AME vs IMAX vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Ametek, Imax and Nordson Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AME Ametek Inc/
$223.04 -12.1% 1M +12.6% 1Y
Market cap
$51.15B
P/E
31.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.19B
Div. yield
0.60%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
IMAX Imax Corp
$48.08 -5.0% 1M +43.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.65B
P/E
19.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$483.98M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
8 wins
NDSN Nordson Corp
$310.49 -7.1% 1M +33.1% 1Y
Market cap
$17.29B
P/E
31.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
1.10%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Imax leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Imax 8, Nordson 3, Ametek 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAMEIMAXNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $51.15B $2.65B $17.29B AME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.3x 19.7x 31.2x IMAX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.9x 20.7x 27.9x IMAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.3% +28.1% +7.0% IMAX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.9% 27.7% 18.6% IMAX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.1% 24.1% 13.1% IMAX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x — 1.7x NDSN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.60% — 1.10% NDSN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.6% +43.3% +33.1% IMAX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.6%/yr +18.3%/yr +3.5%/yr IMAX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.5% 43.6% 23.2% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 68/100 56/100 IMAX

Percentile Scorecard

AMEIMAXNDSN

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

AxisAMEIMAXNDSN
Valuation 18 #167 of 204 57 #88 of 204 23 #158 of 204
Growth 70 #58 of 191 96 #8 of 191 57 #83 of 191
Profitability 90 #19 of 189 94 #13 of 189 96 #9 of 189
Financial Health 43 #126 of 221 78 #49 of 221 53 #104 of 221
Shareholder Returns 67 #54 of 159 13 #138 of 159 50 #80 of 159
Overall 58 68 56
  • AME ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • IMAX ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAMEIMAXNDSNSPY
1 month -12.1%-5.0%-7.1% -5.9%
3 months -11.3%-3.3%+0.5% -4.6%
6 months -5.0%+34.9%+9.3% +0.2%
Year to date +8.6%+30.1%+29.1% +7.5%
1 year +12.6%+43.3%+33.1% +8.2%
3 years +55.5%+168.9%+40.4% +68.3%
3 years, per year +15.9%+39.1%+12.0% +19.0%
5 years +58.3%+131.7%+18.8% +56.5%
5 years, per year +9.6%+18.3%+3.5% +9.4%
10 years +402.5%+54.8%+222.0% +251.5%
10 years, per year +17.5%+4.5%+12.4% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureAMEIMAXNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.5%43.6%23.2% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.2%37.7%23.5% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.050.320.94 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.510.991.42 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.3%-42.3%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.7%-14.7%-7.2% -5.9%
52-week high $258.54$56.35$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $189.90$33.09$226.69 $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.

MultipleAMEIMAXNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 31.3xmedian 23.4x 19.7xmedian 23.4x 31.2xmedian 23.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.2xmedian 1.7x 5.5xmedian 1.7x 5.8xmedian 1.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 13.4x 11.9xmedian 13.4x 20.4xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.5xmedian 21.9x 18.2xmedian 21.9x 23.9xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 2.1x 4.5xmedian 2.1x 5.3xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 3.58median 1.02 0.28median 1.02 7.08median 1.02

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 monthsAMEIMAXNDSN
Revenue $8.19B $483.98M $2.98B
Gross profit $2.98B $307.15M $1.65B
Operating income $2.13B $129.71M $800.96M
Net income $1.63B $141.58M $555.18M
Free cash flow $1.93B $145.98M $724.01M
R&D – $6.81M –
EPS (diluted) $7.09 $2.31 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $666.15M $207.92M $113.43M
Total debt $6.67B – $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 230.04M 58.01M 56.03M
Enterprise value $49.05B $2.09B $16.85B

