What Does Sherwin-Williams Offer That IFF Does Not?

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International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Sherwin-Williams both credit part of their recent growth to winning new business. Investors have favored IFF lately: its stock returned 47.5% over the past year, against 3.1% for Sherwin-Williams. Unlike Sherwin-Williams, however, IFF barely raises its prices. Can its growth hold up on volume alone?

IFF Is Still Growing, On Volume Alone

Sales from the businesses IFF is keeping grew roughly 6% in fiscal Q2 2026, growth that management said was really all volume. In August, IFF raised its 2026 forecast for comparable sales growth to a midpoint of 3%, up from 2.5% in May. Management expects growth to slow from the second quarter’s 6% to low single digits in the second half.

IFF gets little help from price. Management said pricing added very little, if anything, and expects input costs, mainly energy and logistics, to rise modestly in the second half of 2026. IFF is working with customers on surcharges, but those come with a lag in Scent, its most affected business.

Sherwin-Williams delivered different news in July, raising its 2026 forecast for diluted earnings per share to an $11.12 midpoint, up from $10.90 in April. Its Paint Stores Group grew on both price and volume in fiscal Q2 2026, and the company announced an 8% price increase effective September 1 to offset raw material and other cost inflation. Both companies raised their forecasts, but Sherwin-Williams has prices that keep up with its costs, while IFF is growing on volume as its costs climb.

How Fast Can IFF Pay Down Debt?

Not quickly: IFF plans to pay down debt with proceeds from the Food Ingredients sale, a transaction management expects to close by the end of the second quarter of 2027. The company’s debt equals 26.1% of its market value, against 16.9% for Sherwin-Williams.

Management plans to use more than $1 billion of the sale proceeds to reduce debt, expecting net debt to end 2027 at 2.0 to 2.5 times EBITDA. At the end of June 2026, net debt was 2.5 times credit-adjusted EBITDA, the top of that range. IFF has also authorized a $2.5 billion share buyback, planning about $500 million of it in the second half of 2026, before the sale closes. Sherwin-Williams already produces more cash for its size: its free cash flow yield, free cash flow as a share of market value, was 3.8%, against 2.2% for IFF.

Is IFF Stock Pricier Than Sherwin-Williams?

On earnings, by far. IFF trades at 82.5 times its earnings over the past twelve months, against 31.4 times for Sherwin-Williams. Over the twelve months to June 2026, IFF kept 2.9% of its sales as net profit, against 11.0% for Sherwin-Williams.

On sales, IFF is the cheaper stock, trading at 2.4 times sales against 3.5 times for Sherwin-Williams. A buyer of IFF stock gets more sales per dollar, but those sales earn far less profit than Sherwin-Williams’ sales do.

Sherwin-Williams also grew faster and earns more from its operations. Its revenue rose 5.8% over the twelve months to June 2026, while IFF’s reported revenue fell 4.6%. In fiscal Q2 2026 alone, Sherwin-Williams’ reported sales grew 7.5%, ahead of the roughly 6% IFF reported for the businesses it is keeping. Over that period, Sherwin-Williams’ operating margin was 16.3%, against 8.0% for IFF.

On these figures, Sherwin-Williams comes out ahead on growth, margins, debt and the price of its earnings. IFF offers a lower price on its sales and businesses that are growing on volume, but its next round of debt reduction waits on the Food Ingredients sale. IFF’s net debt against EBITDA is the figure to watch in its coming quarterly reports, and again once the Food Ingredients sale closes.

Does This Mean You Should Act On IFF?

Our purpose is to inform you with unique data so you make the right investment decisions. That said, betting on a single stock is always risky, no matter which direction you choose.

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