VALHI INC: management transactions · United States · SEC (Form 4)

About VALHI INC

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE: VHI) is a US-listed industrial holding company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, in the United States. For European investors, Valhi is best viewed as a diversified, control-influenced conglomerate with exposure to cyclical industrial materials, niche component manufacturing, and real estate development. Its equity story is driven less by a single operating brand and more by the performance of its major subsidiaries and the commodity/industrial cycle, especially titanium dioxide (TiO2). Valhi’s corporate roots go back to the Contran-controlled group of companies, and the company’s current corporate structure was formed in 1987 through a merger involving Contran-related entities. That history still matters today because it shapes the group’s ownership profile and governance model. Valhi describes itself as operating through majority-owned subsidiaries and, in some cases, less-than-majority-owned affiliates, which makes it a holding company rather than a pure-play manufacturer. The company is listed on the NYSE, and its operations are based in the United States. Valhi’s business is organized into three core segments. The Chemicals segment is the largest and most economically important. It manufactures and sells TiO2 pigments, a key input used in coatings, paints, plastics, paper, and other applications where whiteness, opacity, and durability matter. This segment is the main revenue engine, but it is also the most cyclical and volatile because profitability depends on TiO2 pricing, plant utilization, raw material costs, foreign exchange, and global supply-demand balances. The Component Products segment includes security products and recreational marine components, serving markets such as government security, industrial customers, and towboat-related end markets. The Real Estate Management and Development segment focuses on land development and related real estate activities, providing a smaller but strategically useful source of earnings and asset value. From a competitive standpoint, Valhi operates in specialized, highly competitive niches. In chemicals, it competes with global TiO2 producers in an industry that is sensitive to capacity utilization, pricing discipline, and regional demand trends. In component products, the company has a more focused niche position, with products tailored to security and marine applications rather than broad commodity manufacturing. The real estate segment is more opportunistic and asset-driven than volume-driven. Recent developments underscore the cyclical nature of the group. In March 2026, Valhi reported full-year 2025 results showing a net loss attributable to Valhi stockholders, largely because the Chemicals segment faced lower average TiO2 selling prices, reduced operating rates, unabsorbed fixed production costs, and restructuring-related charges. At the same time, Component Products improved year over year, with stronger sales and margins in security and marine components, and the real estate segment benefited from infrastructure tax increment reimbursements. The takeaway for investors is that Valhi remains a diversified industrial holding company whose earnings profile is highly sensitive to the global TiO2 cycle, manufacturing utilization, and the performance of its smaller non-chemicals businesses.