Since August 2025, Sherwin-Williams has been in a holding pattern, posting a small loss of 0.6% while floating around $365.78. The stock also fell short of the S&P 500’s 6.7% gain during that period.
Is now the time to buy Sherwin-Williams, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Get the full breakdown from our expert analysts, it’s free.
Why Is Sherwin-Williams Not Exciting?
We're sitting this one out for now. Here are three reasons you should be careful with SHW and a stock we'd rather own.
1. Long-Term Revenue Growth Disappoints
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Regrettably, Sherwin-Williams’s sales grew at a tepid 5.1% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This was below our standard for the industrials sector.
2. Projected Revenue Growth Is Slim
Forecasted revenues by Wall Street analysts signal a company’s potential. Predictions may not always be accurate, but accelerating growth typically boosts valuation multiples and stock prices while slowing growth does the opposite.
Over the next 12 months, sell-side analysts expect Sherwin-Williams’s revenue to rise by 4.2%. Although this projection indicates its newer products and services will fuel better top-line performance, it is still below average for the sector.
3. EPS Barely Growing
Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company's incremental sales were profitable – for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.
Sherwin-Williams’s unimpressive 6.9% annual EPS growth over the last five years aligns with its revenue performance. On the bright side, this tells us its incremental sales were profitable.
Final Judgment
Sherwin-Williams isn’t a terrible business, but it doesn’t pass our quality test. With its shares underperforming the market lately, the stock trades at 30.9× forward P/E (or $365.78 per share). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we don’t really see a big opportunity at the moment. We're fairly confident there are better investments elsewhere. Let us point you toward a safe-and-steady industrials business benefiting from an upgrade cycle.
Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Sherwin-Williams
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