ALTO vs BSIN vs LIN Stock Comparison

Alto Ingredients, Big Sky Industrial and Linde Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALTO Alto Ingredients, Inc.
$3.65 +0.6% 1M +257.8% 1Y
Market cap
$272.87M
P/E
5.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$943.33M
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
4 wins
BSIN Big Sky Industrial Inc.
$1.56 +11.4% 1M +31.1% 1Y
Market cap
$80.00M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.87M
Div. yield
–
Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Energy
1 win
LIN Linde Plc
$503.15 +6.3% 1M +16.5% 1Y
Market cap
$237.07B
P/E
33.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.24B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Gases Basic Materials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Linde leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Linde 6, Alto Ingredients 4, Big Sky Industrial 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALTOBSINLINLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $272.87M $80.00M $237.07B LIN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 5.4x -7.5x 33.8x ALTO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.9x — 30.1x ALTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.1% -48.7% +8.2% LIN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.4% -155.3% 19.3% LIN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -25.6% 10.3% LIN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 0.2x 1.8x BSIN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +257.8% +31.1% +16.5% ALTO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.3%/yr -16.0%/yr +9.5%/yr LIN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 86.3% 74.6% 19.0% LIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 84/100 24/100 57/100 ALTO

Percentile Scorecard

ALTOBSINLIN

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

AxisALTOBSINLIN
Valuation 100 #1 of 94 8 #91 of 99 20 #75 of 94
Growth 97 #4 of 92 20 #78 of 97 55 #42 of 92
Profitability 65 #31 of 86 8 #88 of 96 94 #6 of 86
Financial Health 76 #23 of 93 73 #28 of 102 49 #48 of 93
Shareholder Returns – 8 #71 of 77 67 #24 of 71
Overall 84 24 57
  • ALTO ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • BSIN ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream
  • LIN ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodALTOBSINLINSPY
1 month +0.6%+11.4%+6.3% +0.7%
3 months -21.0%+39.3%-1.1% +3.7%
6 months -33.9%+43.1%+0.4% +7.1%
Year to date +26.7%+69.6%+18.0% +12.8%
1 year +257.8%+31.1%+16.5% +11.9%
3 years -11.2%+9.1%+32.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year -3.9%+2.9%+9.9% +22.8%
5 years -31.4%-58.1%+57.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year -7.3%-16.0%+9.5% +10.9%
10 years -51.3%-90.4%+328.4% +262.0%
10 years, per year -6.9%-20.9%+15.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureALTOBSINLINSPY
Volatility, 1Y 86.3%74.6%19.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 67.8%75.2%19.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.31-0.670.05 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.990.420.87 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.1%-91.2%-23.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.1%-5.5%-8.0% -1.2%
52-week high $5.99$1.65$546.64 $779.14
52-week low $1.01$0.69$389.38 $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.

MultipleALTOBSINLIN
P/E now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 21.0x -7.7xmedian 11.9x 33.1xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.4x 11.9xmedian 2.0x 6.4xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 12.9x -10.1xmedian 5.9x 19.5xmedian 12.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 15.5x -18.8xmedian 10.0x 45.5xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.7x 2.2xmedian 1.5x 5.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.14median 1.68 0.06median 1.36 4.39median 1.68

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 monthsALTOBSINLIN
Revenue $943.33M $6.87M $36.24B
Gross profit $64.51M – $17.35B
Operating income $35.61M -$10.56M $9.16B
Net income $51.99M -$10.67M $7.03B
Free cash flow $49.94M -$4.35M $5.08B
R&D – $406.00K $147.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.66 $-0.20 $15.15
Cash & equivalents $23.96M $5.99M $3.95B
Total debt $60.47M $4.50M $26.70B
Shares (diluted) 77.07M 52.39M 462.51M
Enterprise value $172.67M $60.98M $219.21B