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
MetricAMEIMAXNDSN
P/E 31.3x 19.7x 31.2x
P/FCF 26.5x 18.2x 23.9x
P/Operating cash flow 24.6x 17.5x 22.4x
P/S 6.2x 5.5x 5.8x
P/B 4.4x 4.5x 5.3x
P/Tangible book 9.9x 4.7x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 22.3x 11.9x 20.4x
EV/EBIT 26.8x 18.9x 23.6x
EV/Revenue 7.0x 5.1x 6.3x
EV/FCF 29.6x 16.8x 26.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.5x 16.1x 24.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.58 0.28 7.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAMEIMAXNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.3% 28.1% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 7.8% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.1% 38.1% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 11.9% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.9% 86.3% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.7% 32.9% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 11.1% 183.9% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 66.1% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.8% 224.8% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 71.6% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.7% 38.8% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.6% 28.5% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 17.6% 49.2% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 30.5% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAMEIMAXNDSN
Gross margin 36.4% 63.5% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 31.3% 42.5% 31.2%
Operating margin 26.0% 26.8% 26.9%
Pretax margin 24.2% 22.4% 22.6%
Net margin 19.9% 27.7% 18.6%
FCF margin 23.6% 30.2% 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 25.4% 31.3% 26.0%
Return on equity 14.2% 27.3% 17.2%
Return on assets 8.4% 14.5% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 11.1% 24.1% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 12.7% – 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 6.3% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAMEIMAXNDSN
Debt / assets 29.8% – 29.1%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x – 1.7x
Debt / FCF 3.5x – 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 47.8% 42.8% 45.0%
Equity / assets 52.2% 57.2% 55.0%
Interest coverage 18.8x 17.4x 8.8x
Current ratio 1.4x – 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.8x – 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.44 – 6.09

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAMEIMAXNDSN
Dividend yield 0.6% – 1.1%
Net buyback yield 0.5% -1.1% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.1% -1.1% 2.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 18.7% – 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 15.8% – 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 9.1% – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.9% – 7.2%

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.

ConsensusAMEIMAXNDSN
Forward P/E 26.9xFY2026 20.7xFY2026 27.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.30FY2026 $2.32FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +11.7%FY2026 +60.0%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.7% +4.7% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.01BFY2026 $499.59MFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.3%FY2026 +21.8%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.6% -5.4% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAMEIMAXNDSN
Held by institutions 89.6% 91.5% 76.0%
Institutions holding 1,198 257 757
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +4.5% +3.1%
Institutions buying 615 144 390
Institutions selling 399 69 241
Buyers to sellers 1.54 2.09 1.62

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.

AMEIMAXNDSN
AME 1.00 0.15 0.66
IMAX 0.15 1.00 0.10
NDSN 0.66 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AME, IMAX and NDSN?

Ametek (AME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ametek (AME) $51.15B, Imax (IMAX) $2.65B, Nordson (NDSN) $17.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, AME, IMAX and NDSN?

Imax (IMAX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ametek (AME) 31.3x, Imax (IMAX) 19.7x, Nordson (NDSN) 31.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Imax (IMAX) is cheapest (Ametek (AME) 26.9x, Imax (IMAX) 20.7x, Nordson (NDSN) 27.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Imax (IMAX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ametek (AME) +14.3%, Imax (IMAX) +28.1%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Imax (IMAX) has the highest net margin (Ametek (AME) 19.9%, Imax (IMAX) 27.7%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Imax (IMAX) leads (Ametek (AME) 11.1%, Imax (IMAX) 24.1%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Imax (IMAX) returned the most: Ametek (AME) +12.6%, Imax (IMAX) +43.3%, Nordson (NDSN) +33.1%. Over five years, Imax (IMAX) compounded fastest (Ametek (AME) +9.6%/yr, Imax (IMAX) +18.3%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +3.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest dividend yield: Ametek (AME) 0.60%, Nordson (NDSN) 1.10%. Imax (IMAX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Ametek (AME) 24.5%, Imax (IMAX) 43.6%, Nordson (NDSN) 23.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AME, IMAX and NDSN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Imax (IMAX) leads on 8. 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.