the one place they genuinely separate.
How are SHW and BCPC 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.