Revenue growth remains highly inconsistent, with the most recent 0.6% year-over-year increase in 2026Q2 following a period of double-digit declines and significant margin compression, as evidenced by gross margins fluctuating between 20.7% and 34.2% over the last ten quarters.
| Metric | TTM | Sep'25 | Sep'24 | Sep'23 | Sep'22 | Sep'21 | Sep'20 | Sep'19 | Sep'18 | Sep'17 | Sep'16 | Sep'15 | Sep'14 | Sep'13 | Sep'12 | Sep'11 | Sep'10 | Sep'09 | Sep'08 | Sep'07 | Sep'06 | Sep'05 | Sep'04 | Sep'03 | Sep'02 | Sep'01 | Sep'00 | Sep'99 | Sep'98 | Sep'97 | Sep'96 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 1.81B | 1.82B | 2.11B | 2.19B | 2.39B | 2.11B | 2.02B | 2.15B | 2.59B | 2.31B | 3.02B | 3.42B | 6.12B | 6.09B | 6.47B | 6.5B | 5.74B | 8.11B | 8.38B | 7.79B | 7.23B | 7.29B | 6.21B | 7.91B | 7.62B | 8.55B | 7.96B | 6.8B | 6.53B | 12.83B | 11.33B |
| Revenue Growth % | -7.23% | -13.68% | -3.56% | -8.36% | 13.26% | 4.71% | -6.15% | -17.03% | 12.13% | -23.52% | -11.73% | -44.13% | 0.49% | -5.89% | -0.46% | 13.26% | -29.18% | -3.28% | 7.66% | 7.63% | -0.85% | 17.4% | -21.46% | 3.87% | -10.88% | 7.36% | 17.06% | 4.09% | -49.08% | 13.29% | 1.33% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 1.29B | 1.27B | 1.5B | 1.52B | 1.56B | 1.44B | 1.42B | 1.5B | 1.73B | 1.58B | 2.13B | 2.53B | 4.61B | 4.3B | 4.81B | 4.89B | 4.12B | 6.32B | 7.06B | 6.45B | 6.03B | 5.54B | 4.72B | 6.39B | 6.12B | 6.32B | 6.43B | 5.35B | 5.3B | 9.81B | 9.51B |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 69.9% | 70.75% | 69.51% | 65.29% | 68.26% | 70.29% | 69.69% | 66.67% | 68.43% | 70.62% | 74.04% | 75.23% | 70.66% | 74.37% | 75.21% | 71.83% | 77.93% | 84.19% | 82.81% | 83.37% | 76.01% | 75.97% | 80.76% | 80.28% | 73.93% | 80.82% | 78.61% | 81.1% | 76.44% | 83.97% |
| Gross Profit | 518M | 549M | 618M | 668M | 830M | 670M | 599M | 651M | 863M | 729M | 887M | 888M | 1.52B | 1.79B | 1.66B | 1.61B | 1.62B | 1.79B | 1.32B | 1.34B | 1.2B | 1.75B | 1.49B | 1.52B | 1.5B | 2.23B | 1.53B | 1.46B | 1.24B | 3.02B | 1.82B |
| Gross Margin % | 28.63% | 30.1% | 29.25% | 30.49% | 34.71% | 31.74% | 29.71% | 30.31% | 33.33% | 31.57% | 29.38% | 25.96% | 24.77% | 29.34% | 25.63% | 24.79% | 28.17% | 22.07% | 15.81% | 17.19% | 16.63% | 23.99% | 24.03% | 19.24% | 19.72% | 26.07% | 19.18% | 21.39% | 18.9% | 23.56% | 16.03% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -11.16% | -7.49% | -19.52% | 23.88% | 11.85% | -7.99% | -24.57% | 18.38% | -17.81% | -0.11% | -41.42% | -15.17% | 7.72% | 2.92% | -0.31% | -9.61% | 35.02% | -0.97% | 11.22% | -31.26% | 17.21% | -1.91% | 1.33% | -32.59% | 45.91% | 4.95% | 17.81% | -59.15% | 66.46% | -4.87% |
