Huntsman shares ticked up 2.5% to $11.91 in mid‑July. The market move highlights a contrast: valuation metrics appear attractive while reported revenue has declined in recent years.
On one hand: enterprise value of $3.3B, market cap $2.1B and a cash‑flow yield of +14.1% underline low headline valuation metrics. On the other: revenue has fallen every year since 2022 and margins are in the red.
Revenue peaked around 2022 and has moved lower: $8.0B in 2022, $6.1B in 2023, $6.0B in 2024 and $5.7B in 2025. The operating margin swung from +10.9% in 2018 to -2.3% in 2025; net margin is -5.0% in the latest year.
Management flags the mix between pricing, volumes and currency repeatedly in recent filings, and the messages are mixed.
"Average selling prices increased primarily due to favorable sales mix and the positive impact of major foreign currency exchange rate movements against the U.S. dollar." (Huntsman / 10-Q 2026-05-01)
That sentence points to a moment when mix and FX helped published prices. The filing elsewhere records opposite moves, though, which is the drumbeat investors see in the numbers.
"MDI average selling prices decreased primarily due to less favorable supply and demand dynamics, partially offset by the positive impact of major foreign currency exchange rate movements against the U.S. dollar." (Huntsman / 10-Q 2026-05-01)
Here management says a key product (MDI) faced weaker prices because supply/demand pushed them down, FX only softened the blow. Repeated notes like this show pricing and demand are not moving uniformly across the business.
The Polyurethanes segment also illustrates that volumes and prices can pull in opposite directions.
"Polyurethanes The increase in revenues in our Polyurethanes segment for the three months ended March 31, 2026 compared to the same period of 2025 was primarily due to higher sales volumes, partially offset by lower average selling prices." (Huntsman / 10-Q 2026-05-01)
So more tons moved through the system, but the company got less for them. That combination compresses margins even as sales volumes rise.
Huntsman’s own scenario math, explicitly labeled mechanical, not a forecast, shows why the market reaction can diverge so widely. The company lays out three paths that differ by both top‑line growth and the exit multiple buyers might assign: a bull case with revenue CAGR of +0.9% and an exit P/S of 3.4x; a base case with revenue CAGR of -10.9% and exit P/S 0.4x; and a bear case with revenue CAGR of -16.3% and exit P/S 0.2x.
Put plainly: outcomes swing enormously depending on the multiple buyers apply at the end. The filing notes that sensitivity is driven mostly by the exit multiple the market assigns, which is exactly the gap investors wrestle with when a low EV/sales sits next to falling revenue and negative margins.
Short‑case evidence in the filings is straightforward: latest annual revenue changed -5.8% year over year; operating margin declined 1.9 percentage points in the latest annual period; net margin fell 1.9 percentage points; and multiple filings show adverse foreign exchange and pricing/mix trends.
The figures show a contrast: headline valuation measures are low and cash‑flow yield is strong, while revenue has declined and margins are under pressure, and the company's scenarios indicate outcomes depend heavily on the exit multiple.
All figures and quoted language from Huntsman filings (10‑Q 2026‑05‑01 and 10‑K 2026‑02‑18).