Sherwin-Williams – American Snow White with an Impressive Dividend History [Guide]

This company has been paying dividends for 48 years! And it's the best among American companies dividend aristocrats. If you don't know yet, get to know Sherwin-Williams. Is it still worth investing in its stock?

In this article you will learn:

• Why is Sherwin-Williams unique?
• What does Sherwin-Williams do?
• What financial results does the Cleveland-based company show?
• What are the growth prospects for Sherwin-Williams?

Do you know the American "dividend aristocrats"? These are companies that are grouped into S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index – this is a stock market indicator that includes companies from the index of 500 largest American companies on Wall Street that have increased their dividends in each of the last 25 consecutive years. It was launched in May 2005 and enjoys great popularity.

Well, do you know which company is the most distinguished American dividend aristocrat? It is in S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats from the beginning (May 2, 2005) and gave a profit of 2% with dividends reinvested. Yes, you read that right. Two thousand nine hundred eighty-one percent! With dividends reinvested, it's true, but it's still a cosmos. That gives an 981% average annual rate of return (in the period May 18,9 - March 2005) - as calculated by S&P experts.

This company is Sherwin-Williams, worth about USD 84 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. The American Snow White from Cleveland. Not Snow White, but the equivalent of our Snow White producing paints. Surprised? It's a company in the style of Warren Buffett – you’ll find out about it soon.

A paint manufacturer paying dividends for… almost 5 decades!

The Sherwin-Williams Company was founded in… 1866. Here’s another surprise, right? It’s one of the oldest companies still in business in the world. It currently operates in over 120 countries, employing over 65 people. It provides paints and coatings products. It sells its products through a network of over 000 company-operated stores in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America. In addition to paints and coatings, it provides a wide range of advanced technology solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets in over 5000 countries around the world.

Why is Sherwin-Williams unique? It has shown stable financial results for many decades, although alarm signals appeared in Q2025 48, but more on that later. The company has been paying dividends for 1,15 years (quarterly in recent years), which makes it unique even among American dividend companies. Sherwin-Williams has a strong market position, especially in the US, although it is becoming more bold abroad, as evidenced by the acquisition of BASF's Brazilian business (Suvinil) for USD 2025 billion in February XNUMX.

The company operates in 3 segments: paint stores (meets the needs of painting contractors and homeowners, offering paints and coatings), consumer brands (supplies retail products such as paints, aerosols and adhesives to retailers such as garden centers and hardware stores) and performance coatings (offers industrial, protective coatings). It seeks to grow mainly organically (for example, an exclusive partnership with the Lowe's chain of DIY stores creates the possibility of selling products to new customers without significant risk of cannibalization), but also through acquisitions, as evidenced by the acquisition of BASF's Brazilian business (Suvinil) for USD 1,15 billion, a move that is expected to add to the Sherwin-Williams portfolio a business with annual revenues of approximately USD 525 million, employing over 1000 people and having two plants in Brazil. This move strengthens Sherwin-Williams' presence in the Latin American market.

The Cleveland-based company has shown quite a lot of resilience to market fluctuations thanks to its geographic and product diversification. However, the industry in which it operates is sensitive to slowdowns in the construction and industrial sectors. And this has recently become the reason for its rating downgraded by analysts, as discussed later.

The resulting stumble and a lot of dark clouds on the horizon

We mentioned that Sherwin-Williams is very stable in terms of financial results. In 2024, the American Snow White had record revenues of USD 23,10 billion, with net profit of about USD 2,7 billion - or per share at USD 10,55, which meant an increase of 14,1% compared to 2023. In recent years, the company has been regularly increasing revenues and profits. Sherwin-Williams is characterized by high operating efficiency (ROIC: 13%-17%). Its investment efficiency indicators are really impressive (ROE: 72%!). Margin EBITDA at 19% is something to be proud of in the chemical industry. It must be admitted that the debt/EBITDA ratio has exceeded 2,5x (which is no longer a safe level), but it seems that this is a temporary state caused by the acquisition in Brazil.

And what happened to the results in 2025 that may seem slightly alarming? In Q2025 5, the company's revenues amounted to $305,7 million (down 1,1%), but earnings per share increased by 1,5% to $2,00, and adjusted EBITDA went up by 4,6% to $937,0 million. The company is therefore improving profitability, which suggests effective cost management. Although the decrease in revenues may be worrying, and it resulted from unfavorable exchange rate trends and weaker demand in the paint segment due to the decline in the DIY (do-it-yourself) trend.

However, it is not only Sherwin-Williams' results that are troubling, but also external factors. Citi recently downgraded Sherwin-Williams from "buy" to "neutral" and also lowered its price target from $405,00 to $385,00. Citi analysts indicated that they have concerns about the outlook for the housing market. Elevated mortgage rates and delayed interest rate cuts by Federal Reserve do not indicate a significant recovery in the real estate market in the second half of 2025 – Citi analysts justified the rating cut.

Then there’s the issue of supply chains. Potentially rising U.S. tariffs could pose a threat that could impact supply chains and increase costs for chemical companies. Sherwin-Williams’ ability to effectively manage pressures on chemical prices and supplies could be crucial to maintaining business profitability in the coming years.

It is worth noting that the current valuation of Sherwin-Williams may be worrying. In terms of P/E, it is very high and reaches 33x – which is significantly above the industry average. The EV/EBITDA ratio reaches 22, with the average for the S&P500 around 16 and the long-term average of 12,5. Maybe that is why the CEO of the American Snow White sold some of his Sherwin-Williams shares for USD 1,5 million? After all, the old rule of market foxes is: sell when it is expensive.

Sherwin-Williams management, however, maintains an optimistic outlook for 2025, expecting sales growth in the low single digits and earnings per share in the range of $11,65 to $12,05. The planned opening of 80 to 100 new stores in 2025 indicates a desire to expand in the paint store segment.

The majority of analysts are also positive about the business. The average recommendation out of 29 ratings is “overweight” Sherwin-Williams shares, and the average target price is $388,05, which is 15% above the current price (as of 13.06.2025/23/099). Analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will benefit from continued efficiency improvements and cost-cutting initiatives. These actions are expected to help maintain margins at a high level. According to analyst consensus, the company’s revenue will increase from $2024 million in 26 to $385 million in 2027, and earnings per share will increase from $11,35 to $16,13.

How to Invest in Sherwin-Williams Stock?

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Investing is risky and you may lose some or all of your invested capital. The information provided is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute any type of financial advice or investment recommendation.

Summary

The Sherwin-Williams company is an American Snow White with an extraordinary, absolutely impressive dividend history and still good prospects, but investing in it now is associated with several risk factors. First, the cost of money is so high that there are concerns about the future condition of the real estate market, and therefore the construction and renovation market, which report demand for paints and coatings. Second, the relatively high C / Z ratio (P/E) of 33x, which may suggest the stock is overvalued. This stock could still be an extremely interesting pick, but it would probably be a good idea to wait until it is cheaper before starting to put it into your portfolio.