A sector of chemicals, mining and packaging companies whose ratios are governed almost entirely by how much of the workforce sits outside high-cost labour markets.
Materials has a median ratio of 166:1, slightly below the index median of 196:1, and a median worker pay of $84,392 that sits in the upper-middle of the index. Its 26 constituents cover chemicals, industrial gases, packaging, mining, steel and aggregates, all capital-intensive businesses with substantial physical workforces.
Avery Dennison tops the sector at 495:1, and the mechanism is entirely in the denominator: a median of $17,158 across 35,000 employees, the lowest in the sector by a wide margin, against a modest $8.5 million three-year average package. The company's labelling and materials production is concentrated in Asia and Latin America.
Linde at 404:1 is the sector's largest company by profit at $6.5 billion, with a $50,860 median across 65,177 employees worldwide and a $20.6 million package. Ecolab at 308:1 on $53,462 across 48,000 employees and PPG Industries at 277:1 on $47,032 follow the same pattern: large global operational workforces with medians well below what a US-only company of similar profile would report.
International Flavors & Fragrances at 312:1 and Smurfit Westrock at 243:1 on a $60,554 median across 97,000 employees round out the wide end. Sherwin-Williams at 211:1 on $60,049 across 64,249 employees reflects a large US retail-store network alongside manufacturing.
The narrowest ratios belong to companies whose workforces are predominantly North American and industrial.
Ball Corporation leads at 44:1 on a median of $91,248 with just $4.0 million of average CEO compensation, the sector's clearest case of genuine restraint. CF Industries at 83:1 pays the sector's highest median at $155,394 across only 2,900 employees. Freeport-McMoRan at 111:1 on $115,935, Steel Dynamics at 114:1 on $104,530, Vulcan Materials at 118:1 on $115,931 and Nucor, whose $133,886 median is the second highest in the sector, all reflect unionised or high-skill domestic operations in mining, steel and aggregates.
The contrast between Nucor and Steel Dynamics on one hand and the global chemicals companies on the other is the sector in miniature: same capital intensity, same industrial character, very different medians depending on where the plants are.
The sector median is $48,024, below the index norm. CF Industries is the standout at $482,759 per employee across 2,900 people. Nitrogen fertiliser production is highly automated and the company also pays the sector's best wages, making it one of the better combined results in the index.
Newmont follows at $151,429, Martin Marietta at $148,958, Steel Dynamics at $119,444 and Ball at $117,500. Linde generates the largest absolute profit at $6.5 billion, followed by CRH at $3.5 billion, Nucor at $2.8 billion, Newmont at $2.6 billion and Sherwin-Williams at $2.5 billion.
Albemarle, Dow, International Flavors & Fragrances and International Paper each averaged a loss across the three-year window and appear in the map's "lost money" band. Albemarle's reflects the collapse in lithium prices; the others are largely impairment-driven.
A data note on Dow. Two of Dow's figures were corrected during our audit. Its net income initially used the US GAAP ProfitLoss tag, which includes earnings attributable to non-controlling interests; the correct parent-company figure is materially different. Its reported headcount was also wrong by a factor of nearly six, at 200,000 rather than the actual 34,600, which had badly distorted its profit-per-employee figure. Both are described in the methodology.
| Company | Pay ratio | Median worker pay | CEO pay (3-yr avg) | Profit (3-yr avg) | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avery DennisonAVY | 495:1 | $17,158 | $8.5M | $0.6B | 35,000 |
| Linde plcLIN | 404:1 | $50,860 | $20.6M | $6.5B | 65,177 |
| International Flavors & FragrancesIFF | 312:1 | $62,828 | $19.6M | −$0.9B | 21,500 |
| EcolabECL | 308:1 | $53,462 | $16.4M | $1.9B | 48,000 |
| PPG IndustriesPPG | 277:1 | $47,032 | $13.0M | $1.3B | 43,500 |
| Smurfit WestrockSW | 243:1 | $60,554 | $14.7M | $0.6B | 97,000 |
| Dow Inc.DOW | 214:1 | $91,995 | $19.7M | −$0.3B | 34,600 |
| Sherwin-WilliamsSHW | 211:1 | $60,049 | $12.7M | $2.5B | 64,249 |
| Albemarle CorporationALB | 206:1 | $71,667 | $14.8M | −$0.0B | 7,800 |
| International PaperIP | 197:1 | $90,506 | $17.8M | −$0.9B | 62,602 |
| Packaging Corporation of AmericaPKG | 178:1 | $89,867 | $16.0M | $0.8B | 16,800 |
| CortevaCTVA | 177:1 | $85,012 | $15.1M | $0.9B | 21,500 |
| CRH plcCRH | 167:1 | $58,919 | $9.9M | $3.5B | 83,032 |
| Air ProductsAPD | 165:1 | $71,545 | $11.8M | $1.9B | 21,300 |
| NewmontNEM | 161:1 | $83,771 | $13.4M | $2.6B | 17,500 |
| Martin Marietta MaterialsMLM | 159:1 | $105,526 | $16.8M | $1.4B | 9,600 |
| Mosaic CompanyMOS | 152:1 | $51,236 | $7.8M | $0.6B | 13,249 |
| LyondellBasellLYB | 149:1 | $110,140 | $16.4M | $0.9B | 18,970 |
| NucorNUE | 141:1 | $133,886 | $18.8M | $2.8B | 33,000 |
| DuPontDD | 129:1 | $85,492 | $11.0M | $0.1B | 15,000 |
| Vulcan Materials CompanyVMC | 118:1 | $115,931 | $13.7M | $1.0B | 11,548 |
| Steel DynamicsSTLD | 114:1 | $104,530 | $11.9M | $1.7B | 14,400 |
| AmcorAMCR | 112:1 | $71,040 | $8.0M | $0.8B | 77,000 |
| Freeport-McMoRanFCX | 111:1 | $115,935 | $12.9M | $2.0B | 29,000 |
| CF IndustriesCF | 83:1 | $155,394 | $13.0M | $1.4B | 2,900 |
| Ball CorporationBALL | 44:1 | $91,248 | $4.0M | $1.9B | 16,000 |