Specialty chemicals lag in 2025, but these 10 names have delivered standout gains

[Top 10. Classification rank concept]
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The specialty chemicals industry, a niche within the broader Materials sector, has emerged as a relative laggard in 2025, posting a modest gain of just 2.9% year to date.

That performance trails both Wall Street’s major market averages and the wider Materials sector, which is up nearly 7% for the year, underscoring the uneven nature of returns across the space.

Despite the industry’s broader underperformance, select specialty chemical companies have delivered standout gains, bucking the sector’s softer trend.

Highlighted below are the top 10 best-performing specialty chemical stocks of 2025 on a year-to-date basis. For reference, this curated list focuses on companies with market capitalizations of at least $1 billion:

No. 1: Perimeter Solutions (PRM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PRM]), +116.1% YTD.

No. 2: Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SQM]), +81.3% YTD.

No. 3: Albemarle (ALB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ALB]), +56.5% YTD.

No. 4: Ingevity Corporation (NGVT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NGVT]), +43.0% YTD.

No. 5: NewMarket Corp (NEU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NEU]), +38.9% YTD.

No. 6: Sensient Technologies (SXT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SXT]), +35.7% YTD.

No. 7: Ecovyst (ECVT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ECVT]), +22.9% YTD.

No. 8: Ecolab (EC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EC]), +13.2% YTD.

No. 9: Element Solutions Inc (ESI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ESI]), -0.2% YTD.

No. 10: Quaker Chemical Corporation (KWR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KWR]), -0.7% YTD.

MATERIALS ETFS: (XLB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/XLB]), (VAW [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VAW]), (IYM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IYM]), (FXZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FXZ]), (MXI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MXI]), and (RSPM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RSPM]).

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