| Operating Expenses | 1.12B | 1.32B | 644M | 496M | 497M | 478M | 1.06B | 565M | 761M | 680M | 937M | 776M | 1.47B | 748M | 1.38B | 1.48B | 1.62B | 1.79B | 1.32B | 1.34B | 1.2B | 1.75B | 1.49B | 1.52B | 1.5B | 2.23B | 1.53B | 1.46B | 1.24B | 3.02B | 1.82B |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 72.59% | 30.48% | 22.64% | 20.79% | 22.64% | 52.58% | 26.3% | 29.39% | 29.45% | 31.04% | 22.69% | 24.02% | 12.28% | 21.29% | 22.79% | 28.17% | 22.07% | 15.81% | 17.19% | 16.63% | 23.99% | 24.03% | 19.24% | 19.72% | 26.07% | 19.18% | 21.39% | 18.9% | 23.56% | 16.03% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 331M | 345M | 404M | 365M | 393M | 358M | 400M | 426M | 599M | 610M | 858M | 692M | 1.36B | 670M | 1.33B | 1.45B | 1.34B | 1.34B | 1.17B | 1.17B | 1.08B | 1.08B | 968M | 1.26B | 1.18B | 1.13B | 1.09B | 1.05B | 1.01B | 1.35B | 1.26B |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 18.91% | 19.12% | 16.66% | 16.44% | 16.96% | 19.84% | 19.83% | 23.14% | 26.42% | 28.42% | 20.23% | 22.19% | 11% | 20.5% | 22.32% | 23.31% | 16.54% | 13.91% | 15.04% | 14.89% | 14.79% | 15.58% | 15.87% | 15.5% | 13.19% | 13.74% | 15.5% | 15.4% | 10.52% | 11.1% |
| Research & Development | 53M | 54M | 55M | 51M | 55M | 50M | 56M | 58M | 73M | 83M | 87M | 99M | 114M | 137M | 137M | 80M | 86M | 96M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | 2.96% | 2.6% | 2.33% | 2.3% | 2.37% | 2.78% | 2.7% | 2.82% | 3.59% | 2.88% | 2.89% | 1.86% | 2.25% | 2.12% | 1.23% | 1.5% | 1.18% | - | - | - | - | 0.69% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 2M | 925M | 185M | 80M | 49M | 70M | 604M | 81M | 89M | -3M | -8M | -15M | -2M | -64M | -53M | -49M | 201M | 352M | 159M | 167M | 126M | 671M | 525M | 266M | 321M | 1.1B | 433M | 401M | 229M | 1.67B | 559M |
| Operating Income | -614M | -775M | -26M | 172M | 333M | 192M | -461M | 86M | 102M | 49M | -50M | 112M | 46M | 1.04B | 281M | 130M | 201M | -78M | 193M | 219M | 175M | 107M | 182M | 266M | 321M | 851M | 196M | 173M | 48M | 333M | 260M |
| Operating Margin % | -33.94% | -42.49% | -1.23% | 7.85% | 13.93% | 9.1% | -22.87% | 4% | 3.94% | 2.12% | -1.66% | 3.27% | 0.75% | 17.06% | 4.34% | 2% | 3.5% | -0.96% | 2.3% | 2.81% | 2.42% | 1.47% | 2.93% | 3.36% | 4.21% | 9.96% | 2.46% | 2.54% | 0.73% | 2.59% | 2.3% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | -2880.77% | -115.12% | -48.35% | 73.44% | 141.65% | -636.05% | -15.69% | 108.16% | 198% | -144.64% | 143.48% | -95.57% | 269.75% | 116.15% | -35.32% | 357.69% | -140.41% | -11.87% | 25.14% | 63.55% | -41.21% | -31.58% | -17.13% | -62.28% | 334.18% | 13.29% | 260.42% | -85.59% | 28.08% | 106.35% |
| EBITDA | -430M | -538M | 248M | 415M | 574M | 436M | -226M | 363M | 379M | 351M | 254M | 451M | 439M | 1.4B | 640M | 429M | 481M | 251M | 338M | 352M | 286M | 207M | 375M | 470M | 529M | 1.1B | 433M | 401M | 229M | 681M | 559M |
| EBITDA Margin % | -23.77% | -29.5% | 11.74% | 18.94% | 24.01% | 20.65% | -11.21% | 16.9% | 14.64% | 15.2% | 8.41% | 13.19% | 7.17% | 22.9% | 9.89% | 6.6% | 8.38% | 3.1% | 4.03% | 4.52% | 3.95% | 2.84% | 6.03% | 5.94% | 6.94% | 12.88% | 5.44% | 5.9% | 3.5% | 5.31% | 4.93% |
