Chemours (NYSE:CC) stock looks unattractive – making it a bad pick to buy at its current price of around $11. We believe there are several major concerns with CC stock, which makes it unattractive despite its current valuation being low.
We arrive at our conclusion by comparing the current valuation of CC stock with its operating performance over the recent years as well as its current and historical financial condition. Our analysis of Chemours along key parameters of Growth, Profitability, Financial Stability, and Downturn Resilience shows that the company has a very weak operating performance and financial condition, as detailed below. That said, if you seek upside with lower volatility than individual stocks, the Trefis High Quality portfolio presents an alternative – having outperformed the S&P 500 and generated returns exceeding 91% since its inception.
How Does Chemours’ Valuation Look vs. The S&P 500?
Going by what you pay per dollar of sales or profit, CC stock looks cheap compared to the broader market.
• Chemours has a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 0.3 vs. a figure of 2.8 for the S&P 500
• And, it has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.8 vs. the benchmark’s 24.5
How Have Chemours’ Revenues Grown Over Recent Years?
Chemours’ Revenues have seen a decline over recent years.
• Chemours has seen its top line shrink at an average rate of 2.7% over the last 3 years (vs. increase of 6.2% for S&P 500)
• Its revenues have declined 4.9% from $6.1 Bil to $5.8 Bil in the last 12 months (vs. growth of 5.3% for S&P 500)
• Also, its quarterly revenues decreased 1.3% to $1.4 Bil in the most recent quarter from $1.4 Bil a year ago (vs. 4.9% improvement for S&P 500)
How Profitable Is Chemours?
Chemours’ profit margins are considerably worse than most companies in the Trefis coverage universe.
• Chemours’ Operating Income over the last four quarters was $443 Mil, which represents a poor Operating Margin of 7.7% (vs. 13.1% for S&P 500)
• CC Operating Cash Flow (OCF) over this period was $-633 Mil, pointing to a very poor OCF Margin of -10.9% (vs. 15.7% for S&P 500)
• For the last four-quarter period, CC Net Income was $86 Mil – indicating a very poor Net Income Margin of 1.5% (vs. 11.3% for S&P 500)
Does Chemours Look Financially Stable?
Chemours’ balance sheet looks weak.
• Chemours’ Debt figure was $4.4 Bil at the end of the most recent quarter, while its market capitalization is $1.6 Bil (as of 5/7/2025). This implies a very poor Debt-to-Equity Ratio of 232.7% (vs. 21.5% for S&P 500). [Note: A lower Debt-to-Equity Ratio is desirable]
• Cash (including cash equivalents) makes up $713 Mil of the $7.5 Bil in Total Assets for Chemours. This yields a moderate Cash-to-Assets Ratio of 9.5% (vs. 15.0% for S&P 500)
How Resilient Is CC Stock During A Downturn?
CC stock has seen an impact that was slightly better than the benchmark S&P 500 index during some of the recent downturns. While investors have their fingers crossed for a soft landing by the U.S. economy, how bad can things get if there is another recession? Our dashboard How Low Can Stocks Go During A Market Crash captures how key stocks fared during and after the last six market crashes.
Inflation Shock (2022)
• CC stock fell 36.1% from a high of $36.16 on 14 January 2022 to $23.12 on 7 March 2022, vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 25.4% for the S&P 500
• The stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 3 May 2022
• Since then, the stock has increased to a high of $44.79 on 7 June 2022 and currently trades at around $11.24
Covid Pandemic (2020)
• CC stock fell 63.1% from a high of $19.70 on 20 February 2020 to $7.26 on 3 April 2020, vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 33.9% for the S&P 500
• The stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 5 August 2020
Putting All The Pieces Together: What It Means For CC Stock
In summary, Chemours’ performance across the parameters detailed above are as follows:
• Growth: Weak
• Profitability: Extremely Weak
• Financial Stability: Very Weak
• Downturn Resilience: Neutral
• Overall: Very Weak
Hence, despite its low valuation, we think that the stock is unattractive, which supports our conclusion that CC is currently a bad stock to buy.
While you would do well to avoid CC stock for now, you could explore the Trefis Reinforced Value (RV) Portfolio, which has outperformed its all-cap stocks benchmark (combination of the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 benchmark indices) to produce strong returns for investors. Why is that? The quarterly rebalanced mix of large-, mid- and small-cap RV Portfolio stocks provided a responsive way to make the most of upbeat market conditions while limiting losses when markets head south, as detailed in RV Portfolio performance metrics.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
