AGX vs ACM vs IBP Stock Comparison

Argan, Aecom and Installed Building Products Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AGX Argan Inc
$329.22 -9.8% 1M +11.0% 1Y
Market cap
$4.79B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.19B
Div. yield
0.01%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
5 wins
ACM Aecom
$60.73 -0.3% 1M -54.3% 1Y
Market cap
$7.91B
P/E
27.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.39B
Div. yield
–
Engineering and Construction Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Argan leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Argan 5, Aecom 3, Installed Building Products 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAGXACMIBPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.79B $7.91B $5.46B ACM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.7x 27.5x 21.8x IBP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.5x 14.5x 20.1x ACM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.0% -4.2% +0.3% AGX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.1% 1.9% 8.5% AGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.9% 16.0% IBP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.4x 1.4x IBP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.0% -54.3% -24.6% AGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +50.9%/yr -1.9%/yr +10.2%/yr AGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 74.9% 38.4% 55.0% ACM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 74/100 47/100 62/100 AGX

Percentile Scorecard

AGXACMIBP

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

AxisAGXACMIBP
Valuation 65 #19 of 52 63 #20 of 52 51 #26 of 52
Growth 100 #1 of 37 11 #33 of 37 19 #30 of 37
Profitability 100 #1 of 37 44 #21 of 37 94 #3 of 37
Financial Health 64 #21 of 57 25 #43 of 57 68 #19 of 57
Shareholder Returns 39 #17 of 27 92 #3 of 27 77 #7 of 27
Overall 74 47 62
  • AGX ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • ACM ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • IBP ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAGXACMIBPSPY
1 month -9.8%-0.3%+1.1% -0.8%
3 months -39.3%-14.4%-11.3% +3.5%
6 months -50.2%-25.9%-32.2% +7.0%
Year to date +5.1%-36.3%-22.0% +12.2%
1 year +11.0%-54.3%-24.6% +13.0%
3 years +638.3%-18.8%+85.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +94.8%-6.7%+22.9% +23.1%
5 years +682.4%-9.3%+62.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +50.9%-1.9%+10.2% +11.0%
10 years +494.8%+120.8%+528.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +19.5%+8.2%+20.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAGXACMIBPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 74.9%38.4%55.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.1%47.1%60.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.710.861.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.15-1.42-0.45 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.8%-56.8%-49.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -58.8%-54.8%-41.2% -1.8%
52-week high $798.55$134.35$344.19 $779.14
52-week low $292.22$58.00$180.32 $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.

MultipleAGXACMIBP
P/E now vs peer median 25.8xmedian 25.7x 27.1xmedian 25.7x 21.5xmedian 25.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 0.8x 0.5xmedian 0.8x 1.8xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.0xmedian 12.9x 13.4xmedian 12.9x 12.6xmedian 12.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 22.5x 38.4xmedian 22.5x 18.4xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 9.1xmedian 2.3x 3.3xmedian 2.3x 8.4xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.38median 0.56 0.85median 0.56 6.47median 0.56

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 monthsAGXACMIBP
Revenue $1.19B $15.39B $2.96B
Gross profit $247.88M $874.05M $996.90M
Operating income $182.50M $631.20M $367.80M
Net income $179.31M $334.79M $250.70M
Free cash flow $545.70M $203.45M $291.70M
EPS (diluted) $12.66 $2.24 $9.39
Cash & equivalents $364.48M $1.01B $394.50M
Total debt – $2.75B $1.06B
Shares (diluted) 14.16M 128.60M 26.71M
Enterprise value $2.80B $3.03B $3.94B

