AGX vs J vs IBP Stock Comparison

Argan, Jacobs Solutions and Installed Building Products Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AGX Argan Inc
$352.77 -0.8% 1M +20.6% 1Y
Market cap
$4.95B
P/E
27.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.19B
Div. yield
0.62%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
5 wins
J Jacobs Solutions Inc.
$150.83 +9.0% 1M -4.7% 1Y
Market cap
$17.67B
P/E
52.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.22B
Div. yield
0.93%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Installed Building Products leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Installed Building Products 5, Argan 5, Jacobs Solutions 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAGXJIBPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.95B $17.67B $5.31B J
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.6x 52.5x 21.2x IBP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.2x 22.2x 19.9x IBP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.0% +20.1% +0.3% AGX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.1% 2.4% 8.5% AGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 5.8% 16.0% IBP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.7x 1.4x IBP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.62% 0.93% 1.48% IBP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.6% -4.7% -25.9% AGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +53.6%/yr +5.4%/yr +9.5%/yr AGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 74.9% 33.0% 55.0% J
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 46/100 65/100 AGX

Percentile Scorecard

AGXJIBP

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

AxisAGXJIBP
Valuation 63 #20 of 52 39 #32 of 52 57 #23 of 52
Growth 100 #1 of 37 33 #25 of 37 19 #30 of 37
Profitability 100 #1 of 37 53 #18 of 37 97 #2 of 37
Financial Health 64 #21 of 57 45 #32 of 57 71 #17 of 57
Shareholder Returns 40 #16 of 26 60 #11 of 26 80 #6 of 26
Overall 73 46 65
  • AGX ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • J 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

PeriodAGXJIBPSPY
1 month -0.8%+9.0%+1.9% +0.9%
3 months -28.3%+11.0%-13.3% +5.9%
6 months -44.0%+20.1%-29.8% +8.5%
Year to date +12.6%+13.9%-23.0% +13.3%
1 year +20.6%-4.7%-25.9% +12.4%
3 years +691.1%+39.1%+83.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +99.4%+11.6%+22.4% +23.5%
5 years +755.0%+29.9%+57.2% +68.2%
5 years, per year +53.6%+5.4%+9.5% +11.0%
10 years +536.2%+256.8%+523.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year +20.3%+13.6%+20.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAGXJIBPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 74.9%33.0%55.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.3%36.1%60.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.720.781.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.28-0.14-0.47 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.8%-34.8%-49.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -55.8%-4.8%-42.0% -0.9%
52-week high $798.55$158.36$344.19 $779.14
52-week low $292.22$107.27$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.

MultipleAGXJIBP
P/E now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 27.7x 52.5xmedian 27.7x 21.2xmedian 27.7x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 0.8x 1.2xmedian 0.8x 1.8xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.8xmedian 12.4x 22.8xmedian 12.4x 12.4xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.1xmedian 23.7x 27.4xmedian 23.7x 18.2xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 2.5x 5.4xmedian 2.5x 8.3xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.41median 0.57 -2.47median 0.57 6.39median 0.57

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 monthsAGXJIBP
Revenue $1.19B $14.22B $2.96B
Gross profit $247.88M $3.14B $996.90M
Operating income $182.50M $649.64M $367.80M
Net income $179.31M $301.35M $250.70M
Free cash flow $545.70M $644.54M $291.70M
EPS (diluted) $12.66 $2.85 $9.39
Cash & equivalents $364.48M $1.17B $394.50M
Total debt – $3.58B $1.06B
Shares (diluted) 14.16M 118.90M 26.71M
Enterprise value $2.96B $12.32B $3.78B

