AGX vs STRL vs J Stock Comparison

Argan, Sterling Infrastructure and Jacobs Solutions 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
3 wins
J Jacobs Solutions Inc.
$147.11 +6.3% 1M -7.8% 1Y
Market cap
$17.44B
P/E
51.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.22B
Div. yield
0.01%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Sterling Infrastructure leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Sterling Infrastructure 6, Jacobs Solutions 3, Argan 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAGXSTRLJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.79B $11.30B $17.44B J
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.7x 26.2x 51.5x STRL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.5x 19.3x 21.7x STRL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.0% +60.8% +20.1% STRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.1% 12.5% 2.4% AGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 29.2% 5.8% STRL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.3x 2.7x STRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.01% J
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.0% -4.8% -7.8% AGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +50.9%/yr +73.7%/yr +5.5%/yr STRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 74.9% 85.8% 33.1% J
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 74/100 71/100 47/100 AGX

Percentile Scorecard

AGXSTRLJ

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

AxisAGXSTRLJ
Valuation 65 #19 of 52 49 #27 of 52 35 #34 of 52
Growth 100 #1 of 37 86 #6 of 37 31 #26 of 37
Profitability 100 #1 of 37 97 #2 of 37 53 #18 of 37
Financial Health 64 #21 of 57 75 #15 of 57 46 #31 of 57
Shareholder Returns 39 #17 of 27 50 #14 of 27 69 #9 of 27
Overall 74 71 47
  • AGX ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • STRL ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • J ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAGXSTRLJSPY
1 month -9.8%-29.6%+6.3% -0.8%
3 months -39.3%-43.2%+8.8% +3.5%
6 months -50.2%-28.6%+16.9% +7.0%
Year to date +5.1%+17.8%+11.1% +12.2%
1 year +11.0%-4.8%-7.8% +13.0%
3 years +638.3%+408.9%+35.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +94.8%+72.1%+10.7% +23.1%
5 years +682.4%+1,477.3%+30.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +50.9%+73.7%+5.5% +11.0%
10 years +494.8%+4,609.1%+249.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +19.5%+47.0%+13.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAGXSTRLJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 74.9%85.8%33.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.1%81.7%36.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.713.390.77 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.15-0.06-0.24 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -58.8%-64.2%-34.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -58.8%-63.7%-8.6% -1.8%
52-week high $798.55$993.74$161.00 $779.14
52-week low $292.22$283.57$107.27 $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.

MultipleAGXSTRLJ
P/E now vs peer median 25.8xmedian 25.7x 25.7xmedian 25.7x 51.2xmedian 25.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 0.8x 3.2xmedian 0.8x 1.2xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.0xmedian 12.9x 15.7xmedian 12.9x 22.3xmedian 12.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 22.5x 23.0xmedian 22.5x 26.7xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 9.1xmedian 2.3x 8.0xmedian 2.3x 5.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.38median 0.56 0.14median 0.56 -2.41median 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 monthsAGXSTRLJ
Revenue $1.19B $3.44B $14.22B
Gross profit $247.88M $818.59M $3.14B
Operating income $182.50M $602.35M $649.64M
Net income $179.31M $460.44M $301.35M
Free cash flow $545.70M $482.00M $644.54M
EPS (diluted) $12.66 $13.85 $2.85
Cash & equivalents $364.48M $464.45M $1.17B
Total debt – $283.88M $3.58B
Shares (diluted) 14.16M 31.14M 118.90M
Enterprise value $2.80B $9.63B $12.11B

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
MetricAGXSTRLJ
P/E 25.8x 25.7x 51.2x
P/FCF 8.5x 23.0x 26.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.3x 18.5x 23.4x
P/S 3.9x 3.2x 1.2x
P/B 9.1x 8.0x 5.3x
P/Tangible book 9.2x 15.2x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 22.0x 15.7x 22.3x
EV/EBIT 22.3x 18.1x 30.2x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 3.2x 1.4x
EV/FCF 7.5x 22.6x 30.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.3x 18.2x 26.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.38 0.14 -2.41

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAGXSTRLJ
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.0% 60.8% 20.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 35.1% 22.6% 28.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 43.2% 72.5% 6.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 45.7% 39.4% 5.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 55.5% 94.1% -23.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 71.8% 49.7% 14.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 53.0% 51.3% -40.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.9% 55.4% -26.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 52.6% 49.5% -30.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 67.8% 183.9% -21.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 279.5% 20.3% 47.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 108.5% 18.6% -10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 289.0% 10.6% 56.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 111.7% 18.8% -10.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAGXSTRLJ
Gross margin 20.9% 23.8% 22.1%
EBITDA margin 15.5% 20.2% 6.2%
Operating margin 15.4% 17.5% 4.6%
Pretax margin 18.2% 17.5% 3.6%
Net margin 15.1% 12.5% 2.4%
FCF margin 45.9% 14.0% 4.5%
Operating cash flow margin 46.7% 17.4% 5.2%
Return on equity 36.6% 35.6% 9.2%
Return on assets 13.3% 15.4% 2.5%
Return on invested capital – 29.2% 5.8%
Return on capital employed 39.2% 35.5% 8.2%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.2x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.1x 1.3x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.8% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAGXSTRLJ
Debt / assets – 8.9% 30.5%
Debt / equity – 0.2x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.3x 2.7x
Debt / FCF – 0.6x 5.6x
Liabilities / assets 63.8% 56.5% 72.2%
Equity / assets 36.2% 43.5% 27.8%
Interest coverage – 36.1x 3.9x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.4x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.4x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 5.25 5.93 2.84

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAGXSTRLJ
Dividend yield 0.7% – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 0.6% 3.9%
Shareholder yield 0.9% 0.6% 4.9%
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.

ConsensusAGXSTRLJ
Forward P/E 23.5xFY2026 19.3xFY2026 21.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.02FY2026 $18.73FY2026 $6.78FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +43.9%FY2026 +72.2%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.8% +43.6% +27.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.36BFY2026 $4.20BFY2026 $9.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +43.6%FY2026 +68.8%FY2026 -18.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.0% +12.4% -0.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAGXSTRLJ
Held by institutions 99.2% 85.7% 92.2%
Institutions holding 559 888 871
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% -6.1% +3.0%
Institutions buying 315 456 375
Institutions selling 185 366 360
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.25 1.04

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.

AGXSTRLJ
AGX 1.00 0.52 -0.08
STRL 0.52 1.00 0.06
J -0.08 0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AGX, STRL and J?

Jacobs Solutions (J) is the largest by market capitalisation: Argan (AGX) $4.79B, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) $11.30B, Jacobs Solutions (J) $17.44B.

Which stock is cheaper, AGX, STRL and J?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Argan (AGX) 26.7x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 26.2x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 51.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is cheapest (Argan (AGX) 23.5x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 19.3x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 21.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Argan (AGX) +29.0%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +60.8%, Jacobs Solutions (J) +20.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Argan (AGX) has the highest net margin (Argan (AGX) 15.1%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 12.5%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 2.4%). On return on invested capital, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) leads (Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 29.2%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 5.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Argan (AGX) returned the most: Argan (AGX) +11.0%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) -4.8%, Jacobs Solutions (J) -7.8%. Over five years, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) compounded fastest (Argan (AGX) +50.9%/yr, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +73.7%/yr, Jacobs Solutions (J) +5.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Jacobs Solutions (J) has the highest dividend yield: Argan (AGX) 0.01%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 0.00%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 0.01%. Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Jacobs Solutions (J) has been the steadiest (Argan (AGX) 74.9%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 85.8%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 33.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AGX, STRL and J?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) leads on 6. 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.