Here, we review the performance of chromatographic hydrophobicity measurements in a data set of 100 000 GlaxoSmithKline compounds, demonstrating the advantages of the method over octanol–water partitioning and highlighting new insights for drug discovery. The value of chromatographic measurements, versus other hydrophobicity estimates, was supported by improved relationships with solubility, permeation, cytochrome P450s, intrinsic clearance, hERG binding and promiscuity. We also observed marked differentiation of the relative influence of intrinsic and effective hydrophobicity. The summing of hydrophobicity values plus aromatic ring count [log DpH7.4 (or log P) + #Ar], indicated a wide relevance for simplistic ‘property forecast indices’ in developability assays, clearly enhanced by chromatographic values; therefore establishing new foundations for enriching property-based drug design.