Quaker Houghton (KWR)

Quaker Houghton's stock has been influenced by several events in the past six months. The company announced its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results, reporting a decrease in total company sales by approximately 4% compared to the third quarter of 2024, attributed to decreases in selling price, product mix, sales volumes, and unfavorable foreign currency translation. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2024 also decreased by approximately 16% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, primarily due to the decline in sales and operating margins. New business wins, particularly in the Asia/Pacific segment, helped to mitigate the impact of lower end-market demand in the Americas and EMEA. The company repurchased 174,909 shares for approximately $26.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, contributing to a total of 312,997 shares repurchased for approximately $49.2 million in the full year 2024. Additionally, in October 2025, Quaker Houghton announced two key leadership appointments aimed at advancing its enterprise growth strategy and strengthening global innovation and operational capabilities.

Demand for Quaker Houghton's products and services can be subject to seasonality. The company's fourth quarter 2024 results indicated that sales volumes and selling prices in the Americas and EMEA segments experienced declines due to normal seasonal trends in addition to a softening of market conditions. Historically, October has shown a tendency to favor a long bias for KWR stock, suggesting some seasonal patterns in its market performance. The demand for the company's products is largely derived from the demand for its customers' products, making it susceptible to downturns in customer businesses and unanticipated production slowdowns.

Quaker Houghton, established in 1918 and headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, is a global leader in industrial process fluids within the Materials sector, specifically the Specialty Chemicals industry. The company develops, produces, and markets specialty chemical products and offers chemical management services, including metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, and more. Its solutions are crucial for industries such as steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, mining, tube & pipe, and can making. The company was formed on August 1, 2019, through the combination of Quaker Chemical and Houghton International.

Quaker Houghton has a significant global presence, operating in 21 countries with 35 locations worldwide. Over 50% of its net sales are generated outside of the United States, demonstrating its extensive international reach.

Quaker Houghton is recognized as a global leader in industrial process fluids, emphasizing its high-performing, innovative, and sustainable solutions backed by technology and deep process knowledge. In October 2025, the company strengthened its leadership team with two executive appointments to advance its growth strategy and enhance innovation and operational capabilities. A notable past event was an antitrust settlement in 2019 with the Federal Trade Commission regarding its merger with Houghton International, which required the divestiture of certain product lines.

The ownership of Quaker Houghton is distributed among institutional investors, individual shareholders, and company insiders. The Hinduja Group of India is the largest shareholder through its Gulf Oil subsidiary. Major institutional holders include Blackrock, Inc., Vanguard Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Dimensional Fund Advisors Lp. Institutional ownership accounts for approximately 85.87% of the shares outstanding, while insider ownership stands at about 4.37%.