Sherwin-Williams

In July 1866, Henry A. Sherwin invested in Truman Dunham & Co., and in 1870 he formed Sherwin, Williams & Co. with Alanson T. Osborn and Edward P. Williams. The company was incorporated in Ohio on July 16, 1884.⁠[1]

The company’s official history says Henry A. Sherwin and Edward P. Williams established it in 1866.⁠[2]

In 1905 the company formed an alliance with the London firm of Lewis Berger & Sons. From 1930 its headquarters was in the Midland Building in Cleveland.⁠[1]

Walter H. Cottingham became the second chief executive in 1909, followed by George A. Martin (1922), Arthur W. Steudel (1940), Earnest C. Baldwin (1960) and Walter O. Spencer (1969). The stock first traded on the American Stock Exchange in 1925 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1964.⁠[2]

In 1977 the company lost $8.2 million on revenues of $1 billion. John G. Breen became president and chief executive in January 1979, and sales rose from $1.19 billion in 1979 to $2.17 billion in 1985.⁠[3]

In 1990 the company added the Krylon aerosol paint line, later bought brands including Pratt & Lambert, and at the end of 1996 acquired Thompson Minwax for $830 million.⁠[3]

In 1999 Breen retired and Christopher M. Connor succeeded him.⁠[1]

The board named John G. Morikis chief executive effective January 1, 2016, with Connor remaining as executive chairman. Morikis joined the company in 1984 as a management trainee in the Paint Stores Group.⁠[4]

On March 20, 2016, Sherwin-Williams announced an all-cash agreement to acquire The Valspar Corporation for $113 per share, an enterprise value of about $11.3 billion, with combined pro forma 2015 revenues of about $15.6 billion.⁠[5]

The Federal Trade Commission found the deal would concentrate most of the nearly $1 billion North American industrial wood coatings industry in two major competitors, and its consent order required divestiture of Valspar’s North America industrial wood coatings business to Axalta Coating Systems.⁠[6]

The acquisition was completed on June 1, 2017. The combined company had pro forma 2016 revenues of $15.8 billion and about 60,000 employees. Morikis said, “The acquisition of Valspar accelerates Sherwin-Williams’ global growth strategy.”⁠[7]

In July 2019, Sherwin-Williams, ConAgra and NL Industries agreed to pay $305 million to settle a lead paint lawsuit by California cities and counties. In 2017 an appeals court had limited cleanup to homes built before 1951. The company said the ruling “remains an aberration at odds with other judicial decisions across the country.”⁠[8]

The companies had been ordered in 2014 to pay $1.15 billion into an abatement fund. On December 10, 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Sherwin-Williams’ insurers did not have to cover its share of the settlement, finding that the payment was intended to prevent future harm, not compensate for past harm.⁠[9]

The board elected Heidi G. Petz chief executive effective January 1, 2024, while she continued as president and Morikis continued as executive chairman. Petz joined the company in June 2017 in connection with the Valspar acquisition. Morikis said, “Heidi becomes only the tenth CEO in the 157-year history of the Company.”⁠[10]

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In February 2025, Sherwin-Williams announced a $1.15 billion all-cash acquisition of BASF’s Brazilian architectural paints business, which operates under the Suvinil and Glasu! brands and had about $525 million in 2024 sales. The acquisition had been completed by October 1, 2025.⁠[12]

On October 31, 2025, employees began moving into the 36-floor headquarters tower just west of Public Square in downtown Cleveland, with full occupancy of more than 3,000 employees expected by early 2026.⁠[13]

On May 11, 2026, the company held a ribbon-cutting for its 1,000,000-square-foot global headquarters campus. Petz said, “This grand opening marks a defining moment in the Company’s 160-year history.”⁠[14]

The company has three reportable segments: the Paint Stores Group, the Consumer Brands Group and the Performance Coatings Group. At December 31, 2025, the Paint Stores Group operated 4,853 company-operated specialty paint stores, and the company employed 64,249 people worldwide.⁠[15]

Consolidated net sales rose 2.1% to $23.57 billion in 2025, net income was $2,568.5 million (2024: $2,681.4 million) and diluted net income per share was $10.26. Petz said, “We enter 2026 with a continuation of the softer-for-longer demand environment we have previously described.”⁠[16]

Third-quarter 2026 consolidated net sales rose 7.9% to $6.86 billion, net income fell 1.5% to $821.0 million and diluted net income per share was $3.38.⁠[17]