Sifting through countless of stocks in the Chemicals industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Avient Corporation or Stepan Company because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Avient Corporation and Stepan Company compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Avient Corporation and Stepan Company

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. The company operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks. The company products are used in medical and pharmaceutical devices, food packaging, personal care and cosmetics, transportation, building products, wire and cable, recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture, healthcare, textiles and appliances, and industrial markets. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment provides specialty polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. It sells its products through direct sales personnel, distributors, and commissioned sales agents. The company was formerly known as PolyOne Corporation and changed its name to Avient Corporation in June 2020. Avient Corporation was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio.

Stepan Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty and intermediate chemicals to other manufacturers for use in various end products in the United States, France, Poland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. The Surfactants segment offers surfactants that are used in consumer and industrial cleaning and disinfection products, including detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, and floors and walls, as well as shampoos and body washes; and other applications, such as fabric softeners, germicidal quaternary compounds, disinfectants, lubricating ingredients; emulsifiers for spreading agricultural products; and industrial applications comprising latex systems, plastics, and composites. The Polymers segment provides polyurethane polyols that are used in the manufacture of rigid foam for thermal insulation in the construction industry, as well as a base raw material for coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers (CASE); polyester resins used in coating applications; specialty polyols, such as CASE and powdered polyester resins; and phthalic anhydride that is used in unsaturated polyester resins, alkyd resins, and plasticizers for applications in construction materials, as well as components of automotive, boating, and other consumer products. The Specialty Products segment offers flavors, emulsifiers, and solubilizers for use in food, flavoring, nutritional supplement, and pharmaceutical applications. Stepan Company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.

Latest Chemicals and Avient Corporation, Stepan Company Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Avient Corporation had a $4.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Chemicals median of $4.2 million. Avient Corporation’s stock is up 36.5% in 2026, down 3.7% in the previous five trading days and up 19% in the past year.

Currently, Avient Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 23.5. Avient Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.3 billion with a 5.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.200 per share for the current fiscal year. Avient Corporation currently has a 2.5% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Stepan Company had a $1.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 49th percentile of all stocks. Stepan Company’s stock is up 30.9% in 2026, down 1.3% in the previous five trading days and up 26.91% in the past year.

Currently, Stepan Company does not have a price-earnings ratio. Stepan Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.4 billion with a -0.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 15.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.690 per share for the current fiscal year. Stepan Company currently has a 2.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Avient Corporation and Stepan Company Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Avient Corporation and Stepan Company’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Avient Corporation and Stepan Company Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Avient Corporation	AVNT	C
Stepan Company	SCL	A

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Avient Corporation has a Value Score of 51, which is Average. Stepan Company has a Value Score of 87, which is Deep Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Stepan Company

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Stepan Company is considered to have better value than Avient Corporation. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Stepan Company could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Avient Corporation and Stepan Company Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Avient Corporation	AVNT	A
Stepan Company	SCL	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Avient Corporation has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Stepan Company has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Avient Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Avient Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than Stepan Company. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Avient Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Avient Corporation and Stepan Company’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Avient Corporation	AVNT	A
Stepan Company	SCL	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Avient Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 82, which is Very Positive. Stepan Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 72, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Avient Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Avient Corporation has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Stepan Company. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Avient Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Avient Corporation and Stepan Company Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Growth and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Avient Corporation and Stepan Company pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Avient Corporation or Stepan Company Stock?

Overall, Avient Corporation stock has a Value Score of 51, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 82.

Stepan Company stock has a Value Score of 87, Growth Score of 56 and Estimate Revisions Score of 72.

Comparing Avient Corporation and Stepan Company’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.