There’s not a lot of large, publicly traded paint companies in the U.S. Only three, really: Sherwin-Williams, PPG and RPM (owner of brands like Carboline, Zinsser, and Rust-Oleum). But for those three companies, 2023 was an excellent year for their stock price, especially after a rough 2022.

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) gained 32% in 2023, markedly better than the S&P 500’s 24% yearly gain. And SW’s 32% gain was an exact turnaround of its 32% loss in 2022.

PPG gained 21% in ’23, slightly weaker than the S&P’s 24% gain. PPG lost 26% in 2022.

RPM gained 16% in ’23, worse than the S&P’s 24% gain. But RPM significantly outperformed SW and PPG in 2022, losing just 2%.

At the time of this writing…
S-W’s stock price was $298, with a market cap of $75.7 billion.
PPG’s stock price was $147, with a market cap of $34.2 billion.
RPM’s stock price was $107, with a market cap of $13.4 billion.

Some fun facts…
S-W has around 4,925 stores.
It’s the largest provider of architectural paint in the U.S.
The company is sitting on $500 million in cash.
According to Wikipedia, S-W has nearly 200 shades of white.

PPG is the world’s largest producer of coatings.
In 2013, PPG acquired Akzo Nobel’s North American architectural coatings business, including Glidden and Flood.
The company is sitting on $1.2 billion in cash.

RPM owns DAP, Krud-Kutter, Concrobium, Moldex, and Day-Glo, in addition to its paints.
The company is sitting on $241 million in cash.
President and CEO of RPM is Frank Sullivan, grandson of the 1947 founder of RPM, also named Frank Sullivan.

There’s a shocking amount of coatings value sitting in Northern Ohio, with S-W based in Cleveland and RPM based just 30 miles south in Medina, OH. Toss in PPG’s wealth just 130 miles southeast in Pittsburgh, and one must wonder why the world’s paint epicenter sits amid modest AFC North towns.

Indeed…it makes one wonder.

By the way, while MASCO produces Behr Paint and KILZ, a hefty chunk of its business comes from plumbing products, so we did not include it in this engaging and entertaining comparison of primarily-paint stocks.