Why do basic materials Return on Equity figures vary so much across cycles?

Commodity prices move independently of the cost base of mining, refining, and chemical production. When prices run well above marginal cost, margins expand dramatically and Return on Equity spikes. When prices fall below marginal cost for higher-cost operations, losses compress Return on Equity or turn it negative. The cycle amplitude means a single year rarely captures what a firm's capital base can deliver on average, so multi-year averages are the more reliable lens.

What does position on the cost curve tell us about materials Return on Equity?

Within any commodity industry, producers sit at different points on the industry cost curve, with low-cost producers earning positive margins across more of the cycle than high-cost peers. Low-cost position translates into higher and more stable through-cycle Return on Equity because the firm remains profitable when higher-cost competitors are losing money. Reading Return on Equity alongside disclosed cost curve position and ore grades or feedstock advantages separates structural efficiency from cyclical windfall.

Why does capital allocation at cycle peaks matter so much for basic materials Return on Equity?

The sector has a long history of using peak-cycle cash flow to acquire competitors, expand capacity, and repurchase shares at elevated valuations. When commodity prices normalize, assets acquired at peak prices generate lower returns, compressing subsequent-cycle Return on Equity meaningfully. Firms that preserve discipline through cycle peaks and deploy capital counter-cyclically have historically shown more stable through-cycle ratios, making the allocation record a central interpretive element alongside the current reading.

Top Basic Materials Stocks by Return on Equity

Top basic materials companies ranked by return on equity, latest annual filings.

What Return on Equity Means for Basic Materials Companies

Return on Equity divides net income by shareholder equity. In basic materials, commodity pricing drives earnings, so Return on Equity swings widely across cycles for metals miners, chemicals producers, and forest products firms. Multi-year averages across at least one full cycle offer a cleaner read of capital efficiency than any single year, and single-year comparisons between peers can mislead badly if they sit at different points in the cycle.

Why It Matters Less in Basic Materials

Basic materials Return on Equity tells you something about low-cost position on the industry cost curve, which is the durable source of above-average returns in this sector. However peak-cycle Return on Equity can mislead, reflecting temporary commodity windfalls rather than structural advantage. The industry's tendency to deploy capital at cycle peaks through acquisitions and capacity expansion has historically compressed subsequent-cycle returns, making capital-allocation discipline a central interpretive lens.

What to Read Alongside

Pair Return on Equity with Net Income to see absolute earnings through commodity cycles, Long-term Debt to check the leverage contribution inside the ratio, and CapEx to gauge the reinvestment intensity required to sustain returns.

