Here are a few analogies to describe Ashland (ASH):

• The 'Intel Inside' for a broad range of personal care, pharmaceutical, and industrial products.
• A specialized chemical ingredient supplier for various industries, akin to a smaller, more focused BASF or DuPont.
• Like 3M, but focused on specialty chemical ingredients that enhance the performance of industrial and consumer goods.

• Pharmaceuticals & Nutraceuticals: Specialty ingredients and excipients that enable drug delivery, enhance stability, and improve the efficacy of medications and dietary supplements.
• Personal Care Ingredients: High-performance additives and active ingredients for formulating cosmetics, hair care, skin care, and oral care products.
• Coatings & Construction Additives: Rheology modifiers, binders, and dispersants used to improve the performance, application, and durability of paints, coatings, and building materials.
• Adhesives & Industrial Performance Products: Specialty polymers and additives that enhance the strength, flexibility, and processing of adhesives, as well as provide solutions for various industrial applications.

Ashland (symbol: ASH) is a global specialty materials company that primarily sells to other companies (B2B).

According to Ashland's financial filings, its business model involves providing performance-enhancing ingredients and additives to a broad and diverse customer base across numerous industries. Due to the nature of its business and its highly diversified customer base, Ashland does not publicly disclose the names of specific major customer companies. In its 2023 10-K filing, Ashland explicitly states: "No single customer accounted for 10% or more of consolidated net sales in fiscal 2023, 2022, or 2021."

Therefore, Ashland does not have individual "major customers" in the traditional sense that would be publicly identifiable by name or account for a significant portion of its revenue. Instead, its customers are thousands of companies operating within the following key industries globally:

• Pharmaceutical companies (e.g., manufacturers of drugs, vaccines, and dietary supplements)
• Personal Care & Home companies (e.g., manufacturers of cosmetics, toiletries, hair care, skin care, and household cleaning products)
• Food & Beverage companies (e.g., producers of food products, beverages, and nutritional ingredients)
• Coatings companies (e.g., manufacturers of paints, inks, adhesives, and protective coatings)
• Construction companies (e.g., suppliers of building materials, joint compounds, and specialty mortars)
• Energy companies (e.g., those involved in oil & gas exploration and production, and renewable energy applications)
• Industrial & Advanced Materials companies (e.g., manufacturers across various industrial sectors utilizing specialty chemicals and materials for diverse applications)

Guillermo Novo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Guillermo Novo joined Ashland's Board of Directors in May 2019 and became Chief Executive Officer on December 31, 2019. Prior to Ashland, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Versum Materials and was a member of its Board of Directors. Versum Materials was acquired by Merck KGaA in 2019, during his tenure as CEO. He also served as Executive Vice President, Materials Technologies of Air Products, where he joined in 2012 as Senior Vice President Electronics, Performance Materials, Strategy and Technology. Before Air Products, he was with Dow Chemical Company, most recently as group vice president, Dow Coating Materials. He began his career in 1986 at Rohm and Haas Company (which merged with Dow in 2009), holding various commercial, marketing, and general management positions across South America, the U.S., and Asia. He was named a vice president at Rohm and Haas in 1998 and became a corporate officer and group executive in 2006.

William C. Whitaker, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

William C. Whitaker was named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective July 18, 2025. He joined Ashland in 2015 and has held several roles of increasing responsibility within corporate development, treasury, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), and investor relations. Before joining Ashland, Whitaker held various roles in private equity and transaction advisory services.

Dr. Osama M. Musa, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Osama M. Musa has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Ashland since November 2018. Previously, he was the Vice President of ASI Technology from November 2014 to November 2018 and Vice President for Technology and Innovation of Ashland from August 2012 to November 2014.

Eileen Drury, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Eileen Drury has been the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Ashland since November 2021. Prior to this role, she served as the company’s Vice President of Human Resources from August 2020 to November 2021 and Director of Human Resources from April 2019 to August 2020. Ms. Drury also worked as an HR Business Partner for various groups within Ashland Inc from 2011 to 2019.

James Minicucci, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Personal Care

James Minicucci is the Senior Vice President and General Manager, Personal Care at Ashland. He is recognized as an accomplished global business leader with a history of delivering strong top and bottom-line results. His background includes leading organizations in sales, marketing, operations, and technology. His expertise extends to developing and implementing corporate and business unit strategies, as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

The rapid advancement and commercialization of bio-based production methods and ingredients, particularly through synthetic biology and industrial fermentation, pose a clear emerging threat to Ashland's specialty ingredients business. This technology enables the creation of complex functional ingredients (such as cosmetic actives, nutritional compounds, and specialty polymers) using biological processes rather than traditional chemical synthesis or extraction from natural resources. These bio-based alternatives can offer superior sustainability profiles (e.g., renewable feedstocks, reduced energy and waste), potentially higher purity, and increasingly competitive costs, directly challenging Ashland's existing product portfolio and traditional manufacturing paradigms in personal care, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, and industrial applications.