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
MetricAGXACMIBP
P/E 25.8x 27.1x 21.5x
P/FCF 8.5x 38.4x 18.4x
P/Operating cash flow 8.3x 21.4x 14.9x
P/S 3.9x 0.5x 1.8x
P/B 9.1x 3.3x 8.4x
P/Tangible book 9.2x 3.5x 14.5x
EV/EBITDA 22.0x 13.4x 12.6x
EV/EBIT 22.3x 15.1x 16.4x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 0.6x 2.0x
EV/FCF 7.5x 46.9x 20.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.3x 26.1x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.38 0.85 6.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAGXACMIBP
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.0% -4.2% 0.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 35.1% 3.3% 2.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 43.2% -25.9% 0.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 45.7% -1.4% 4.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 55.5% -38.5% -0.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 71.8% 13.8% 0.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 53.0% -50.9% 0.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.9% 24.6% 1.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 52.6% -51.4% 2.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 67.8% 31.9% 3.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 279.5% -60.5% 0.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 108.5% -20.5% 4.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 289.0% -75.3% 5.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 111.7% -29.3% 3.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAGXACMIBP
Gross margin 20.9% 5.7% 33.6%
EBITDA margin 15.5% 4.6% 16.2%
Operating margin 15.4% 4.1% 12.4%
Pretax margin 18.2% 3.4% 11.3%
Net margin 15.1% 1.9% 8.5%
FCF margin 45.9% 1.3% 9.8%
Operating cash flow margin 46.7% 2.4% 12.1%
Return on equity 36.6% 13.9% 38.4%
Return on assets 13.3% 2.8% 11.2%
Return on invested capital – 9.9% 16.0%
Return on capital employed 39.2% 10.5% 19.8%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.3x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.1x 1.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.3% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAGXACMIBP
Debt / assets – 22.8% 47.2%
Debt / equity – 1.1x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.4x 1.4x
Debt / FCF – 13.5x 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 63.8% 80.0% 71.6%
Equity / assets 36.2% 20.0% 28.4%
Interest coverage – 3.1x 10.2x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.1x 3.0x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.9x 2.2x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 5.25 1.79 4.93

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAGXACMIBP
Dividend yield 0.7% 2.0% 1.5%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 8.2% 3.5%
Shareholder yield 0.9% 10.3% 5.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 15.6% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 5.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 37.2% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 27.7% – –

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.

ConsensusAGXACMIBP
Forward P/E 23.5xFY2026 14.5xFY2026 20.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.02FY2026 $4.19FY2026 $10.04FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +43.9%FY2026 -20.3%FY2026 -12.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.8% +54.7% +2.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.36BFY2026 $7.04BFY2026 $3.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.6%FY2026 -7.0%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.0% +8.8% -7.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAGXACMIBP
Held by institutions 99.2% 92.6% 97.9%
Institutions holding 559 572 423
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% +5.5% +0.2%
Institutions buying 315 270 229
Institutions selling 185 232 146
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.16 1.57

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.

AGXACMIBP
AGX 1.00 0.03 0.08
ACM 0.03 1.00 0.28
IBP 0.08 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AGX, ACM and IBP?

Aecom (ACM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Argan (AGX) $4.79B, Aecom (ACM) $7.91B, Installed Building Products (IBP) $5.46B.

Which stock is cheaper, AGX, ACM and IBP?

Installed Building Products (IBP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Argan (AGX) 26.7x, Aecom (ACM) 27.5x, Installed Building Products (IBP) 21.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aecom (ACM) is cheapest (Argan (AGX) 23.5x, Aecom (ACM) 14.5x, Installed Building Products (IBP) 20.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Argan (AGX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Argan (AGX) +29.0%, Aecom (ACM) -4.2%, Installed Building Products (IBP) +0.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Argan (AGX) has the highest net margin (Argan (AGX) 15.1%, Aecom (ACM) 1.9%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 8.5%). On return on invested capital, Installed Building Products (IBP) leads (Aecom (ACM) 9.9%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 16.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Argan (AGX) returned the most: Argan (AGX) +11.0%, Aecom (ACM) -54.3%, Installed Building Products (IBP) -24.6%. Over five years, Argan (AGX) compounded fastest (Argan (AGX) +50.9%/yr, Aecom (ACM) -1.9%/yr, Installed Building Products (IBP) +10.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Argan (AGX) 0.01%, Aecom (ACM) 0.00%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 0.00%. Aecom (ACM) and Installed Building Products (IBP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Aecom (ACM) has been the steadiest (Argan (AGX) 74.9%, Aecom (ACM) 38.4%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 55.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AGX, ACM and IBP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Argan (AGX) leads on 5. 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.