# US Basic Materials Stocks

**Quick answer:** S&P 500 Basic Materials stocks: 19 (19 scored). Median score 47/100, below the S&P 500 median of 54. Strong (80+): 0. Weak (under 40): 4. Highest scores by our rules: CF Industries (75), Newmont (68) and Freeport-McMoRan (58). Market data as of 2 Nov 2026.

| Rank | Stock | Ticker | Score | Sub-sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [CF Industries](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/cf-cf-industries) | CF | 75/100 | Agricultural Inputs |
| 2 | [Newmont](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/nem-newmont) | NEM | 68/100 | Gold |
| 3 | [Freeport-McMoRan](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/fcx-freeport-mcmoran) | FCX | 58/100 | Copper |
| 4 | [Martin Marietta Materials](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/mlm-martin-marietta-materials) | MLM | 58/100 | Building Materials |
| 5 | [Nucor](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/nue-nucor) | NUE | 58/100 | Steel |
| 6 | [Steel Dynamics](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/stld-steel-dynamics) | STLD | 57/100 | Steel |
| 7 | [PPG Industries](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/ppg-ppg-industries) | PPG | 55/100 | Specialty Chemicals |
| 8 | [Linde](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/lin-linde) | LIN | 52/100 | Specialty Chemicals |
| 9 | [DuPont](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/dd-dupont) | DD | 49/100 | Specialty Chemicals |
| 10 | [CRH](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/crh-crh) | CRH | 47/100 | Building Materials |
| 11 | [Ecolab](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/ecl-ecolab) | ECL | 46/100 | Specialty Chemicals |
| 12 | [Albemarle](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/alb-albemarle) | ALB | 42/100 | Specialty Chemicals |
| 13 | [International Flavors & Fragrances](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/iff-international-flavors-fragrances) | IFF | 42/100 | Specialty Chemicals |
| 14 | [Sherwin-Williams](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/shw-sherwin-williams) | SHW | 42/100 | Specialty Chemicals |
| 15 | [Vulcan Materials](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/vmc-vulcan-materials) | VMC | 40/100 | Building Materials |
| 16 | [Dow](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/dow-dow) | DOW | 30/100 | Chemicals |
| 17 | [LyondellBasell](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/lyb-lyondellbasell) | LYB | 30/100 | Specialty Chemicals |
| 18 | [Mosaic](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/mos-mosaic) | MOS | 22/100 | Agricultural Inputs |
| 19 | [Air Products](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/apd-air-products) | APD | 18/100 | Specialty Chemicals |

## Common questions

### How many Basic Materials companies are in the S&P 500?

This site lists 19 S&P 500 stocks in the Basic Materials sector. 19 of them have enough data for a score.

### Which Basic Materials stock has the highest score?

As of this site's latest data, CF Industries Holdings, Inc. Common Stock (CF) has the highest fundamentals score in Basic Materials, at 75/100. Top three: CF Industries (75), Newmont (68) and Freeport-McMoRan (58).

### How do Basic Materials stocks score compared with the rest of the S&P 500?

The median Basic Materials stock scores 47/100, below the S&P 500 median of 54. Split: 0 strong, 15 okay, 4 weak. Its biggest lead over the market is Financial Safety: 64 vs 63 for the whole S&P 500. Its biggest shortfall is Business Strength: 44 vs 61 for the whole S&P 500.

### Which Basic Materials stock has the lowest score?

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Common Stock (APD), at 18/100, the lowest of the 19 scored Basic Materials stocks. Its stock page shows which measures pull it down. A score reads the latest published numbers, not a forecast.

### How is the score worked out?

Each stock gets 0-100 from five pillars: Business Strength, Financial Safety, Cash & Dividends, Price Fairness and Risk, built from its published financial statements and share price. Banks and REITs use their own cutoffs where normal rules would misjudge them. Full rules: https://scoreyourstock.com/how.

## Sub-sector pages

- [Specialty Chemicals](https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/sector/basic-materials/specialty-chemicals) (9 stocks, plain text: https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/sector/basic-materials/specialty-chemicals/index.md)

Full sortable page: https://scoreyourstock.com/stocks/us/sector/basic-materials