ATS vs IPGP vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Ats, Ipg Photonics and Nordson Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ATS ATS Corp /ATS
$19.00 -0.5% 1M -30.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.86B
P/E
54.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.12B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins
IPGP Ipg Photonics Corp
$74.34 -4.8% 1M -14.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.16B
P/E
114.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.07B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
NDSN Nordson Corp
$324.30 -0.5% 1M +36.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.06B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
1.05%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 8, Ats 2, Ipg Photonics 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionATSIPGPNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.86B $3.16B $18.06B NDSN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 54.8x 114.6x 32.5x NDSN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.4x 70.8x 29.1x ATS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.8% +13.0% +7.0% ATS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.6% 2.6% 18.6% NDSN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.7% — 13.1% NDSN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.5x — 1.7x NDSN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.00% 1.05% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -30.0% -14.7% +36.1% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -14.1%/yr +5.3%/yr NDSN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.9% 72.0% 22.2% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 58/100 57/100 IPGP

Percentile Scorecard

ATSIPGPNDSN

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

AxisATSIPGPNDSN
Valuation 87 #28 of 203 40 #123 of 203 30 #142 of 203
Growth 79 #40 of 188 31 #130 of 188 55 #85 of 188
Profitability 43 #104 of 183 31 #126 of 183 96 #8 of 183
Financial Health 24 #165 of 217 96 #9 of 217 54 #101 of 217
Shareholder Returns 27 #112 of 153 93 #11 of 153 51 #76 of 153
Overall 52 58 57
  • ATS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IPGP ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodATSIPGPNDSNSPY
1 month -0.5%-4.8%-0.5% -0.2%
3 months -29.5%-11.5%+7.2% +3.9%
6 months -40.3%-33.8%+15.1% +8.2%
Year to date -31.0%+3.8%+34.9% +12.9%
1 year -30.0%-14.7%+36.1% +12.3%
3 years -45.0%-15.7%+52.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year -18.1%-5.5%+15.2% +23.3%
5 years —-53.2%+29.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year —-14.1%+5.3% +10.9%
10 years —-21.0%+225.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year —-2.3%+12.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureATSIPGPNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.9%72.0%22.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 62.3%77.3%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.542.140.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.58-0.201.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.5%-72.0%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.3%-51.7%-3.1% -1.2%
52-week high $35.38$153.91$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $17.29$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.

MultipleATSIPGPNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 54.8xmedian 25.2x 114.6xmedian 25.2x 32.5xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.9x 3.0xmedian 1.9x 6.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.3xmedian 14.0x 30.5xmedian 14.0x 21.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.3xmedian 21.7x 152.0xmedian 21.7x 24.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.3x 1.5xmedian 2.3x 5.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -1.71median 1.32 -3.37median 1.32 7.39median 1.32

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 monthsATSIPGPNDSN
Revenue $2.12B $1.07B $2.98B
Gross profit $594.19M $410.10M $1.65B
Operating income $119.42M $7.97M $800.96M
Net income $33.97M $27.56M $555.18M
Free cash flow $180.36M $20.80M $724.01M
R&D – $123.44M –
EPS (diluted) $0.35 $0.64 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $140.09M $399.23M $113.43M
Total debt $3.79B – $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 98.14M 42.91M 56.03M
Enterprise value $1.19B -$231.98M $17.62B

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
MetricATSIPGPNDSN
P/E 54.8x 114.6x 32.5x
P/FCF 10.3x 152.0x 24.9x
P/Operating cash flow 9.1x 32.8x 23.4x
P/S 0.9x 3.0x 6.1x
P/B 1.5x 1.5x 5.5x
P/Tangible book 2.4x 1.5x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 12.3x 30.5x 21.2x
EV/EBIT 21.7x 287.5x 24.6x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 2.1x 6.6x
EV/FCF 14.4x 110.1x 27.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.7x 23.8x 25.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.71 -3.37 7.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricATSIPGPNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.8% 13.0% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.5% -7.9% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 24.9% 25.1% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.2% -6.8% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 4,708% 103.4% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -12.6% -62.6% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 228.1% 112.8% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -30.6% -36.2% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 227.3% 112.7% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -32.0% -34.0% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 32.1% -36.2% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 77.8% -24.2% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 37.0% -67.8% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 279.9% -43.0% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricATSIPGPNDSN
Gross margin 28.0% 38.4% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 10.0% 7.0% 31.2%
Operating margin 5.6% 0.7% 26.9%
Pretax margin 2.4% 3.7% 22.6%
Net margin 1.6% 2.6% 18.6%
FCF margin 8.5% 1.9% 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 9.6% 9.0% 26.0%
Return on equity 2.7% 1.3% 17.2%
Return on assets 1.1% 1.1% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 3.7% – 13.1%
Return on capital employed – 0.4% 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 6.0x 3.5x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 3.9% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricATSIPGPNDSN
Debt / assets 28.8% – 29.1%
Debt / equity 0.7x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.5x – 1.7x
Debt / FCF 4.8x – 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 57.9% 12.3% 45.0%
Equity / assets 42.1% 87.7% 55.0%
Interest coverage 1.7x – 8.8x
Current ratio – 6.2x 1.8x
Quick ratio – 4.4x 1.0x
Cash ratio – 3.6x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 8.98 6.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricATSIPGPNDSN
Dividend yield – – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 4.2% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 0.3% 4.2% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 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.

ConsensusATSIPGPNDSN
Forward P/E 18.4xFY2026 70.8xFY2026 29.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.03FY2026 $1.05FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -14.9%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +37.9% +109.5% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.98BFY2026 $1.18BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -7.6%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.9% +7.7% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersATSIPGPNDSN
Held by institutions 83.4% 71.5% 76.0%
Institutions holding 143 356 755
Change in shares held, QoQ -9.9% +4.7% +3.1%
Institutions buying 82 214 389
Institutions selling 46 96 240
Buyers to sellers 1.78 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.

ATSIPGPNDSN
ATS 1.00 0.21 0.37
IPGP 0.21 1.00 0.31
NDSN 0.37 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ATS, IPGP and NDSN?

Nordson (NDSN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ats (ATS) $1.86B, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) $3.16B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, ATS, IPGP and NDSN?

Nordson (NDSN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ats (ATS) 54.8x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 114.6x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ats (ATS) is cheapest (Ats (ATS) 18.4x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 70.8x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ats (ATS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ats (ATS) +14.8%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) +13.0%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest net margin (Ats (ATS) 1.6%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 2.6%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Nordson (NDSN) leads (Ats (ATS) 3.7%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Ats (ATS) -30.0%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -14.7%, Nordson (NDSN) +36.1%. Over five years, Nordson (NDSN) compounded fastest (Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -14.1%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 0.00%, Nordson (NDSN) 1.05%. Ats (ATS) and Ipg Photonics (IPGP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Ats (ATS) 51.9%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 72.0%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ATS, 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 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.