AME vs IPGP vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Ametek, Ipg Photonics and Nordson Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AME Ametek Inc/
$248.64 -1.3% 1M +25.1% 1Y
Market cap
$54.23B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.19B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins
IPGP Ipg Photonics Corp
$74.42 -11.5% 1M -13.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.98B
P/E
73.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.11B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
NDSN Nordson Corp
$331.06 -0.7% 1M +44.2% 1Y
Market cap
$18.36B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 7, Ametek 4, Ipg Photonics 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAMEIPGPNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $54.23B $2.98B $18.36B AME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.2x 73.8x 33.1x NDSN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.3x 70.9x 29.7x NDSN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.3% +14.8% +7.0% IPGP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.9% 3.6% 18.6% AME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.1% — 13.1% NDSN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x — 1.7x NDSN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.01% NDSN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.1% -13.4% +44.2% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.1%/yr -15.1%/yr +4.7%/yr AME
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.2% 72.1% 22.3% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 44/100 58/100 AME

Percentile Scorecard

AMEIPGPNDSN

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

AxisAMEIPGPNDSN
Valuation 19 #165 of 204 44 #115 of 204 30 #144 of 204
Growth 72 #55 of 191 24 #145 of 191 58 #81 of 191
Profitability 92 #16 of 189 32 #128 of 189 96 #8 of 189
Financial Health 43 #126 of 221 96 #9 of 221 54 #102 of 221
Shareholder Returns 66 #54 of 158 24 #120 of 158 53 #75 of 158
Overall 58 44 58
  • AME ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • IPGP 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

PeriodAMEIPGPNDSNSPY
1 month -1.3%-11.5%-0.7% -2.0%
3 months -2.1%-20.9%+6.9% -2.2%
6 months +6.0%-18.1%+17.1% +4.2%
Year to date +21.1%+3.9%+37.7% +10.6%
1 year +25.1%-13.4%+44.2% +10.4%
3 years +73.0%-19.0%+49.4% +73.6%
3 years, per year +20.1%-6.8%+14.3% +20.2%
5 years +77.1%-56.0%+26.0% +61.6%
5 years, per year +12.1%-15.1%+4.7% +10.1%
10 years +461.8%-20.5%+241.4% +261.3%
10 years, per year +18.8%-2.3%+13.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAMEIPGPNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.2%72.1%22.3% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.7%78.2%21.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.072.140.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.08-0.191.98 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.3%-71.5%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.8%-51.6%-1.1% -3.2%
52-week high $258.54$153.91$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $189.90$69.41$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.

MultipleAMEIPGPNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 34.9xmedian 25.4x 78.4xmedian 25.4x 33.2xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 1.9x 2.9xmedian 1.9x 6.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.6xmedian 14.5x 25.3xmedian 14.5x 21.6xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.5xmedian 23.6x 90.4xmedian 23.6x 25.5xmedian 23.6x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.2x 1.5xmedian 2.2x 5.6xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 3.99median 1.21 -4.09median 1.21 7.55median 1.21

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 monthsAMEIPGPNDSN
Revenue $8.19B $1.11B $2.98B
Gross profit $2.98B $428.15M $1.65B
Operating income $2.13B $20.89M $800.96M
Net income $1.63B $40.37M $555.18M
Free cash flow $1.93B $35.01M $724.01M
R&D – $124.42M –
EPS (diluted) $7.09 $0.94 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $666.15M $710.69M $113.43M
Total debt $6.67B – $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 230.04M 42.84M 56.03M
Enterprise value $52.13B -$468.54M $17.91B

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
MetricAMEIPGPNDSN
P/E 34.9x 78.4x 33.2x
P/FCF 29.5x 90.4x 25.5x
P/Operating cash flow 27.4x 29.5x 23.8x
P/S 7.0x 2.9x 6.2x
P/B 4.9x 1.5x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 11.0x 1.5x 7.0x
EV/EBITDA 24.6x 25.3x 21.6x
EV/EBIT 29.5x 107.1x 25.0x
EV/Revenue 7.7x 2.0x 6.7x
EV/FCF 32.6x 63.9x 27.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.3x 20.8x 25.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.99 -4.09 7.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.3% 14.8% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.1% -5.8% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.1% 14.9% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.6% -4.3% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.9% -12.0% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.7% -43.3% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 11.1% 57.4% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.5% -21.8% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.8% 56.4% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.8% -19.2% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.7% -10.8% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.6% -22.6% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 17.6% -3.4% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.2% -33.8% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPNDSN
Gross margin 36.4% 38.7% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 31.3% 8.0% 31.2%
Operating margin 26.0% 1.9% 26.9%
Pretax margin 24.2% 4.7% 22.6%
Net margin 19.9% 3.6% 18.6%
FCF margin 23.6% 3.2% 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 25.4% 9.7% 26.0%
Return on equity 14.2% 1.9% 17.2%
Return on assets 8.4% 1.6% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 11.1% – 13.1%
Return on capital employed 12.7% 1.0% 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 2.7x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 3.8% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPNDSN
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% 12.8% 45.0%
Equity / assets 52.2% 87.2% 55.0%
Interest coverage 18.8x – 8.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 6.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.8x 4.4x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x 3.6x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.77 8.60 6.34

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAMEIPGPNDSN
Dividend yield 0.5% – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 0.3% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.0% 0.3% 2.1%
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.

ConsensusAMEIPGPNDSN
Forward P/E 30.3xFY2026 70.9xFY2026 29.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.20FY2026 $1.05FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.4% +109.5% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.96BFY2026 $1.18BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.5%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.3% +7.7% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAMEIPGPNDSN
Held by institutions 89.6% 71.5% 76.0%
Institutions holding 1,197 358 757
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +4.7% +3.1%
Institutions buying 615 214 390
Institutions selling 399 96 241
Buyers to sellers 1.54 2.23 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.

AMEIPGPNDSN
AME 1.00 0.32 0.64
IPGP 0.32 1.00 0.31
NDSN 0.64 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AME, IPGP and NDSN?

Ametek (AME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ametek (AME) $54.23B, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) $2.98B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.36B.

Which stock is cheaper, AME, IPGP and NDSN?

Nordson (NDSN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ametek (AME) 33.2x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 73.8x, Nordson (NDSN) 33.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nordson (NDSN) is cheapest (Ametek (AME) 30.3x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 70.9x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ipg Photonics (IPGP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ametek (AME) +14.3%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) +14.8%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ametek (AME) has the highest net margin (Ametek (AME) 19.9%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 3.6%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Nordson (NDSN) leads (Ametek (AME) 11.1%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Ametek (AME) +25.1%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -13.4%, Nordson (NDSN) +44.2%. Over five years, Ametek (AME) compounded fastest (Ametek (AME) +12.1%/yr, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -15.1%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +4.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest dividend yield: Ametek (AME) 0.01%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 0.00%, Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%. Ipg Photonics (IPGP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Ametek (AME) 23.2%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 72.1%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AME, IPGP 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, Nordson (NDSN) leads on 7. 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.