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
MetricALTOBSINLIN
P/E 5.4x -7.7x 33.1x
P/FCF 5.7x -18.8x 45.5x
P/Operating cash flow 4.4x -19.2x 21.6x
P/S 0.3x 11.9x 6.4x
P/B 1.1x 2.2x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 2.2x 7.8x
EV/EBITDA 5.2x -10.1x 19.5x
EV/EBIT 9.0x -7.6x 27.7x
EV/Revenue 0.3x 11.7x 7.0x
EV/FCF 6.4x -18.4x 49.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.9x -18.8x 23.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.14 0.06 4.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALTOBSINLIN
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.1% -48.7% 8.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -10.1% -43.7% 3.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7,720% – 6.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 63.6% – 5.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 162.4% 58.2% -0.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 37.3% -32.3% 6.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 177.8% 54.2% -0.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 40.6% -93.9% 5.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 172.1% 71.4% 0.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 39.5% -132.5% 7.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 731.1% -128.5% 5.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 63.4% -35.6% 7.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 481.7% 0.1% 0.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 38.9% 29.3% -0.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALTOBSINLIN
Gross margin 6.8% – 47.9%
EBITDA margin 6.6% -116.0% 35.8%
Operating margin 3.8% -153.7% 25.3%
Pretax margin 5.4% -155.2% 25.2%
Net margin 5.4% -155.3% 19.3%
FCF margin 5.3% -63.4% 14.0%
Operating cash flow margin 6.9% -62.1% 29.6%
Return on equity 20.2% -28.3% 17.5%
Return on assets 13.1% -19.2% 8.1%
Return on invested capital – -25.6% 10.3%
Return on capital employed 10.4% -21.5% 12.6%
Asset turnover 2.4x 0.1x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 0.4x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 27.7% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALTOBSINLIN
Debt / assets 15.2% 8.0% 30.3%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.1x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 0.2x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 1.2x -1.0x 5.3x
Liabilities / assets 34.6% 33.8% 53.5%
Equity / assets 65.4% 66.2% 46.5%
Interest coverage 3.8x – 35.5x
Current ratio 3.2x 1.2x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.8x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.9x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.43 -3.31 3.98

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALTOBSINLIN
Dividend yield – – 1.3%
Net buyback yield – -21.0% 1.7%
Shareholder yield – -21.0% 3.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 41.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 57.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 5.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 5.9%

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.

ConsensusALTOBSINLIN
Forward P/E 9.9xFY2026 – 30.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.37FY2026 $-0.21FY2026 $16.73FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +131.3%FY2026 – +1.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -16.2% – +14.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.00BFY2026 $6.79MFY2026 $38.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.1%FY2026 -7.6%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.1% +149.4% -4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALTOBSINLIN
Held by institutions 46.3% 14.7% 85.2%
Institutions holding 134 39 2,323
Change in shares held, QoQ +14.2% +63.3% +4.2%
Institutions buying 97 28 1,214
Institutions selling 25 4 765
Buyers to sellers 3.88 7.00 1.59

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.

ALTOBSINLIN
ALTO 1.00 0.10 -0.07
BSIN 0.10 1.00 -0.04
LIN -0.07 -0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALTO, BSIN and LIN?

Linde (LIN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) $272.87M, Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) $80.00M, Linde (LIN) $237.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALTO, BSIN and LIN?

Alto Ingredients (ALTO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 5.4x, Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) -7.5x, Linde (LIN) 33.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alto Ingredients (ALTO) is cheapest (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 9.9x, Linde (LIN) 30.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Linde (LIN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) +1.1%, Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) -48.7%, Linde (LIN) +8.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Linde (LIN) has the highest net margin (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 5.4%, Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) -155.3%, Linde (LIN) 19.3%). On return on invested capital, Linde (LIN) leads (Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) -25.6%, Linde (LIN) 10.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alto Ingredients (ALTO) returned the most: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) +257.8%, Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) +31.1%, Linde (LIN) +16.5%. Over five years, Linde (LIN) compounded fastest (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) -7.3%/yr, Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) -16.0%/yr, Linde (LIN) +9.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 0.00%, Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) 0.00%, Linde (LIN) 0.01%. Alto Ingredients (ALTO) and Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Linde (LIN) has been the steadiest (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 86.3%, Big Sky Industrial (BSIN) 74.6%, Linde (LIN) 19.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALTO, BSIN and LIN?

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