Quality Investor

Avient Corporation

Rank #396Value

AVNT · NYSE · Basic Materials

Avient Corporation (AVNT) — Rank #396 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.17) · ROE 3.4% · Piotroski F-Score 6 / 9.

As-of 2026-09-15 · CIK 0001122976 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia.

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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.

Industry
Specialty Chemicals
Sector
Basic Materials
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31
Website
avient.com

Price History

AVNT-4.6% · -0.9% CAGRSPY+80.5% · +12.5% CAGR

Company Snapshot

P/E and dividend yield are the primary valuation lenses for mature businesses.

Market Cap

$3.75B

P/E (annual)

46.0

P/S (annual)

1.2

P/B

1.5

P/OCF (annual)

12.4

Shareholder Yield

7.5%

Employees

9,000

Industry

Specialty Chemicals

Exchange

NYSE

Signal Flags

2 green1 yellow2 red
Operating leverage expandingOperating income growing faster than revenue
Sequential beat (rev + EPS)Both revenue and EPS exceeded prior quarter — 2-quarter streak
Disclosure regressionA previously-disclosed line item is no longer reported — worth checking the filing for why
Revenue declining YoYRevenue contracted year over year
Balance sheet deterioratingNet cash collapsed with receivables or inventory outpacing revenue

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.17
Return on equity
3.4%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.45
Current ratio
1.90×
Net cash
-$1.45B

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.3%

Growth

1/2 pass
Revenue growth
-13.6%
Piotroski F-Score
6 / 9
Share dilution
-4.9%

Terry Smith quality gate

Passes 1/5 Terry Smith thresholds

1 of 5 threshold not computable from filed data.

What Growth Is Priced In

Implied revenue growth (10Y)

7.2%

incredible deal

The annual FCF growth rate today's price requires over a 10-year horizon (discount rate 10%, terminal growth 2.5%).

Buyback tailwind: -4.9% — per-share value needs a total required return of 2.3% once share-count change is priced in.

vs. own 6-year median revenue growth: 9.2%

within its own history

Cost-of-equity sensitivity (implied growth at different discount rates)

r = 8%

2.9%

r = 10% (base)

7.2%

r = 12%

10.9%

Net debt / market cap: 38.6%— material leverage inflates the implied growth read.

Note: current FCF margin is 1.8σ above its historical mean — implied growth may understate valuation risk if the margin reverts.

Base FCF: $195M3Y mean FCF: $65.9M

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

4.1xCheap
4.1xmed 14.2x47.1x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

0.8xFair
0.5xmed 0.8x1.0x

P / B

Price / book value per share

2.3xCheap
2.3xmed 3.7x4.9x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

3.7xFair
3.0xmed 3.8x5.3x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

11.0xCheap
7.0xmed 20.9x106.5x

Dividend yield and payout ratio are the primary reads at this stage (trailing P/E — see valuation above).

Profitability

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.17

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

24th pctl of 34 SIC 28 peers

Return on equity

3.4%

Gross margin

31.2%

27th pctl of 34 SIC 28 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

-13.6%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2011201220132014
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

-51.2%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

Anti-fragile safety

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.45

13th pctl of 31 SIC 28 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.90×

30th pctl of 34 SIC 28 peers

Quick ratio

1.21×

Net cash

-$1.45B

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Cash-flow health

Free cash flow

$195.00M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF / net income

1.38

Cash-backing of earnings.

FCF/NI divergence

Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.3%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Dividend safety

Composite score

2.2 / 5

Fair
Payout ratio
120.6%0/5 Weak
FCF coverage
1.97×3/5 Good
Dividend growth streak
10 yr5/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 1.45 · IC N/A1/5 Weak

Piotroski F-Score

F-Score

6 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Lifecycle Phase History

20092014
Capital Return
Hypergrowth
Value