Stepan Company (SCL) scored on five pillars from its reported financial statements, and ranked against 77 Materials companies.
Stepan Company (SCL) scores 2.8 out of 10 as of , computed from its reported financial statements. That reads as low quality. The reading rests on efficiency, and profitability is what holds it back.
Data provided by Twelve Data. Scores are computed by Lemma Analysis from reported financials.
Stepan Company’s filings do not show enough of the signs a moat leaves: 1 of 5 indicators passed.
Quantitative signs of a moat, read from the filed statements. This is not a judgement of where it comes from (brand, network effects, switching costs). How Lemma measures a moat →
On the filings behind it, Stepan Company earns 2.8 out of 10 for business quality as of October 19, 2026. That is low quality on our scale. A low reading means the reported numbers show weakness on several pillars at once, which is a reason to understand the business before anything else. The figure is a weighted average of five pillars, each scored from 0 to 10 against sector-aware benchmarks from reported statements.
Set against 77 Materials companies, Stepan Company lands at the 28th percentile, just below the middle of the group. A typical company in the group scores 4.4, and the best quarter starts from 6.2. Stepan Company is well below that typical reading.
On profitability, Stepan Company scores 1.0, a weak reading. Its peers have a median of 4.4 across 74 Materials companies, which places it well below them, at the 22nd percentile. A low reading here is the first thing to explain: it is the pillar most closely tied to whether the business creates value at all.
Solvency scores 4.6 out of 10, which reads as average. The median across 66 Materials companies is 6.7, so Stepan Company is well below its peers on this pillar and ranks at the 32nd percentile. Middling solvency says the balance sheet is neither a strength nor a constraint today.
On growth, Stepan Company scores 1.1, a weak reading. Its peers have a median of 3.2 across 57 Materials companies, which places it well below them, at the 18th percentile. When growth is this low the question is whether it is a pause or a trend, and the history behind the filings is the place to look.
On efficiency, Stepan Company scores 4.7, an average reading. Its peers have a median of 5.2 across 71 Materials companies, which places it below them, at the 49th percentile. Middling efficiency is unremarkable on its own, though improvements here tend to show up in free cash flow first.
Predictability scores 3.5 out of 10, which reads as weak. The median across 76 Materials companies is 4.5, so Stepan Company is below its peers on this pillar and ranks at the 39th percentile. A low predictability score often belongs to cyclical businesses, where good and bad years alternate with the economy or with commodity prices.
This is a lopsided profile. Efficiency scores 4.7 but profitability only 1.0, a gap of 3.7 points, so the overall hides a business that is excellent in one respect and weak in another. An efficiency lead means the operation turns what it has into cash better than it does anything else. A profitability shortfall is the one most worth understanding, since it bears directly on whether the business creates value.
Of everything that could lift Stepan Company’s score, profitability matters most. Bringing it up to the 4.4 median of Materials companies would take the overall from 2.8 to roughly 3.6. All five pillars could be scored, so the overall uses the full set of weights out of 100: profitability 25, solvency 20, growth 20, efficiency 15, predictability 20.
These are the Materials companies closest to Stepan Company in market value. Each has its own page scored on the same five pillars, so the comparison is like for like.
How much profit the company generates from its capital and sales.
The company’s ability to service debt and meet its obligations.
How fast revenue, earnings and cash flow are compounding.
How well assets and earnings convert into cash and output.
How stable and consistent results have been over time.
Each metric is scored from 0 to 10 against sector-aware benchmarks, where higher is better. Metrics roll up into five pillars, and the pillars combine into the overall score using the weights shown. Sector-sensitive metrics are judged relative to peers in the same sector.
This score is a systematic, backward-looking read of reported fundamentals. It does not judge valuation, management quality, competitive moat, or future prospects, and can be distorted by one-off items or unusual accounting. Treat it as a starting point, not a recommendation.
Educational only. Not investment advice.
On this reading Stepan Company scores 2.8 out of 10, which reads as low quality. Its strongest pillar is efficiency, its weakest is profitability. Quality is not the same as a good investment: the score says nothing about the price you would pay.
Stepan Company ranks at the 28th percentile of the 77 Materials companies Lemma publishes a score for. The median there is 4.4 and the top quarter starts at 6.2, against Stepan Company’s 2.8.
Five pillars, each scored from 0 to 10 against sector-aware benchmarks and then weighted into one overall reading: profitability, solvency, growth, efficiency and predictability. Everything comes from reported financials, and nothing comes from price, sentiment or forecasts.
This page last changed on October 19, 2026. The score moves with the financial statements, so the page changes when a new filing moves the reading rather than on a schedule. Live figures for SCL are in the app.
No. Quality and valuation are separate questions, and a good business at the wrong price is still a bad purchase. Score the business here, then price it with a DCF you control.
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