Selling, general, & admin. expense (SGA) includes the direct and indirect costs and all general and administrative expenses of a company. Stepan Co's selling, general, & admin. expense for the
three
months ended in Mar. 2026 was $33 Mil.
Its selling, general, & admin. expense for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was $140 Mil.
Stepan Co (NYSE:SCL) Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Explanation
An efficient operation keeps SGA costs low and thus has higher profit margin. The percentage of SGA relative to total revenue is an indication of how efficiently the company operates. Compare this percentage among the companies in the same industry is a good way of finding more efficient operations. A comparison of the SGA cost relative to the revenue with the historical value can also be an indication of how efficient the company has become.
Warren Buffett likes companies with consistent SGA as the percentage of gross profit.
Companies with no durable competitive advantage show wild variation in SG&A as % of Gross Profit.
If SGA is less than 30% of Gross Profit, it is fantastic. If SGA is nearing 100%, it is is in highly competitive industry.
Stepan Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Related Terms
Stepan Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Historical Data
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The historical data trend for Stepan Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Stepan Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Chart
SCL vs LWLG, ECVT, ODC: Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Comparison
For the Specialty Chemicals subindustry, Stepan Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense, along with its competitors' market caps and Selling, General, & Admin. Expense data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Stepan Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense vs Chemicals Industry
For the Chemicals industry and Basic Materials sector, Stepan Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Stepan Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense falls into.
Stepan Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Calculation
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense (SGA) includes the direct and indirect costs and all general and administrative expenses of a company. For instance, personnel cost, advertising, rent, communication costs are all part of SGA.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $140 Mil.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
What does a Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of $140 Mil mean?
Stepan Co (SCL) has a Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of $140 Mil as of Mar. 2026. Selling, general and admin expense is the total cost for direct, indirect, general and administrative activities. View historical data on Stepan Co and its competitors.
Is Stepan Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense too high?
Stepan Co's current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is $140 Mil. Overall, Stepan Co has a GF Score™ of 79/100 and is considered Modestly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Stepan Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense compare to LWLG and ECVT?
Stepan Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of $140 Mil can be compared against companies in the Chemicals industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Selling, General, & Admin. Expense for a Chemicals company?
A good Selling, General, & Admin. Expense depends on the Chemicals industry context. However, Selling, General, & Admin. Expense should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Selling, General, & Admin. Expense mean?
A high Selling, General, & Admin. Expense can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Selling, general and admin expense is the total cost for direct, indirect, general and administrative activities. View historical data on Stepan Co and its competitors. Stepan Co's current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is $140 Mil. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Stepan Co stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Stepan Co (SCL) is currently considered Modestly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $70.89, compared to a current price of $56.57 — trading 20.2% below its estimated fair value. The current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is $140 Mil. Stepan Co's overall GF Score™ is 79/100 with 6 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Selling, General, & Admin. Expense calculated?
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Stepan Co (SCL), the current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is $140 Mil as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Stepan Co (SCL) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Stepan Co stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of $56.57 is trading 20.2% below its estimated GF Value™ of $70.89.
GuruFocus considers Stepan Co to be Modestly Undervalued.
Key valuation signals for SCL:
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense: $140 Mil
GF Value™: $70.89 vs. price of $56.57 (20.2% below fair value)
No single metric tells the full story. See the SCL stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Stepan Co manufactures and sells a variety of chemicals and chemical-based products. The company organizes itself into three segments based on product type. The surfactants segment, which generates the majority of revenue, sells cleaning agents used in detergents, shampoos, body wash, fabric softeners, toothpastes, and other personal-care products. The polymers segment sells polyurethane used to manufacture rigid foam for thermal insulation, as well as phthalic anhydride used to make plastic components for the construction, automotive, and boating industries. The specialty products segment sells chemicals used in food and flavoring. The majority of Stepan's revenue comes from the United States, followed by France, Poland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, and other countries.
79GF Score
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