This year’s Top Companies Report had several notable changes. It was a close margin, but Sherwin-Williams with $18.4 billion in sales replaced PPG, which had $18.2 billion, as the number one paint company in the world. In its Letter to Shareholders in the Annual Report, the company noted that it delivered record sales, EBITDA and diluted net income per share in 2023 while also enhancing shareholder value through increased dividends and share repurchases.
“We generated these strong results in a choppy operating environment where demand remained highly variable by end market and region. We continued to find opportunity in adversity, and our belief in our strategy led us to accelerate growth investments during the year, which we are confident will deliver strong future returns. Sherwin-Williams’ strategy remains unchanged.
"We provide differentiated solutions that enable our customers to increase their productivity and profitability. These solutions center on industry and application expertise, innovation, value-added services and differentiated distribution. Our growing new account and share-of-wallet metrics continue to demonstrate our customers’ willingness to pay for the value that we provide. Within this strategy, we continued to execute on our enterprise-wide priorities during the year: Driving above market growth. Attracting, retaining and developing world-class talent. Accelerating simplification to improve our cost position and speed to market. Driving end-to-end global supply chain resilience as a competitive advantage. Accelerating key business digitization to improve ease and visibility. And executing our sustainability strategy.”
Four companies were removed from the report. After nearly 80 years of operation, Kelly-Moore Paint Company ceased operations in January of this year; WEILBURGER Coatings, the industrial coatings business of GREBE Holding, was acquired by Kansai Helios, a European consolidated subsidiary of Kansai Paint; Tenaris has completed its acquisition of Shawcor, Mattr’s pipe coating business unit for $182.6 million; and Tohpe was removed for having less than $100 million in revenue.
This was a record setting year in terms of additions to the report. The seven companies we added hailed from Europe, Latin America and India: Gemini Coatings (76), Grupo Solids (77), Hentzen Coatings (75), Indigo Paints (70), JSW Paints (61), Mader (56) and Sur Quimica (52).