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
MetricAGXJIBP
P/E 27.6x 52.5x 21.2x
P/FCF 9.1x 27.4x 18.2x
P/Operating cash flow 8.9x 24.0x 14.7x
P/S 4.2x 1.2x 1.8x
P/B 9.8x 5.4x 8.3x
P/Tangible book 9.9x 6.6x 14.3x
EV/EBITDA 23.8x 22.8x 12.4x
EV/EBIT 24.1x 30.9x 16.2x
EV/Revenue 3.7x 1.4x 2.0x
EV/FCF 8.1x 31.1x 20.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.9x 27.3x 16.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.41 -2.47 6.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAGXJIBP
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.0% 20.1% 0.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 35.1% 28.1% 2.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 43.2% 6.3% 0.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 45.7% 5.8% 4.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 55.5% -23.4% -0.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 71.8% 14.0% 0.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 53.0% -40.0% 0.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.9% -26.5% 1.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 52.6% -30.4% 2.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 67.8% -21.3% 3.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 279.5% 47.1% 0.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 108.5% -10.7% 4.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 289.0% 56.4% 5.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 111.7% -10.1% 3.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAGXJIBP
Gross margin 20.9% 22.1% 33.6%
EBITDA margin 15.5% 6.2% 16.2%
Operating margin 15.4% 4.6% 12.4%
Pretax margin 18.2% 3.6% 11.3%
Net margin 15.1% 2.4% 8.5%
FCF margin 45.9% 4.5% 9.8%
Operating cash flow margin 46.7% 5.2% 12.1%
Return on equity 36.6% 9.2% 38.4%
Return on assets 13.3% 2.5% 11.2%
Return on invested capital – 5.8% 16.0%
Return on capital employed 39.2% 8.2% 19.8%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.2x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.1x 2.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.5% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAGXJIBP
Debt / assets – 30.5% 47.2%
Debt / equity – 1.1x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.7x 1.4x
Debt / FCF – 5.6x 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 63.8% 72.2% 71.6%
Equity / assets 36.2% 27.8% 28.4%
Interest coverage – 3.9x 10.2x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.3x 3.0x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.6x 2.2x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.3x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 5.47 2.87 4.91

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAGXJIBP
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.9% 1.5%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 3.8% 3.6%
Shareholder yield 0.9% 4.8% 5.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 15.6% 53.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 5.1% 25.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 37.2% 6.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 27.7% 8.9% –

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.

ConsensusAGXJIBP
Forward P/E 25.2xFY2026 22.2xFY2026 19.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.02FY2026 $6.78FY2026 $10.04FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +43.9%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026 -12.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.8% +27.6% +2.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.36BFY2026 $9.78BFY2026 $3.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.6%FY2026 -18.7%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.0% -0.5% -7.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAGXJIBP
Held by institutions 99.2% 92.2% 97.9%
Institutions holding 559 872 423
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% +3.0% +0.2%
Institutions buying 315 376 229
Institutions selling 185 360 146
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.04 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.

AGXJIBP
AGX 1.00 -0.08 0.08
J -0.08 1.00 0.32
IBP 0.08 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AGX, J and IBP?

Jacobs Solutions (J) is the largest by market capitalisation: Argan (AGX) $4.95B, Jacobs Solutions (J) $17.67B, Installed Building Products (IBP) $5.31B.

Which stock is cheaper, AGX, J and IBP?

Installed Building Products (IBP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Argan (AGX) 27.6x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 52.5x, Installed Building Products (IBP) 21.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Installed Building Products (IBP) is cheapest (Argan (AGX) 25.2x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 22.2x, Installed Building Products (IBP) 19.9x). 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%, Jacobs Solutions (J) +20.1%, Installed Building Products (IBP) +0.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Argan (AGX) has the highest net margin (Argan (AGX) 15.1%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 2.4%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 8.5%). On return on invested capital, Installed Building Products (IBP) leads (Jacobs Solutions (J) 5.8%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 16.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Argan (AGX) returned the most: Argan (AGX) +20.6%, Jacobs Solutions (J) -4.7%, Installed Building Products (IBP) -25.9%. Over five years, Argan (AGX) compounded fastest (Argan (AGX) +53.6%/yr, Jacobs Solutions (J) +5.4%/yr, Installed Building Products (IBP) +9.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Installed Building Products (IBP) has the highest dividend yield: Argan (AGX) 0.62%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 0.93%, Installed Building Products (IBP) 1.48%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Jacobs Solutions (J) has been the steadiest (Argan (AGX) 74.9%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 33.0%, 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, J 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, Installed Building Products (IBP) 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.