Fearful of AI’s dominance? It’s time to look at Sherwin-Williams (SHW)—the 'Apple' of the paint industry in U.S. equities.

Sherwin-Williams (ticker: SHW), a constituent of the Nasdaq-100 Index, is one of the world’s largest paint manufacturers—and boasts formidable market dominance. A global paint industry giant—long ranked alongside PPG Industries as one of the sector’s twin stars—Sherwin-Williams focuses on research, development, and sales of paints and coatings. Over 90% of its total revenue comes from architectural and industrial coating businesses. The refined matte or metallic finishes found on certain smartphone casings—and the Valspar automotive touch-up paints—both originate from Sherwin-Williams’ industrial coatings portfolio. The company employs a business model centered on 'company-owned retail stores + full-value-chain coverage.' In the U.S. alone, it operates over 4,900 company-owned stores—creating an exceptionally high industry barrier to entry. This model resembles Apple’s flagship retail stores: it enables direct access to real-time market demand while locking in premium pricing and high gross margins. Sherwin-Williams’ gross margin has consistently remained between 45% and 49%, significantly outpacing the industry average of 30%–40%. Its competitive moat stems primarily from decades of brand equity accumulation and a comprehensive, responsive in-house logistics system—capable of delivering to construction sites within two hours. Founded 150 years ago, this enduring enterprise went public in 1964 and is widely recognized on U.S. markets as a 'Dividend Aristocrat.'

Paint Industry Deep Dive: Layoffs Are Here! Sherwin-Williams, PPG, Oriental Yuhong, Keshun, Kailun, Asia Paints, Wacker, Sika, BASF, Dow—and Others Are Downsizing.

Year-end has arrived—and so has another wave of layoffs. The challenging year of 2025 is drawing to a close, and many professionals have been laid off by major tech firms. Layoffs have become commonplace. Recently, overseas tech giant Google announced layoffs; domestic Chinese tech leaders Baidu and JD.com have also implemented workforce reductions. Among publicly listed paint companies—including Skshu, Oriental Yuhong, Keshun, Kailun, Asia Paints Co., Ltd., Wacker Chemie, Sika AG, BASF SE, and Dow Inc.—'workforce downsizing' has likewise become an unavoidable keyword. These figures reflect only publicly disclosed data from listed enterprises. What, then, are small and medium-sized enterprises—whose data remains unreported—enduring amid this industry-wide chill? According to their 2024 annual report, Oriental Yuhong’s total employee count dropped sharply from 12,736 at the end of 2023 to 10,937 at the end of 2024—a reduction of 1,799 employees, or approximately 14.13%. Skshu likewise optimized its headcount, reducing its workforce from 9,832 to 8,996—a decline of 8.5%. This adjustment forms part of the company’s broader 'cost reduction and efficiency enhancement' strategy, executed mainly through natural attrition without replacement—avoiding large-scale direct layoffs. Fortunately, personnel scale has stabilized since early 2025, indicating that this round of restructuring has largely concluded. Companies are now fully pivoting toward business growth and operational efficiency. Overseas paint giants have taken even more direct action. Sherwin-Williams implemented a concentrated layoff initiative during the first half of 2025, incurring related expenses totaling $59 million. Although its official employee count as of Q3 2025 remains undisclosed, factoring in restructuring and acquisition activities, its headcount remains within the range of 63,000–64,000—slightly down from 63,890 at the end of 2024. PPG continues executing the layoff plan it announced at the end of 2024; as of Q3 2025, the process remains ongoing. Its global workforce stood at 46,000 at the end of 2024—down 7,000 from 53,000 at the end of 2023—reflecting divestitures of its North American architectural coatings and silica products businesses. AkzoNobel’s 'streamlining initiative' has escalated progressively: over two years, it has twice increased its targeted layoff figure—from 2,000 to 2,200 employees—while simultaneously closing and selling off global manufacturing facilities, further shrinking its workforce. Even though AkzoNobel announced in November its merger with Axalta Coating Systems—potentially creating a new global paint industry leader—the possibility of a fresh round of optimization remains highly uncertain. Amid this industry-wide downturn, Nippon Paint and Asian Paints stand out as relatively stable players. Nippon Paint carried out no large-scale layoffs in 2025, implementing only routine HR optimization. Its China operations explicitly confirmed 'no layoff plans'; as of August 2025, it still maintains nearly 11,000 employees and over 70 production bases. Asian Paints has issued no public announcements regarding large-scale layoffs. Its strategic focus remains on business optimization. However, its FY2025 revenue declined by 4.5% and net profit plunged by 33.25%—hinting at possible minor adjustments or natural attrition, though no official data currently confirms such measures.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Cleveland Workforce Cuts as Stock Trades at €299.25

11 hours ago

Sherwin-Williams announced 40 job cuts at its Cleveland headquarters as part of an operations review. The company's stock traded at €299.25 with a market cap of $81.6 billion ahead of its Q3 earnings report in October 2026.

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