Kronos Worldwide is a cyclical specialty chemicals maker recovering from a loss-making year, with revenue up to $558M in the June 2026 quarter and the last two quarters beating estimates, but the shares are 7.6% above the analyst target and quality is below par.
Thesis pillars
- Revenue And Earnings Recovery↑Improving
- Volatile Earnings Record↑Improving
- Price Above Analyst Target→Stable
- +2 more pillars — see the Why tab for full reasoning
Pillars as of Oct 24, 2026, based on the 10-K filed Mar 9, 2026
Kronos Worldwide Inc (KRO) Stock Analysis
Range Bound setup · Sector Rotation edge
Basic Materials · Specialty Chemicals
Sell if holding. Engine safety override at $7.70: Quality below floor (3.0 < 4.0) triggers a hard block regardless of the otherwise-positive setup — overall score 5.5/10. Specifically: Elevated put/call ratio: 1.50; Below-average business quality.
Kronos Worldwide is a global producer and marketer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments, selling to roughly 3,000 customers in 100 countries primarily across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. The company operates six TiO2 plants -- four in Europe, one in Canada and one in... Read more
Sell if holding. Engine safety override at $7.70: Quality below floor (3.0 < 4.0) triggers a hard block regardless of the otherwise-positive setup — overall score 5.5/10. Specifically: Elevated put/call ratio: 1.50; Below-average business quality. Chart setup: RSI 47 mid-range, Bollinger mid-band. Score 5.5/10, moderate confidence.
Passes 5/8 gates (clean insider activity, no SEC red flags, news events none recent, semi cycle peak clear, materials cycle peak clear). Fails on weak momentum and favorable risk/reward ratio and earnings proximity 7d<=7d. Suitability: aggressive.
About Kronos Worldwide Inc
About Kronos Worldwide Inc
Kronos Worldwide produced 480,000 metric tons of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment in 2025 across six plants -- four in Europe, one in Varennes, Canada, and one near Lake Charles, Louisiana -- selling to approximately 3,000 customers in 100 countries. Core TiO2 pigment sales made up about 90% of 2025 net sales, with 45% of sales volume attributable to Europe and non-U.S. markets overall accounting for 64% of total revenue.
Kronos manufactures TiO2 using both chloride and sulfate processes, with the chloride process -- preferred for coatings and plastics, the two largest end-use markets at 59% and 30% of 2025 sales volume, respectively -- representing 83% of the company's expected 2026 capacity. Feedstock comes from a limited but growing pool of suppliers including Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium and Iluka Resources for chloride-grade ore and slag, while a company-owned ilmenite mine in Norway supplied all feedstock for its sulfate-process plants in 2025. Kronos competes against The Chemours Company, Tronox Holdings and LB Group Co., which together with Kronos hold roughly 42% of world TiO2 production capacity versus Kronos's own 6% share; Chemours holds about half of North American capacity. Approximately 50% of Kronos's common stock is owned by Valhi, Inc., itself majority-controlled by Contran Corporation, linking Kronos into the broader Contran-Simmons family of companies.
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Kronos's earnings hinge on TiO2 pricing cycles rather than a single customer or supplier: no customer exceeded 10% of 2025 net sales, but the company's largest ten customers still accounted for approximately 35% of net sales, and its chloride-process feedstock depends on a limited number of suppliers principally located in Australia, South Africa, Norway, Canada and India. Layered on top, the 10-K discloses that Chinese competitors -- who benefit from lower regulatory and energy costs and continue advancing chloride-process technology -- have already prompted anti-dumping duties in the European Union, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, underscoring a pricing-power risk distinct from Kronos's customer or feedstock concentration.
See also: Basic Materials · Specialty Chemicals
From Kronos Worldwide Inc's most recent 10-K filing, extracted July 6, 2026.
Recent developments
updated 2026-10-29Recent Developments — Kronos Worldwide Inc
Latest news
- NEWS Kronos Worldwide, Inc. Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend — fiscal.ai Oct 28, 2026 positive
- NEWS Deutsche Bank Maintains Buy on Kronos Worldwide, Raises Price Target to $9 — benzinga Aug 25, 2026 positive
- NEWS Kronos Worldwide Shares Surge on Q2 Earnings Beat — benzinga Aug 6, 2026 positive
- NEWS Kronos Worldwide Q2 EPS $0.13 Beats $(0.04) Estimate, Sales $558.100M Beat $502.256M Estimate — benzinga Aug 5, 2026 positive
- NEWS TriCo Bancshares, Verra Mobility, Park Aerospace And Other Big Stocks Moving Higher On Monday — benzinga Jul 13, 2026 neutral
Generated 2026-10-29T11:08:51Z.
Upcoming dated catalysts
Thesis
Key Metrics
Quality Signals
Options Flow
Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. How we score · Editorial policy
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Rating Breakdown
1 floor-breaker
Cyclical trough — margins compressed or negative. Profitability typically recovers with the cycle, but floor fires on current data.static
Price Targets
Position Sizing
Risk Alerts
Earnings
Verdict History
Frequently Asked Questions
Sell if holding. Engine safety override at $7.70: Quality below floor (3.0 < 4.0) triggers a hard block regardless of the otherwise-positive setup — overall score 5.5/10. Specifically: Elevated put/call ratio: 1.50; Below-average business quality. Chart setup: RSI 47 mid-range, Bollinger mid-band. Prior stop was $7.16. Score 5.5/10, moderate confidence.
Analyst target $7.22 reached (−6.2% from $7.70); no take-profit level is published. Prior stop was $7.16. Stop-loss: $7.16.
Target reached (-6.2% upside); Quality below floor (3.0 < 4.0).
Kronos Worldwide Inc trades at a P/E of N/A (forward 12.5). TrendMatrix value score: 7.6/10. Verdict: Sell.
9 analysts cover KRO with a consensus score of 2.3/5. Average price target: $9.
What does Kronos Worldwide Inc do?Kronos Worldwide is a global producer and marketer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments, selling to roughly 3,000...
Kronos Worldwide is a global producer and marketer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments, selling to roughly 3,000 customers in 100 countries primarily across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. The company operates six TiO2 plants -- four in Europe, one in Canada and one in Louisiana -- producing 480,000 metric tons in 2025, with core TiO2 pigment sales representing approximately 90% of net sales and non-U.S. markets accounting for 64% of revenue.