AIT vs CNM vs RS Stock Comparison

Applied Industrial Technologies, Core & Main and Reliance Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CNM Core & Main, Inc.
$44.15 +5.9% 1M -16.9% 1Y
Market cap
$8.14B
P/E
18.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.70B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
2 wins
RS Reliance, Inc.
$439.80 +13.5% 1M +55.8% 1Y
Market cap
$22.40B
P/E
20.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
1.13%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Reliance leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Reliance 5, Applied Industrial Technologies 5, Core & Main 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAITCNMRSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.04B $8.14B $22.40B RS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.2x 18.0x 20.3x CNM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.6x 13.7x 17.3x CNM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% -0.5% +24.7% RS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.4% 6.0% 6.4% AIT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 20.0% 12.9% 12.5% AIT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 2.3x 0.8x AIT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.66% — 1.13% RS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.0% -16.9% +55.8% RS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.4%/yr +10.1%/yr +24.7%/yr AIT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.7% 32.8% 25.1% RS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 65/100 59/100 AIT

Percentile Scorecard

AITCNMRS

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

AxisAITCNMRS
Valuation 27 #34 of 46 82 #9 of 46 53 #22 of 46
Growth 58 #17 of 39 37 #25 of 39 47 #21 of 39
Profitability 95 #3 of 39 79 #9 of 39 61 #16 of 39
Financial Health 91 #5 of 47 39 #29 of 47 87 #7 of 47
Shareholder Returns 77 #8 of 31 90 #4 of 31 47 #17 of 31
Overall 69 65 59
  • AIT ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • CNM ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • RS ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAITCNMRSSPY
1 month -10.0%+5.9%+13.5% +0.7%
3 months -11.0%+1.4%+9.8% +3.7%
6 months -1.1%-12.3%+21.3% +7.1%
Year to date +17.8%-15.0%+52.2% +12.8%
1 year +19.0%-16.9%+55.8% +11.9%
3 years +99.7%+48.0%+74.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year +25.9%+14.0%+20.3% +22.8%
5 years +210.3%+61.4%+200.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year +25.4%+10.1%+24.7% +10.9%
10 years +501.9%—+553.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year +19.7%—+20.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAITCNMRSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.7%32.8%25.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.1%31.0%25.0% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.791.130.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.69-0.522.23 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.5%-40.0%-22.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.5%-25.3%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $362.17$59.09$439.80 $779.14
52-week low $240.63$40.35$265.93 $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.

MultipleAITCNMRS
P/E now vs peer median 26.2xmedian 26.2x 18.0xmedian 26.2x 20.3xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.1x 1.1xmedian 1.1x 1.3xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 13.5x 11.0xmedian 13.5x 13.2xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.2xmedian 23.0x 13.0xmedian 23.0x 45.5xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.6x 3.9xmedian 2.6x 2.9xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 3.62median 2.55 1.23median 2.55 -5.94median 2.55

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 monthsAITCNMRS
Revenue $5.06B $7.70B $17.37B
Gross profit $1.54B $2.08B $4.88B
Operating income $564.03M $742.00M $1.53B
Net income $424.12M $479.00M $1.11B
Free cash flow $421.86M $628.00M $491.90M
EPS (diluted) $11.41 $2.37 $21.55
Cash & equivalents – $312.00M $246.00M
Total debt $282.30M $2.45B $1.64B
Shares (diluted) 37.18M 193.36M 51.39M
Enterprise value $10.93B $7.45B $21.47B

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
MetricAITCNMRS
P/E 26.2x 18.0x 20.3x
P/FCF 26.2x 13.0x 45.5x
P/Operating cash flow 24.5x 11.9x 27.9x
P/S 2.2x 1.1x 1.3x
P/B 5.9x 3.9x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 7.0x 6.1x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA 17.8x 11.0x 13.2x
EV/EBIT 19.9x 13.9x 15.6x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 1.3x 1.4x
EV/FCF 26.6x 16.4x 48.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.9x 15.1x 29.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.62 1.23 -5.94