Ashland (symbol: ASH) operates in several specialty chemical and ingredient markets. The addressable market sizes for their main products and services are as follows:

• Specialty Ingredients: The global specialty ingredients market was valued at USD 142.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 215.8 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.1%. North America held the largest revenue share of 32.1% in the global specialty ingredients market in 2023. The Asia Pacific specialty ingredients market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2024 to 2030.
• Personal Care Ingredients: The global personal care ingredient market is projected to grow from USD 14.3 billion in 2025 to USD 21.9 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 4.4%. The U.S. personal care product industry is expected to be valued at USD 14.3 billion in 2025 and is projected to rise at a CAGR of 2.8% from 2025 to 2035. The Europe personal care ingredients market size is exhibited at USD 6.04 billion in 2025 and is projected to be worth around USD 10.25 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 6.04%.
• Pharmaceutical Excipients: The global pharmaceutical excipients market is expected to reach USD 10.72 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.93% to reach USD 15.71 billion by 2030. North America dominates the global pharmaceutical excipients market with a share of 40.7% in 2024. Europe accounted for the largest regional share in the pharmaceutical excipients market in 2024. The Asia Pacific region is anticipated to witness the fastest growth rate, with a projected CAGR of 6.9% over the forecast period.
• Coating Additives: The global coating additives market size was valued at USD 10.0 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 17.1 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 5.7%. The global coating additives market is estimated at USD 17.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% from 2024 to 2030. The Asia Pacific coating additives market held the biggest market size in 2023 and is expected to grow at the highest compound annual growth rate during the forecast period.
• Cellulose Ethers & Derivatives: The global cellulose ether and derivatives market is projected to grow from USD 9.9 billion in 2025 to USD 24.7 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 9.5%. The global market size for coating grade cellulose ether is projected to grow from USD 1.5 billion in 2024 to USD 2.6 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 5.13%. North America is expected to generate the highest demand in the Coating Grade Cellulose Ether Market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to grow the fastest in the Coating Grade Cellulose Ether Market during the forecast period.
• Specialty Food Ingredients: The global specialty food ingredients market size was estimated at USD 101.9 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 144.9 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.2%. Asia Pacific was the largest market for specialty food ingredients in 2024.
• 1,4 Butanediol (BDO) and Derivatives (Intermediates): The global 1,4 butanediol market size was estimated at USD 7,684.4 million in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 13,407.6 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.9%. Asia Pacific was the largest revenue-generating market for 1,4 butanediol in 2024, with an 81.1% share. The North America 1,4-butanediol market is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR. In terms of volume, the global Butanediol market reached approximately 3665 thousand tonnes in 2024 and is expected to grow to approximately 6189 thousand tonnes by 2035, at a CAGR of 4.94%.

Ashland (ASH) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several strategic initiatives:

1. Strategic Portfolio Optimization and Focus on High-Value Markets: Ashland is actively optimizing its portfolio by divesting lower-margin businesses, such as nutraceuticals, to concentrate on high-quality, consumer-focused markets like pharmaceuticals and personal care. This strategic shift aims to enhance the company's competitive position and drive profitable revenue growth.

2. Innovation and New Product Development: The company is increasing its investment in research and development (R&D) to accelerate innovation and launch new products and technologies. Key areas of focus include biofunctional actives, microbial protection, high-value cellulosic excipients, tablet coatings, and injectables, which are expected to serve as significant growth catalysts.

3. Globalization and Expansion in High-Growth Regions/Markets: Ashland is focusing on accelerating growth across its globalized business lines and expanding its presence in strategic markets and regions, including Asia. This involves increased market penetration and capitalizing on international demand for its specialty ingredients.

4. Volume Growth in Key Segments: Specific business segments, particularly Personal Care and the pharmaceutical sector within Life Sciences, are anticipated to contribute significantly to future revenue growth through increased sales volumes. Personal Care has shown strong performance in strategic markets like biofunctionals and microbial protection, while robust pharma demand is expected to remain resilient.

Share Repurchases

• Ashland repurchased 1.7 million shares during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 and had $620 million remaining under its existing evergreen share repurchase authorization.
• In fiscal year 2024, Ashland repurchased $380 million of its common stock.
• In May 2022, Ashland's board of directors approved a new $500 million evergreen stock buyback program, replacing a prior $1 billion authorization from 2018.

Share Issuance

• As of October 31, 2024, Ashland reported 47,109,326 common shares outstanding.

Outbound Investments

• Ashland completed the sale of its nutraceuticals business to Turnspire Capital Partners LLC for approximately $26 million in fiscal year 2024.
• The company sold its Performance Adhesive business for $1.7 billion, with the sale completed in February 2022.
• Ashland is reviewing strategic alternatives for its Avoca business line.

Capital Expenditures

• Ashland anticipates capital expenditures of approximately $100 million for fiscal year 2026.