RPM International Inc. (RPM): BCG Matrix [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking for a clear-eyed breakdown of RPM International Inc.'s business portfolio as of fiscal year 2025, and honestly, the BCG Matrix is the defintely best tool for mapping their segments. We've mapped out where the growth is-like the 9.2% surge in Performance Coatings Group-and where the reliable cash is flowing from the Consumer Group, which still drives 33% of sales despite a slight dip. Still, we need to watch the Specialty Products Group, which is being dissolved after only a 1.9% rise, while new bets like The Pink Stuff need serious investment to prove themselves. Dive in to see which parts of RPM International Inc. are Stars, Cash Cows, Dogs, or Question Marks right now.

Background of RPM International Inc. (RPM)

You're looking at a company with deep roots, starting way back in May 1947 when Frank C. Sullivan founded Republic Powdered Metals, which is the forerunner to RPM International Inc. Honestly, the start was simple: a heavy-duty aluminum roof coating called Alumanation, a product they still sell today. That first year saw sales hit $90,000. The company eventually established its corporate headquarters in Medina, Ohio, building a legacy that spans nearly eight decades.

Today, RPM International Inc. is a major multinational player in specialty coatings, sealants, and building materials, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RPM. As of late 2025, the company has grown to employ approximately 17,800 associates worldwide, operating 118 manufacturing facilities. Its extensive product portfolio reaches customers in about 170 countries and territories, solidifying its position as a global top-five coatings company.

For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, RPM International Inc. reported record net sales of $7.37 billion, a slight increase of 0.5% over the prior year's record. That same fiscal year, the company achieved a record net income attributable to shareholders of $688.7 million, translating to a diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $5.35. Furthermore, RPM boasts an elite track record, having increased its cash dividend paid to stockholders for 52 consecutive years as of fiscal 2025.

To streamline operations and focus on growth, RPM recently reorganized its structure, effective June 1, 2025, moving from four operating groups to three primary segments. These current groups are the Construction Products Group, the Performance Coatings Group, and the Consumer Group. This realignment involved distributing business units from the former Specialty Products Group across these remaining segments.

Looking at the performance leading into this new structure for fiscal 2025, the Construction Products Group (CPG) showed solid momentum with a 6.3% increase in net sales, largely driven by systems and turnkey roofing solutions. The Performance Coatings Group (PCG) also performed well, reporting a 9.2% increase in net sales. In contrast, the Consumer Group experienced a slight headwind, seeing a 1.6% decline in sales due to softness in DIY markets.

RPM International Inc. (RPM) - BCG Matrix: Stars

You're looking at the business units within RPM International Inc. that are currently leading in fast-growing markets, which is exactly what the Star quadrant of the Boston Consulting Group Matrix represents. These are the leaders that require significant investment to maintain their momentum.

The Construction Products Group (CPG) is positioned as a Star, evidenced by its strong top-line performance in a market benefiting from significant capital expenditure trends. For the full fiscal year 2025, CPG recorded a net sales increase of 6.3%. This growth was underpinned by a robust 6.7% organic growth rate, showing strong underlying business momentum.

CPG's strength is directly linked to secular trends. This group benefits from the high-growth commercial construction sector, particularly the build-out of data centers. The broader global commercial construction market is estimated to have a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.5% from 2023 to 2033, which supports the Star categorization for CPG.

Similarly, the Performance Coatings Group (PCG) demonstrates Star characteristics with a strong net sales increase of 9.2% in fiscal year 2025. This group's high-performance flooring and fiberglass structures are capitalizing on the demand within high-growth industrial and infrastructure markets. Specifically, sales of fiberglass reinforced plastics structures within PCG saw a double-digit increase, directly tied to the demand from data centers.

To keep these Stars shining, RPM International Inc. must continue to fund their promotion and placement, as they consume significant cash to fuel their high growth rates. If this success is sustained as the underlying markets mature, these units are poised to transition into Cash Cows.