| EBITDA Growth % | -741.79% | -316.94% | -40.24% | -27.7% | 31.65% | 292.92% | -162.26% | -4.22% | 7.98% | 38.19% | -43.68% | 2.73% | -68.53% | 117.97% | 49.18% | -10.81% | 91.63% | -25.74% | -3.98% | 23.08% | 38.16% | -44.8% | -20.21% | -11.15% | -51.95% | 154.27% | 7.98% | 75.11% | -66.37% | 21.82% | -8.81% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 184M | 237M | 274M | 243M | 241M | 244M | 235M | 277M | 277M | 302M | 304M | 339M | 393M | 356M | 359M | 299M | 280M | 329M | 145M | 133M | 111M | 100M | 193M | 204M | 208M | 250M | 237M | 228M | 181M | 348M | 299M |
| EBIT | -607M | -746M | 29M | 214M | 268M | 204M | -489M | 105M | 127M | 151M | -122M | 352M | 47M | 1.02B | 208M | 134M | 273M | 384M | 193M | 219M | 175M | -613M | 662M | 266M | 321M | 851M | 196M | 173M | 48M | 333M | 260M |
| Net Interest Income | -44M | -58M | -43M | -45M | -62M | -72M | -90M | -116M | -116M | -240M | -181M | -177M | -166M | -282M | -317M | -121M | -186M | -205M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 4M | 5M | 10M | 12M | 4M | 1M | 1M | 2M | 0 | 4M | 5M | 6M | 6M | 4M | 8M | 16M | 12M | 21M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 66M | 63M | 53M | 57M | 66M | 73M | 91M | 114M | 116M | 227M | 180M | 166M | 163M | 273M | 251M | 131M | 198M | 226M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -21M | -34M | 2M | -12M | -127M | -57M | -116M | -95M | -91M | -245M | -258M | -263M | -162M | -88M | -324M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68M | 40M | 37M | 1.62B | 366M | -128M | -138M | -170M | 287M | 312M | 269M | -14M | -52M |
| Pretax Income | -635M | -809M | -24M | 160M | 206M | 135M | -577M | -9M | 11M | -196M | -308M | -151M | -116M | 951M | -43M | 3M | 75M | 158M | 261M | 259M | 212M | 1.73B | 548M | 138M | 183M | 681M | 483M | 485M | 317M | 319M | 208M |
| Pretax Margin % | -35.1% | -44.35% | -1.14% | 7.3% | 8.62% | 6.4% | -28.62% | -0.42% | 0.42% | -8.49% | -10.2% | -4.42% | -1.9% | 15.61% | -0.66% | 0.05% | 1.31% | 1.95% | 3.11% | 3.33% | 2.93% | 23.69% | 8.82% | 1.74% | 2.4% | 7.97% | 6.07% | 7.13% | 4.85% | 2.49% | 1.84% |
| Income Tax | 50M | 13M | -223M | -8M | 25M | -38M | -22M | 30M | -8M | -16M | -25M | -139M | -188M | 274M | -57M | -53M | -13M | 80M | 86M | 58M | 29M | -230M | 150M | 44M | 68M | 275M | 191M | 194M | 114M | 127M | 72M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | -7.87% | -1.61% | 929.17% | -5% | 12.14% | -28.15% | 3.81% | -333.33% | -72.73% | 8.16% | 8.12% | 92.05% | 162.07% | 28.81% | 132.56% | -1766.67% | -17.33% | 50.63% | 32.95% | 22.39% | 13.68% | -13.31% | 27.37% | 31.88% | 37.16% | 40.38% | 39.54% | 40% | 35.96% | 39.81% | 34.62% |
| Net Income | -706M | -845M | 169M | 178M | 927M | 220M | -508M | 505M | 114M | 1M | -29M | 309M | 233M | 683M | 26M | 414M | 141M | 71M | 167M | 230M | 407M | 2B | 378M | 75M | 117M | 417M | 70M | 290M | 203M | 279M | 211M |
| Net Margin % | -39.03% | -46.33% | 8% | 8.12% | 38.77% | 10.42% | -25.2% | 23.51% | 4.4% | 0.04% | -0.96% | 9.04% | 3.81% | 11.21% | 0.4% | 6.37% | 2.46% | 0.88% | 1.99% | 2.95% | 5.63% | 27.47% | 6.08% | 0.95% | 1.54% | 4.88% | 0.88% | 4.26% | 3.11% | 2.17% | 1.86% |
