Critical Survey: ARQ (ARQ) & Its Competitors

ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) is one of 19 publicly-traded companies in the “Miscellaneous chemical products” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare ARQ to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares ARQ and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARQ	-12.35%	-8.35%	-6.16%
ARQ Competitors	-14.40%	-42.23%	-22.96%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for ARQ and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARQ	0	0	0	0	N/A
ARQ Competitors	42	368	336	9	2.41

As a group, “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies have a potential upside of 20.84%. Given ARQ’s competitors higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ARQ has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

18.5% of ARQ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.8% of shares of all “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies are held by institutional investors. 22.2% of ARQ shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.6% of shares of all “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

ARQ has a beta of 1.44, meaning that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARQ’s competitors have a beta of 1.22, meaning that their average share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ARQ and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARQ	$99.18 million	-$12.25 million	-15.10
ARQ Competitors	$1.05 billion	$41.01 million	12.15

ARQ’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than ARQ. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

ARQ Company Profile

Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The company's products include granular activated carbon, powdered and granular activated carbon, and colloidal carbon products; Arq Powder Wetcake, a fine and low-ash coal waste-derived particle; and additives for air emissions control. Its products are used in various applications, including water treatment, ground water remediation, soil sediments, air emissions, and asphalt additives. The company was formerly known as Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Arq, Inc. in February 2024. Arq, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.