AIT vs GIC vs WSO Stock Comparison

Applied Industrial Technologies, Global Industrial and Watsco Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (GWW) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
GIC GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL Co
$47.08 +8.4% 1M +70.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.80B
P/E
19.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.47B
Div. yield
2.34%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
6 wins
WSO Watsco Inc
$311.15 +7.0% 1M -13.1% 1Y
Market cap
$11.07B
P/E
26.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.28B
Div. yield
4.15%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Global Industrial leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Global Industrial 6, Watsco 3, Applied Industrial Technologies 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAITGICWSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.26B $1.80B $11.07B WSO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.3x 19.4x 26.9x GIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.7x 21.0x 28.5x GIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +10.2% -3.0% GIC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.4% 6.3% 6.1% AIT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 20.0% — 14.9% AIT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x — -0.5x WSO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.71% 2.34% 4.15% WSO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.9% +70.4% -13.1% GIC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.2%/yr +2.2%/yr +1.1%/yr AIT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.8% 26.6% 35.6% GIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 79/100 66/100 GIC

Percentile Scorecard

AITGICWSO

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

AxisAITGICWSO
Valuation 16 #39 of 46 67 #16 of 46 62 #18 of 46
Growth 53 #19 of 39 92 #4 of 39 32 #27 of 39
Profitability 95 #3 of 41 85 #7 of 41 78 #10 of 41
Financial Health 90 #6 of 49 75 #13 of 49 94 #4 of 49
Shareholder Returns 79 #8 of 34 76 #9 of 34 67 #12 of 34
Overall 66 79 66
  • AIT ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • GIC ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • WSO 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

PeriodAITGICWSOSPY
1 month -18.6%+8.4%+7.0% -5.9%
3 months -21.8%+18.6%-3.1% -4.6%
6 months -9.5%+55.8%-27.5% +0.2%
Year to date +9.4%+61.1%-7.7% +7.5%
1 year +8.9%+70.4%-13.1% +8.2%
3 years +78.2%+33.1%-15.1% +68.3%
3 years, per year +21.2%+10.0%-5.3% +19.0%
5 years +172.3%+11.6%+5.4% +56.5%
5 years, per year +22.2%+2.2%+1.1% +9.4%
10 years +470.9%+531.9%+131.2% +251.5%
10 years, per year +19.0%+20.2%+8.7% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureAITGICWSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.8%26.6%35.6% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.6%25.3%36.8% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.860.480.89 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.312.65-0.37 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.5%-54.8%-50.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.4%-0.9%-31.9% -5.9%
52-week high $362.17$47.51$456.86 $779.14
52-week low $240.63$26.65$279.97 $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.

MultipleAITGICWSO
P/E now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 22.6x 19.4xmedian 22.6x 26.9xmedian 22.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.0x 1.2xmedian 1.0x 1.5xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.6xmedian 12.6x 12.9xmedian 12.6x 14.7xmedian 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 20.2x 16.6xmedian 20.2x 15.9xmedian 20.2x
P/B now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 2.4x 5.0xmedian 2.4x 3.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 3.36median 2.13 1.88median 2.13 -2.68median 2.13

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 monthsAITGICWSO
Revenue $5.06B $1.47B $7.28B
Gross profit $1.54B $535.30M $2.00B
Operating income $564.03M $122.20M $684.85M
Net income $424.12M $92.90M $560.52M
Free cash flow $421.86M $108.60M $697.14M
EPS (diluted) $11.41 $2.43 $11.56
Cash & equivalents – $119.20M $364.19M
Total debt $282.30M – $119.72M
Shares (diluted) 37.18M 38.20M 38.19M
Enterprise value $10.14B $1.46B $9.24B

