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Westlake Corporation

WLK
17
Chemicals - Specialty · Basic Materials
Price
$77.63
+0.55 (+0.71%)
Market Cap
$9.95B
Winston Score
17
Winston is worried
Weak fundamentals across most pillars.

Westlake Corporation is a large chemical and building products company based in Houston, Texas. It makes two main types of products: basic chemicals like PVC (a plastic used in pipes and packaging) and finished building materials like vinyl windows, siding, and trim for homes. Its customers include construction companies, homebuilders, and manufacturers across North America and beyond.

Westlake earns money by selling both raw chemicals and finished products, giving it two separate revenue streams. It operates primarily in the United States but also has facilities in Europe and Asia, and its scale as one of the larger integrated PVC producers in North America gives it some cost advantages over smaller rivals. However, the negative operating margin and weak returns shown in current financials reflect how sensitive this business is to chemical pricing cycles and slower housing construction activity, which remain the key risks to its near-term performance.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-10.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

<−1,000% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (3%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

74.0%ownership

Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Runway

5+ years

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

$2.7B cash & investments at current burn rate

Revenue declining

Westlake Corporation's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

+0.2% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 128.7M (2021) → 128.9M (2025)

Score breakdown

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Quality

Gross Margin
-17.3%
Thin — -17.3% gross margin
Operating Margin
-26.5%
Losing money on operations — -26.5%
ROCE
-4.6%
Weak — -4.6% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales YoY
-8.0%
Shrinking sales (-8.0% YoY)
EPS YoY
-352.0%
Earnings shrinking (-352.0% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

EPS Consistency
0/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
N/A
Data not available
FCF Margin
-4.7%
Burning cash (-4.7%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
0.65
Moderate — manageable debt (0.65)
Interest Cover
N/A
Data not available

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
N/M
Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
2.84%
Moderate income — 2.84% yield

Standard yield zone for stable dividend payers. A meaningful piece of total return.

Dividend Growth
+1.0%
Dividend flat

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