Global Top 10 Analysis: Same Rankings, Major Changes Ahead
The 2026 Global Top 10 held its order, but mergers, divestitures, acquisitions and portfolio changes could alter the rankings next year.
Courtney Bassett, Managing Editor, PCI
Need to Know
- Sherwin-Williams remained No. 1 in PCI’s 2026 Global Top 10.
- The ranking order did not change from last year.
- AkzoNobel, Axalta and BASF announced transactions that could reshape future rankings.
- Sherwin-Williams and Nippon Paint completed notable acquisitions in 2025.
- Full company reports, extended Notes and honorable mentions are available online.
Every company in this year’s Global Top 10 held its position from last year. Sherwin-Williams remains No. 1 with an estimated $19.8 billion in coatings sales, followed by PPG at $15.9 billion. AkzoNobel and Nippon Paint Holdings remained in the $11 billion range, while RPM, Axalta, BASF, Asian Paints, Kansai Paint and Jotun retained their places in the second half of the ranking.
The numbers were stable. The companies were not.
AkzoNobel and Axalta announced an all-stock merger that would combine companies reporting about $16.2 billion in 2025 coatings sales. BASF reached a €7.7 billion agreement with Carlyle and Qatar Investment Authority to create a standalone coatings company from its automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinish coatings and surface treatment businesses. Sherwin-Williams completed its acquisition of Suvinil in Brazil. Nippon Paint completed its acquisition of AOC, a specialty formulator with operations concentrated in the Americas and Europe.
Those announcements alone make it likely that next year’s Global Top 10 will look different, assuming the major transactions close as planned and are reflected in the next reporting cycle.
They also complicate year-over-year comparisons. Nippon Paint’s 8.3% revenue increase included 10 months of AOC results. BASF’s 2025 coatings figure combines sales from businesses now classified as discontinued operations with its remaining decorative paints business. Sherwin-Williams’ Consumer Brands Group increase included the Suvinil acquisition. The headline sales figures remain useful, but they need to be read alongside the portfolio changes behind them.
Growth varied widely. PPG reported 2% organic sales growth, while Asian Paints increased consolidated sales 5.1% in its fiscal year. Jotun reported revenue growth of 0.4% in Norwegian krone terms, but said underlying revenue increased 6% after currency effects. AkzoNobel reported a 5% decline in revenue. Axalta sales declined 3%. Kansai Paint sales were nearly flat on a reported basis but rose 2.4% excluding foreign exchange effects.
Protective, marine, aerospace, industrial and powder coatings produced several of the stronger results and investment announcements. Jotun reported record sales in protective and powder coatings and double-digit growth in marine. PPG committed $380 million to an aerospace coatings and sealants facility in North Carolina. BASF commissioned a new high-volume automotive OEM coatings plant in Münster. Axalta introduced powder coatings for electric vehicle battery and energy storage applications.
Application efficiency also appeared repeatedly in the year’s product and technology news. Nippon Paint and Kansai Paint developed in-mold coating processes that combine molding and finishing in one step. BASF, Renault and Dürr advanced an overspray-free process for two-tone vehicle painting. PPG, Axalta and BASF expanded digital tools for color matching, paint mixing, collision repair and body shop management.
Full company reports are available online with extended Notes sections covering acquisitions, plant investments, product launches, partnerships, sustainability initiatives and leadership changes. The online package also includes honorable mention global companies outside the main ranking.
PCI 25, PCI’s separate ranking of North American paint and coatings companies, is also available online for readers looking at the market from a regional perspective.
Read more PCI coverage of mergers and acquisitions shaping the global paint and coatings industry.