ACA vs WS Stock Comparison

Arcosa and Worthington Steel Prices as of Oct 22, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ACA Arcosa, Inc.
$149.18 +1.7% 1M +61.6% 1Y
Market cap
$7.33B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.74B
Div. yield
0.13%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
8 wins
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$40.81 +17.4% 1M +31.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.12B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
0.02%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Arcosa leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Arcosa 8, Worthington Steel 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACAWSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.33B $2.12B ACA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.9x -55.3x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.6x 10.7x WS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +69.1% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.9% -0.7% ACA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.5% 0.2% ACA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 19.9x ACA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.13% 0.02% ACA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +61.6% +31.3% ACA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +23.0%/yr — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.7% 47.1% ACA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 33/100 ACA

Percentile Scorecard

ACAWS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACAWS
Valuation 48 #106 of 203 60 #82 of 203
Growth 82 #34 of 188 32 #128 of 188
Profitability 53 #89 of 187 29 #134 of 187
Financial Health 58 #94 of 222 10 #200 of 222
Shareholder Returns 41 #91 of 153 34 #102 of 153
Overall 56 33
  • ACA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACAWSSPY
1 month +1.7%+17.4% -1.0%
3 months +2.9%+13.4% +2.9%
6 months +24.1%+8.1% +6.4%
Year to date +40.3%+17.9% +11.4%
1 year +61.6%+31.3% +13.1%
3 years +117.4%— +79.4%
3 years, per year +29.6%— +21.5%
5 years +181.9%— +67.7%
5 years, per year +23.0%— +10.9%

Risk

MeasureACAWSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.7%47.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.9%49.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.951.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.940.67 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.7%-51.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-16.2% -2.5%
52-week high $149.18$48.69 $779.14
52-week low $92.25$28.10 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACAWS
P/E now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 25.9x -53.3xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 13.7x 41.2xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 54.9xmedian 21.1x 44.8xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 2.3x 1.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 1.19 1.64median 1.19

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACAWS
Revenue $2.74B $5.30B
Gross profit $632.30M $549.30M
Operating income $322.70M $6.30M
Net income $491.40M -$56.50M
Free cash flow $133.40M $46.70M
EPS (diluted) $9.99 $-0.77
Cash & equivalents $432.10M $248.20M
Total debt $1.44B $2.89B
Shares (diluted) 49.20M 50.00M
Enterprise value $6.31B $1.60B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACAWS
P/E 14.9x -53.3x
P/FCF 54.9x 44.8x
P/Operating cash flow 21.5x 10.4x
P/S 2.7x 0.4x
P/B 2.5x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 2.7x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 15.2x 41.2x
EV/EBIT 25.8x 641.0x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 0.8x
EV/FCF 62.4x 86.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.4x 20.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 1.64

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACAWS
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 69.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 15.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 36.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 13.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 61.3% -95.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.6% -65.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 433.0% -144.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 20.2% -34.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 430.8% -132.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.8% -32.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -23.1% 18.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.1% -10.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -54.9% 50.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 54.7% -41.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACAWS
Gross margin 23.0% 10.4%
EBITDA margin 19.9% 1.8%
Operating margin 11.8% 0.1%
Pretax margin 8.4% -0.2%
Net margin 17.9% -0.7%
FCF margin 4.9% 0.9%
Operating cash flow margin 12.4% 3.8%
Return on equity 17.4% -4.0%
Return on assets 9.5% -1.4%
Return on invested capital 6.5% 0.2%
Return on capital employed 6.9% 0.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACAWS
Debt / assets 27.1% 36.5%
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 19.9x
Debt / FCF 10.8x 47.0x
Liabilities / assets 43.7% 72.8%
Equity / assets 56.3% 27.2%
Interest coverage 3.3x 0.5x
Current ratio 3.1x 1.8x
Quick ratio 2.2x 0.8x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.18 1.54

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACAWS
Dividend yield 0.1% 1.6%
Net buyback yield 0.2% –
Shareholder yield 0.4% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 2.0% -57.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) 7.4% 70.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.0% 2.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.0% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACAWS
Forward P/E 33.6xFY2026 10.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.44FY2026 $3.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.7%FY2026 +71.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.0% +30.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.45BFY2026 $10.90BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -14.9%FY2026 +217.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.5% +2.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACAWS
Held by institutions 91.8% 56.3%
Institutions holding 426 238
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +1.2%
Institutions buying 230 112
Institutions selling 114 68
Buyers to sellers 2.02 1.65

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACAWS
ACA 1.00 0.38
WS 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACA and WS?

Arcosa (ACA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.12B.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest net margin (Arcosa (ACA) 17.9%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%). On return on invested capital, Arcosa (ACA) leads (Arcosa (ACA) 6.5%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcosa (ACA) returned the most: Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%, Worthington Steel (WS) +31.3%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest dividend yield: Arcosa (ACA) 0.13%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.02%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Arcosa (ACA) has been the steadiest (Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ACA and WS move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.38, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ACA and WS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Arcosa (ACA) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.