| Net Income Growth % | -530.36% | -600% | -5.06% | -80.8% | 321.36% | 143.31% | -200.59% | 342.98% | 11300% | 103.45% | -109.39% | 32.62% | -65.89% | 2526.92% | -93.72% | 193.62% | 98.59% | -57.48% | -27.39% | -43.49% | -79.69% | 430.16% | 404% | -35.9% | -71.94% | 495.71% | -75.86% | 42.86% | -27.24% | 32.23% | 779.17% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | -684M | -822M | 199M | 168M | 181M | 173M | -555M | -39M | 19M | -180M | -283M | -12M | 72M | 553M | 14M | 56M | 88M | 78M | 175M | 201M | 183M | 1.96B | 398M | 94M | 115M | 406M | 292M | 291M | 203M | 192M | 136M |
| Discontinued Operations | -1000K | -23M | -30M | 10M | 746M | 47M | 47M | 544M | 95M | 208M | 255M | 321M | 161M | 130M | 0 | 0 | 53M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 224M | 46M | 0 | -14M | 0 | 0 | -218M | 0 | 0 | 96M | 75M |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -182M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 273M | 174M |
| EPS (Diluted) | -15.35 | -18.37 | 3.38 | 3.31 | 16.41 | 3.66 | -8.39 | 8.03 | 1.78 | 0.02 | -0.46 | 4.48 | 3.00 | 8.57 | 0.33 | 5.17 | 1.63 | 0.95 | 2.63 | 3.60 | 5.64 | 26.85 | 5.25 | 1.10 | 1.67 | 5.93 | 0.98 | 3.89 | 2.63 | 3.64 | 2.96 |
| EPS Growth % | -539.17% | -643.49% | 2.11% | -79.83% | 348.36% | 143.62% | -204.48% | 351.12% | 10955.9% | 103.5% | -110.27% | 49.33% | -64.99% | 2496.97% | -93.62% | 217.18% | 71.58% | -63.88% | -26.94% | -36.17% | -78.99% | 411.43% | 377.27% | -34.13% | -71.84% | 505.1% | -74.81% | 47.91% | -27.75% | 22.97% | 3600% |
| EPS (Basic) | - | -18.37 | 3.45 | 3.36 | 17.17 | 2.85 | -8.33 | 8.15 | 1.84 | 0.02 | -0.46 | 4.61 | 3.33 | 8.87 | 0.33 | 5.31 | 1.65 | 0.95 | 2.65 | 3.66 | 5.73 | 27.49 | 5.25 | 1.10 | 1.72 | 6.04 | 0.99 | 3.94 | 2.68 | 3.86 | 3.00 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 46M | 46M | 50M | 54M | 56M | 61M | 61M | 63M | 64M | 62M | 63M | 69M | 78M | 80M | 80M | 80M | 79M | 73M | 63.5M | 63.89M | 72M | 74.64M | 71.19M | 68.18M | 70.06M | 70.32M | 71.43M | 75M | 77.19M | 73.9M | 64.86M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 46M | 46M | 49M | 53M | 54M | 78.01M | 61M | 63M | 62M | 62M | 63M | 67M | 70M | 77M | 79M | 78M | 78M | 72M | 63.02M | 62.84M | 71M | 72.5M | 70M | 67.78M | 68.63M | 69.75M | 70.71M | 74M | 75.75M | 69.69M | 64M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | 46.15% | 42.7% | 7.55% | 31.82% | - | 12.67% | 52.63% | 7700% | - | 31.72% | 44.21% | 12.88% | 242.31% | 12.32% | 24.82% | 30.99% | 41.32% | 323.04% | 19.16% | 3.94% | 20.37% | 100% | 64.96% | 18.23% | 111.43% | 27.93% | 41.38% | 30.82% | 42.18% |
Legacy liability impairment volatility
According to quarterly financial disclosures, Ashland's revenue trajectory exhibits significant inconsistency, with the most recent period showing a marginal 0.6% year-over-year growth following a prolonged sequence of double-digit declines, suggesting that the company's transition toward a specialty-focused portfolio has yet to yield a stable top-line expansion.
