CC vs HXL Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
CC (Chemours) is a diversified specialty chemical company with cyclical TiO2 exposure, regulated refrigerant opportunity, and PFAS liability overhang, while HXL (Hexcel) is a focused advanced composites manufacturer leveraged to commercial aerospace production recovery. These companies serve very different markets and end industries.
CC vs HXL contrasts two specialty materials companies with distinct end-market exposure — Chemours' industrial chemicals portfolio against Hexcel's aerospace-focused advanced composites, representing different materials investment themes.
HXL holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. HXL has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+40.53% vs -16.82%), though CC has the better forward P/E setup (8.19x vs 29.25x for HXL). HXL leads on both revenue growth (8.00%) and operating margin (13.90%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CC (+25.22%) than for HXL (+20.62%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want specialty chemicals exposure across TiO2 pigments and next-generation fluoroproducts
- See HFO refrigerant transition as a multi-year regulatory tailwind for Chemours' next-generation products
- Are comfortable managing the PFAS environmental liability uncertainty as a risk factor in the investment thesis
- Want leveraged exposure to commercial aerospace production ramp as Boeing and Airbus deliver on massive backlogs
- Value Hexcel's qualified position on key aircraft programs as a high-barrier, long-duration revenue stream
- See defense composites as an additional growth driver alongside commercial aerospace recovery
| Metric | CC | HXL |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 33.4 | 40.5 |
| AI ranki | #2020 | #1135 |
| Latest closei | $14.27 | $88.04 |
| 1M returni | -10.31% | -12.99% |
| 6M returni | -18.62% | +11.92% |
| 1Y returni | -16.82% | +40.53% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | CC | HXL |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.5K (-15.0%) started 2025-09-18 | $14.19K (+41.9%) started 2025-09-17 |
| 5Y ago | $7.2K (-28.0%) started 2021-09-20 | $15.13K (+51.3%) started 2021-09-17 |
| 10Y ago | $20.15K (+101.5%) started 2016-09-19 | $20.49K (+104.9%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | CC | HXL |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $2.38B | $6.89B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 46.03 |
| Forward P/Ei | 8.19 | 29.25 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 0.99 | 3.97 |
| Analyst targeti | $19.78 | $109.92 |
| Target upsidei | +25.22% | +20.62% |
| Metric | CC | HXL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | -1.50% | 8.00% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | 280.20% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | +280.20% |
| FCF margini | +5.23% | +12.79% |
| Operating margini | 1.13% | 13.90% |
| Profit margini | -5.24% | 7.76% |
| ROIC proxyi | -319.37% | 10.76% |
| Return on equityi | -319.37% | 10.76% |
| Dividend yieldi | 2.32% | 0.78% |
| Payout ratioi | 555.56% | 35.35% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | N/A |
| Betai | 1.43 | 1.06 |
| Debt/equityi | N/A | 73.90 |
| Current ratioi | 1.66 | 2.43 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.84 | 1.24 |
Over the past year, CC and HXL have moved barely in the same direction (correlation of 0.10), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | CC | HXL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -16.82% | +41.86% |
| CAGRi | -16.83% | +41.93% | |
| Volatilityi | 63.03% | 32.80% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.04 | 1.10 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.06 | 1.78 | |
| Max drawdowni | 48.45% | 20.17% | |
| Current drawdowni | 48.45% | 20.17% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 22.05% | 5.45% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 26.22% | 7.66% | |
| Max daily dropi | 18.63% | 4.78% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.19% | 10.71% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -39.79% | +51.32% |
| CAGRi | -9.66% | +8.64% | |
| Volatilityi | 56.75% | 32.29% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.03 | 0.28 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.04 | 0.40 | |
| Max drawdowni | 76.42% | 39.15% | |
| Current drawdowni | 63.20% | 20.17% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 39.06% | 12.50% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 44.08% | 15.06% | |
| Max daily dropi | 31.51% | 12.38% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 33.21% | 17.25% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +37.21% | +104.93% |
| CAGRi | +3.22% | +7.44% | |
| Volatilityi | 56.71% | 36.93% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.26 | 0.26 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.38 | 0.37 | |
| Max drawdowni | 86.15% | 68.65% | |
| Current drawdowni | 65.48% | 20.17% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 40.63% | 20.71% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 46.17% | 26.06% | |
| Max daily dropi | 31.51% | 20.92% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 37.94% | 40.68% |
| Category | CC | HXL |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The Chemours Company | Hexcel Corporation |
| Sector | Basic Materials | Industrials |
| Industry | Specialty Chemicals | Aerospace & Defense |
| Core business | Chemours is a specialty chemicals company producing titanium dioxide (used in white pigment for paints, coatings, and plastics), fluoroproducts (refrigerants, industrial fluoropolymers), and advanced performance materials used in semiconductor manufacturing and other industrial applications. | Hexcel is a leading manufacturer of advanced carbon fiber composite materials (carbon fiber, prepregs, honeycomb panels) used primarily in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications where strength-to-weight performance is critical. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Chemours' titanium dioxide pricing and volume cycles, fluoroproducts refrigerant demand (particularly next-generation HFO refrigerants for HVAC), and the company's environmental liability management related to PFAS fluorochemical exposure. | Investors track Hexcel's commercial aerospace revenue tied to Boeing and Airbus production rates, defense composite content on new programs, and EBITDA margins as aerospace production ramps from COVID-era lows. |
- Ti-Pure titanium dioxide is the leading white pigment brand with applications across paints, coatings, and plastics manufacturing
- HFO next-generation refrigerants position Chemours for regulatory tailwinds as older HFC refrigerants phase down under environmental agreements
- Vertinium and Opteon brands represent proprietary high-value fluoroproducts with differentiated performance
- Deep composites expertise and qualification status on major commercial aircraft programs creates high-switching-cost, long-cycle customer relationships
- Commercial aerospace recovery provides a multi-year production ramp as Boeing and Airbus work through backlogs
- Defense composites content is growing as new platforms (fighters, drones, helicopters) increase composite material usage
- PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) environmental liability exposure represents a significant and uncertain financial risk from historical chemical manufacturing
- Titanium dioxide is a cyclical commodity segment sensitive to construction and coatings demand
- Refrigerant regulations create transition opportunities but also inventory management challenges as older refrigerants phase down
- Hexcel's revenue is heavily dependent on Boeing production rates, which have been volatile due to MAX and other program delays
- Carbon fiber composite supply chain qualifications are lengthy, but new competitors (Toray, Solvay) compete aggressively for aerospace programs
- Demand concentration in commercial aerospace makes earnings sensitive to airline industry health and aircraft production schedules
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