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
MetricAITGICWSO
P/E 24.3x 19.4x 26.9x
P/FCF 24.3x 16.6x 15.9x
P/Operating cash flow 22.7x 16.0x 15.1x
P/S 2.0x 1.2x 1.5x
P/B 5.4x 5.0x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 6.5x 5.3x 3.4x
EV/EBITDA 16.6x 12.9x 14.7x
EV/EBIT 18.5x 13.7x 15.7x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 1.1x 1.5x
EV/FCF 24.7x 15.5x 15.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.1x 15.0x 14.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.36 1.88 -2.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAITGICWSO
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 10.2% -3.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 6.6% 0.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.3% 13.1% -3.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 8.3% 0.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.7% 32.1% -11.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 9.6% -5.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.6% 36.2% -10.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 10.3% -6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.7% 37.3% -11.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 10.3% -10.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.8% 52.1% 71.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% -4.9% 21.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -7.3% 53.6% 76.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% -4.5% 22.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAITGICWSO
Gross margin 30.4% 36.4% 27.5%
EBITDA margin 12.4% 8.8% 10.0%
Operating margin 11.2% 8.3% 9.4%
Pretax margin 11.0% 8.4% 9.7%
Net margin 8.4% 6.3% 6.1%
FCF margin 8.3% 7.4% 9.6%
Operating cash flow margin 8.9% 7.6% 10.1%
Return on equity 22.6% 26.5% 16.8%
Return on assets 14.2% 14.7% 11.5%
Return on invested capital 20.0% – 14.9%
Return on capital employed 22.9% 28.0% 18.1%
Asset turnover 1.7x 2.3x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.4% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAITGICWSO
Debt / assets 9.5% – 2.4%
Debt / equity 0.1x – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x – -0.5x
Debt / FCF 0.7x – 0.2x
Liabilities / assets 36.8% 43.5% 31.7%
Equity / assets 63.2% 56.5% 68.3%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.9x 2.4x 3.2x
Quick ratio 1.7x 1.5x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.6x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 9.69 7.73 6.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAITGICWSO
Dividend yield 0.7% 2.3% 4.1%
Net buyback yield 3.4% 0.6% -0.5%
Shareholder yield 4.1% 3.0% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 17.4% – 89.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 17.5% – 71.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 10.6% – 11.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 11.1% – 11.4%

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.

ConsensusAITGICWSO
Forward P/E 21.7xFY2027 21.0xFY2026 28.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.94FY2027 $2.24FY2026 $10.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.2%FY2027 +21.1%FY2026 -10.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.2% +3.6% +11.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.92BFY2027 $1.39BFY2026 $7.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.0%FY2027 +1.0%FY2026 +1.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.2% +6.8% +11.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAITGICWSO
Held by institutions 94.4% 33.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 619 162 788
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +12.0% -0.9%
Institutions buying 328 90 341
Institutions selling 207 50 306
Buyers to sellers 1.58 1.80 1.11

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.

AITGICWSO
AIT 1.00 0.34 0.41
GIC 0.34 1.00 0.28
WSO 0.41 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AIT, GIC and WSO?

Watsco (WSO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) $10.26B, Global Industrial (GIC) $1.80B, Watsco (WSO) $11.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, AIT, GIC and WSO?

Global Industrial (GIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 24.3x, Global Industrial (GIC) 19.4x, Watsco (WSO) 26.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Global Industrial (GIC) is cheapest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 21.7x, Global Industrial (GIC) 21.0x, Watsco (WSO) 28.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Global Industrial (GIC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.5%, Global Industrial (GIC) +10.2%, Watsco (WSO) -3.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has the highest net margin (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 8.4%, Global Industrial (GIC) 6.3%, Watsco (WSO) 6.1%). On return on invested capital, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) leads (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 20.0%, Watsco (WSO) 14.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Global Industrial (GIC) returned the most: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.9%, Global Industrial (GIC) +70.4%, Watsco (WSO) -13.1%. Over five years, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) compounded fastest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +22.2%/yr, Global Industrial (GIC) +2.2%/yr, Watsco (WSO) +1.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Watsco (WSO) has the highest dividend yield: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 0.71%, Global Industrial (GIC) 2.34%, Watsco (WSO) 4.15%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Global Industrial (GIC) has been the steadiest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 28.8%, Global Industrial (GIC) 26.6%, Watsco (WSO) 35.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AIT, GIC and WSO?

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