Data as of FY 2025 80 companies Rhea AI

#	Symbol	Company	Sector
1	SHW	The Sherwin-Williams Company	Basic Materials	55.86%	$79.71B
2	GFI	Gold Fields Limited	Basic Materials	42.03%	$38.27B
3	SCCO	Southern Copper Corporation	Basic Materials	39.27%	$174.05B
4	CF	CF Industries Holdings, Inc.	Basic Materials	37.16%	$18.25B
5	AU	AngloGold Ashanti plc	Basic Materials	32.01%	$52.90B
6	EXP	Eagle Materials Inc.	Basic Materials	28.74%	$5.62B
7	CSTM	Constellium SE	Basic Materials	28.68%	$3.43B
8	KGC	Kinross Gold Corporation	Basic Materials	28.41%	$34.05B
9	NEU	NewMarket Corporation	Basic Materials	23.55%	$8.17B
10	CBT	Cabot Corporation	Basic Materials	21.35%	$4.10B
11	BHP	BHP Group Limited	Basic Materials	21.34%	$223.22B
12	ECL	Ecolab Inc.	Basic Materials	21.24%	$77.43B
13	NEM	Newmont Corporation	Basic Materials	20.92%	$134.09B
14	RPM	RPM International Inc.	Basic Materials	19.99%	$12.90B
15	AGI	Alamos Gold Inc.	Basic Materials	19.92%	$15.19B
16	PPG	PPG Industries, Inc.	Basic Materials	19.85%	$23.96B
17	BVN	Compañía de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.	Basic Materials	19.45%	$8.81B
18	AA	Alcoa Corporation	Basic Materials	18.91%	$11.80B
19	LIN	Linde plc	Basic Materials	18.04%	$214.31B
20	TTAM	Titan America SA	Basic Materials	17.93%	$2.60B
21	CDE	Coeur Mining, Inc.	Basic Materials	17.68%	$21.06B
22	HBM	Hudbay Minerals Inc.	Basic Materials	17.47%	$12.32B
23	NEXA	Nexa Resources S.A.	Basic Materials	17.30%	$1.76B
24	IAG	IAMGOLD Corporation	Basic Materials	17.25%	$11.93B
25	SSD	Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc.	Basic Materials	17.00%	$7.24B
26	WPM	Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.	Basic Materials	16.93%	$69.85B
27	SOLS	Solstice Advanced Materials, Inc.	Basic Materials	16.80%	$9.35B
28	ORLA	Orla Mining Ltd	Basic Materials	16.29%	$3.54B
29	AXTA	Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.	Basic Materials	16.16%	$7.07B
30	CRH	CRH plc	Basic Materials	15.63%	$58.57B
31	RIO	Rio Tinto Group	Basic Materials	15.29%	$158.55B
32	HWKN	Hawkins, Inc.	Basic Materials	15.27%	$2.60B
33	FNV	Franco-Nevada Corporation	Basic Materials	14.57%	$51.54B
34	PAAS	Pan American Silver Corp.	Basic Materials	14.00%	$21.08B
35	KALU	Kaiser Aluminum Corporation	Basic Materials	13.68%	$2.52B
36	SLVM	Sylvamo Corporation	Basic Materials	13.66%	$1.47B
37	STLD	Steel Dynamics, Inc.	Basic Materials	13.24%	$33.54B
38	VMC	Vulcan Materials Company	Basic Materials	12.63%	$32.12B
39	HL	Hecla Mining Company	Basic Materials	12.41%	$12.78B
40	BCPC	Balchem Corporation	Basic Materials	12.31%	$5.37B
41	EGO	Eldorado Gold Corporation	Basic Materials	11.77%	$11.70B
42	FCX	Freeport-McMoRan Inc.	Basic Materials	11.66%	$106.77B
43	MLM	Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.	Basic Materials	11.34%	$35.46B
44	SSRM	SSR Mining Inc.	Basic Materials	11.28%	$7.81B
45	SXT	Sensient Technologies Corporation	Basic Materials	11.27%	$5.57B
46	RS	Reliance, Inc.	Basic Materials	10.31%	$19.76B
47	KOP	Koppers Holdings Inc.	Basic Materials	9.76%	$0.87B
48	UFPI	UFP Industries, Inc.	Basic Materials	9.63%	$4.58B
49	KNF	Knife River Corporation	Basic Materials	9.57%	$3.17B
50	NTR	Nutrien Ltd.	Basic Materials	9.06%	$36.00B
51	AMRZ	Amrize Ltd	Basic Materials	9.03%	$21.33B
52	IOSP	Innospec Inc.	Basic Materials	8.79%	$2.37B
53	NUE	Nucor Corporation	Basic Materials	8.33%	$55.73B
54	EMN	Eastman Chemical Company	Basic Materials	7.95%	$7.67B
55	SQM	Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A.	Basic Materials	7.95%	$20.05B
56	MTRN	Materion Corporation	Basic Materials	7.93%	$5.28B
57	FUL	H.B. Fuller Company	Basic Materials	7.59%	$2.75B
58	ESI	Element Solutions Inc	Basic Materials	7.13%	$8.58B
59	CX	CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V.	Basic Materials	7.11%	$14.78B
60	AG	First Majestic Silver Corp.	Basic Materials	6.65%	$10.02B
61	RGLD	Royal Gold, Inc.	Basic Materials	6.51%	$21.88B
62	BCC	Boise Cascade Company	Basic Materials	6.40%	$2.76B
63	WLKP	Westlake Chemical Partners LP	Basic Materials	6.07%	$0.75B
64	ASIX	AdvanSix Inc.	Basic Materials	6.05%	$0.45B
65	VALE	Vale S.A.	Basic Materials	5.77%	$60.39B
66	MT	ArcelorMittal S.A.	Basic Materials	5.74%	$55.52B
67	MEOH	Methanex Corporation	Basic Materials	5.31%	$4.47B
68	CENX	Century Aluminum Company	Basic Materials	4.97%	$3.90B
69	CTVA	Corteva, Inc.	Basic Materials	4.53%	$53.60B
70	ICL	ICL Group Ltd	Basic Materials	4.49%	$6.97B
71	MOS	The Mosaic Company	Basic Materials	4.48%	$7.86B
72	ZEUS	Olympic Steel Inc	Basic Materials	4.00%	$0.54B
73	EQX	Equinox Gold Corp.	Basic Materials	3.82%	$14.90B
74	SCL	Stepan Company	Basic Materials	3.77%	$1.46B
75	AVNT	Avient Corporation	Basic Materials	3.45%	$3.78B
76	HCC	Warrior Met Coal, Inc.	Basic Materials	2.66%	$4.86B
77	TX	Ternium S.A.	Basic Materials	1.88%	$11.08B
78	JHX	James Hardie Industries plc	Basic Materials	1.62%	$15.87B
79	AAUC	Allied Gold Corporation	Basic Materials	0.66%	$3.20B
80	DD	DuPont de Nemours, Inc.	Basic Materials	0.63%	$17.80B

Companies with return on equity above 500%, or shareholder equity below 1% of total assets, are excluded: when equity is near zero the ratio becomes unstable and unrepresentative. Ratio rankings also require at least $1B in annual revenue.

How this ranking is built

Companies are ranked by return on equity as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.

Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
Size floor: A company qualifies at $1 billion in annual revenue or above, so a small filer with a freak ratio cannot top the list.
Value range: Only figures above 0% and up to 500% qualify.
Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).

Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.