Here is a quick look at the key growth metrics for these leading segments as of fiscal year 2025:

The relative size and growth profile of these segments within RPM International Inc.'s portfolio in fiscal year 2025 were:

• CPG accounted for approximately 38% of consolidated net sales.
• PCG accounted for 20% of consolidated net sales.
• CPG net sales for the full fiscal year 2025 were $809,913 thousand for the fourth quarter alone, compared to $762,174 thousand in 2024.
• PCG fourth quarter fiscal year 2025 sales were $399,208 thousand, compared to $365,555 thousand in the same period last year.

The continued investment in these areas is a key tenet of a growth strategy for RPM International Inc. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

RPM International Inc. (RPM) - BCG Matrix: Cash Cows

You're analyzing the core, reliable engine of RPM International Inc.'s portfolio, the segment that consistently funds growth elsewhere. For the Consumer Group, this means managing a mature market where brand strength, not rapid expansion, drives returns.

The Consumer Group, positioned as the second-largest segment, generates about 33% of net sales for RPM International Inc. This segment's performance in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 reflected the mature nature of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market, posting a net sales decline of 1.6% to $$691,539$ thousand compared to the prior year's fourth quarter. This decline, driven by softness in DIY markets, clearly signals low market growth, a hallmark of a Cash Cow.

Despite the top-line softness, the segment demonstrated strong cash generation capabilities. The 1.6% net sales decline in Q4 FY2025 was a net result of a 3.8% organic decline, partially offset by 2.3% growth from acquisitions, and a 0.1% decline due to foreign currency translation. This ability to maintain profitability despite volume pressure is key. For the full fiscal year 2025, RPM International Inc. achieved a record adjusted EBIT of $976.0$ million, with the Consumer Group contributing to this success by leveraging the efficiencies gained through the MAP 2025 program, even with lower volumes.

The competitive advantage here is rooted in market leadership. Brands like Rust-Oleum and DAP hold dominant positions, allowing RPM International Inc. to maintain high margins by commanding pricing power and relying less on heavy promotional spending typical of high-growth markets. Investments here focus on efficiency rather than aggressive market capture.

Here's a quick look at the financial context for the Cash Cow segment and the company in FY2025:

The strategy for these established leaders is to 'milk' the gains passively while investing selectively to improve the underlying structure. For instance, capital expenditures for the entire company in FY2025 totaled $229.9$ million, an increase from $$214.0$ million in FY2024, driven by investments in shared facilities like the Resin Center of Excellence and new production sites. This supports infrastructure to improve efficiency and increase cash flow generation from these stable businesses.

The market dominance of the Consumer Group's key brands is clear:

• Rust-Oleum: No. 1 brand recognition and market share in the U.S. and Canada for the small-project paint category.
• DAP: No. 1 brand recognition and market share in the U.S. and Canada for the caulk and sealant residential market.
• DAP: No. 1 brand recognition and market share in the U.S. for wall and wood repair products.
• Varathane: Leading market position in the U.S. and Canada for wood stains and finishes.

These brands are a trusted staple, found on nearly every garage or basement shelf throughout the U.S. and Canada, which is exactly what you want from a Cash Cow-reliable, high-share presence in a predictable market.

RPM International Inc. (RPM) - BCG Matrix: Dogs

You're looking at the segment of RPM International Inc. (RPM) that is clearly struggling to gain traction in its markets. These are the classic Dogs: low market share in markets that aren't growing fast, tying up capital without delivering significant returns. Honestly, the strategy here is usually to minimize exposure, because expensive turn-around plans rarely pay off in this quadrant.

The Specialty Products Group (SPG), which was RPM's smallest segment, showed minimal top-line movement. For the three months ended May 31, 2025, net sales for the SPG only increased by 1.9%, totaling $181,315 thousand for that quarter. That low growth rate signals a mature, slow-moving market for those specific product lines, or perhaps a persistent loss of share.