The erratic revenue performance appears to reflect the ongoing divestiture of cyclical business units and the lingering impact of commodity-sensitive segments like Intermediates. Investors should monitor whether the recent return to positive growth signals a bottoming of demand in the Life Sciences and Personal Care segments or merely a temporary stabilization of volatile industrial volumes.
As reported in recent income statements, Ashland's gross margins have fluctuated between 20.7% and 34.2% over the last ten quarters, indicating that the company struggles to maintain consistent pricing power amidst shifting raw material costs and the inherent volatility of its remaining commodity-exposed chemical processing operations.
The inability to sustain gross margins above the 30% threshold consistently suggests that the product mix remains overly sensitive to input cost inflation. This margin instability implies that the company's specialty ingredients, while theoretically high-moat, are currently insufficient to offset the margin-dilutive effects of its legacy industrial business lines.
Based on the provided income statement data, operating income has experienced extreme swings, including a massive $708 million loss in 2025Q3, which suggests that non-operating or one-time legacy charges are currently masking the underlying efficiency of the company's core specialty chemical manufacturing and distribution activities.
The wide variance in operating margins, ranging from deeply negative to low double-digits, makes it difficult to assess the true scalability of the business. Analysts should focus on normalized operating expenses to determine if management is successfully achieving the overhead efficiencies expected from a streamlined, pure-play specialty ingredients organization.
Financial filings reveal that Ashland's net income is frequently impacted by significant non-recurring items, as evidenced by the $742 million net loss in 2025Q3, which highlights the persistent risk that legacy environmental and legal liabilities pose to the company's reported bottom-line profitability and overall earnings quality.
The disconnect between operational performance and net income suggests that investors must look past GAAP figures to evaluate the company's true cash-generating potential. The recurring nature of these large, non-operational charges warrants further investigation into the remaining duration and magnitude of these historical obligations.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ASH stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Ashland Inc. (ASH) reported total revenue of $1.82B. This represents a 83.9% decline compared to $11.33B in 1996.
Ashland Inc. (ASH) reported a net loss of $845.0M for the fiscal year ending 2025.
Ashland Inc. (ASH) reported an operating income of $-775.0M, resulting in an operating profit margin of -42.5%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Ashland Inc. (ASH) generated $549.0M in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 30.1%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.