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAITCNMRS
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% -0.5% 24.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 5.1% 4.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.3% 0.9% 20.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 4.7% 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.7% 1.5% 54.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% -1.0% -6.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.6% 5.7% 51.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.3% -5.0% -7.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.7% 9.2% 56.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 14.6% -3.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.8% 12.7% -22.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% -7.5% -25.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -7.3% 11.3% -25.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% -9.2% -31.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAITCNMRS
Gross margin 30.4% 27.0% 28.1%
EBITDA margin 12.4% 12.1% 10.4%
Operating margin 11.2% 9.6% 8.8%
Pretax margin 11.0% 8.1% 8.4%
Net margin 8.4% 6.0% 6.4%
FCF margin 8.3% 8.2% 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 8.9% 8.9% 4.6%
Return on equity 22.6% 22.7% 14.7%
Return on assets 14.2% 7.4% 9.7%
Return on invested capital 20.0% 12.9% 12.5%
Return on capital employed 22.9% 13.9% 15.2%
Asset turnover 1.7x 1.2x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.4x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.2% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAITCNMRS
Debt / assets 9.5% 36.5% 14.1%
Debt / equity 0.1x 1.2x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 2.3x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 0.7x 3.9x 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 36.8% 68.6% 33.4%
Equity / assets 63.2% 31.4% 66.6%
Interest coverage – 6.3x 22.6x
Current ratio 2.9x 2.5x 4.1x
Quick ratio 1.7x 1.5x 2.1x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 10.12 3.05 6.75

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAITCNMRS
Dividend yield 0.7% – 1.1%
Net buyback yield 3.1% 4.5% 2.1%
Shareholder yield 3.8% 4.5% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 17.4% – 23.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) 17.5% – 52.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) 10.6% – 2.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 11.1% – 3.4%

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.

ConsensusAITCNMRS
Forward P/E 23.6xFY2027 13.7xFY2026 17.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.83FY2027 $3.23FY2026 $25.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.2%FY2027 +39.8%FY2026 +78.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.8% +11.1% +1.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.91BFY2027 $8.13BFY2026 $16.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.1%FY2027 +6.2%FY2026 +17.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% -3.5% +10.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAITCNMRS
Held by institutions 94.4% 100.0% 82.3%
Institutions holding 618 450 689
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +2.8% +1.0%
Institutions buying 327 222 341
Institutions selling 207 177 230
Buyers to sellers 1.58 1.25 1.48

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.

AITCNMRS
AIT 1.00 0.48 0.38
CNM 0.48 1.00 0.39
RS 0.38 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AIT, CNM and RS?

Reliance (RS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) $11.04B, Core & Main (CNM) $8.14B, Reliance (RS) $22.40B.

Which stock is cheaper, AIT, CNM and RS?

Core & Main (CNM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 26.2x, Core & Main (CNM) 18.0x, Reliance (RS) 20.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Core & Main (CNM) is cheapest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 23.6x, Core & Main (CNM) 13.7x, Reliance (RS) 17.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Reliance (RS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.5%, Core & Main (CNM) -0.5%, Reliance (RS) +24.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has the highest net margin (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 8.4%, Core & Main (CNM) 6.0%, Reliance (RS) 6.4%). On return on invested capital, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) leads (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 20.0%, Core & Main (CNM) 12.9%, Reliance (RS) 12.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Reliance (RS) returned the most: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +19.0%, Core & Main (CNM) -16.9%, Reliance (RS) +55.8%. Over five years, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) compounded fastest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +25.4%/yr, Core & Main (CNM) +10.1%/yr, Reliance (RS) +24.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Reliance (RS) has the highest dividend yield: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 0.66%, Reliance (RS) 1.13%. Core & Main (CNM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Reliance (RS) has been the steadiest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 27.7%, Core & Main (CNM) 32.8%, Reliance (RS) 25.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AIT, CNM and RS?

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