We saw evidence of this low-growth, low-return profile in the operational results. The segment experienced soft demand in cyclical areas, specifically mentioning the fluorescent pigments business and the disaster restoration businesses during the quarter. The financial consequence of this weakness is clear: EBIT for the quarter was a loss of ($10,637 thousand), a massive drop of over 241.3% from the prior year's positive EBIT of $7,528 thousand.

The most telling sign of a Dog, however, is the write-down. EBIT for the full fiscal year included $13.1 million in non-cash asset impairment charges, which were primarily tied to the fluorescent pigments business. That's capital being written off because the asset's expected future cash flows no longer justify its book value-a defintely Dog characteristic.

RPM has made a decisive strategic move regarding this group. For fiscal year 2026, the entire SPG structure is being dissolved, with its constituent businesses being moved into the other, presumably stronger, groups: the Construction Products Group, Performance Coatings Group, and the Consumer Group. This signals a strategic exit from the current structure, aiming to streamline operations and reduce overhead, which is a hallmark of managing out a Dog portfolio.

Here's a quick look at the SPG's quarterly performance metrics that led to this decision:

The characteristics pointing to the Dog classification for these businesses include:

• Net Sales increase for the quarter was only 1.9%.
• The business incurred $13.1 million in non-cash asset impairment charges.
• The fluorescent pigments business experienced soft demand.
• The entire segment is being dissolved for FY2026 reporting.
• The segment reported a quarterly (Loss) Income Before Income Taxes of ($10,763 thousand).

Finance: model the cash flow impact of reallocating SPG assets into the three continuing segments by end of Q2 FY2026.

RPM International Inc. (RPM) - BCG Matrix: Question Marks

These business units and recent acquisitions within RPM International Inc. fit the Question Marks quadrant: operating in growing markets but requiring significant investment to rapidly build market share. They consume cash now with the potential to become Stars.

Recent, small-share acquisitions like The Pink Stuff household cleaner, which closed near the end of Fiscal Year 2025, represent this category. The Pink Stuff generated sales of about $200 million USD in calendar year 2024. The Consumer Group's fourth-quarter Fiscal 2025 sales were $691,539 thousand, where the acquisition provided a 2.3% growth contribution against a 3.8% organic sales decline for the group.

These new ventures require significant investment to gain market share in competitive, high-potential consumer categories. The total debt used to finance acquisitions, including The Pink Stuff, resulted in total debt rising to $2.65 billion at the end of Fiscal 2025, up from $2.13 billion the prior year.

The newly acquired Ready Seal business, a small-scale entry into a specific coatings market, was also noted as a driver for expected Consumer Group sales growth in Fiscal 2026. Ready Seal generated sales of about $45 million in calendar year 2024.

Businesses from the former SPG (Specialty Products Group) are now consolidated into the larger groups, needing investment to turn around soft demand. The Specialty Products Group posted fourth-quarter Fiscal 2025 sales of $181,315 thousand, with flat organic growth reported for the quarter. The Resin Center of Excellence, managed by the former SPG structure, incurred high start-up expenses that impacted results.

The strategy for these Question Marks centers on heavy investment to secure market position, as evidenced by the overall capital allocation:

• Capital expenditures for Fiscal 2025 totaled $229.9 million.
• Total liquidity, including committed credit facilities, stood at $969.1 million at year-end Fiscal 2025.
• The Fiscal 2026 outlook anticipates Consumer Group sales growth to be slightly higher, driven by The Pink Stuff and Ready Seal acquisitions.

The following table summarizes the key entities categorized as Question Marks based on their recent acquisition or consolidation status within RPM International Inc. as of Fiscal 2025.

The Consumer Group's Q4 Fiscal 2025 sales growth was 2.3% from acquisitions, contrasting with a 3.8% organic decline. The overall Fiscal 2025 sales reached a record $7.37 billion.