AVTR vs FERG vs GIC Stock Comparison

Avantor, Ferguson Enterprises and Global Industrial Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AVTR Avantor, Inc.
$17.28 +13.2% 1M +12.2% 1Y
Market cap
$11.60B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.56B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
GIC GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL Co
$44.74 +8.0% 1M +28.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.70B
P/E
19.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.44B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ferguson Enterprises leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ferguson Enterprises 6, Global Industrial 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAVTRFERGGICLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.60B $44.62B $1.70B FERG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -20.1x 22.0x 19.5x GIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 21.5x 20.0x GIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.6% +5.2% +8.4% GIC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -8.8% 6.5% 6.1% FERG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -3.2% 21.7% — FERG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 27.2x 1.0x — FERG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.2% -7.9% +28.3% GIC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -14.1%/yr +8.8%/yr +3.5%/yr FERG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.2% 29.9% 32.8% FERG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 16/100 67/100 70/100 GIC

Percentile Scorecard

AVTRFERGGIC

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

AxisAVTRFERGGIC
Valuation 18 #38 of 46 44 #26 of 46 64 #17 of 46
Growth 3 #38 of 39 79 #9 of 39 87 #6 of 39
Profitability 21 #32 of 40 87 #6 of 40 80 #9 of 40
Financial Health 31 #34 of 49 48 #26 of 49 71 #15 of 49
Shareholder Returns 7 #30 of 32 74 #9 of 32 48 #17 of 32
Overall 16 67 70
  • AVTR ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FERG ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • GIC 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

PeriodAVTRFERGGICSPY
1 month +13.2%+3.1%+8.0% -0.8%
3 months +46.9%-2.0%+25.7% +3.5%
6 months +116.8%-13.2%+31.4% +7.0%
Year to date +50.8%+3.1%+53.1% +12.2%
1 year +12.2%-7.9%+28.3% +13.0%
3 years -3.1%+51.2%+43.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year -1.0%+14.8%+12.8% +23.1%
5 years -53.2%+52.1%+18.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -14.1%+8.8%+3.5% +11.0%
10 years —+333.0%+478.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+15.8%+19.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAVTRFERGGICSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.2%29.9%32.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.0%30.8%39.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.831.130.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.24-0.260.87 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.4%-43.6%-54.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.1%-14.3%-0.4% -1.8%
52-week high $17.29$267.71$44.94 $779.14
52-week low $7.41$214.24$26.65 $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.

MultipleAVTRFERGGIC
P/E now vs peer median -20.2xmedian 25.1x 22.0xmedian 25.1x 19.6xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x 1.2xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 120.8xmedian 13.3x 15.0xmedian 13.3x 13.1xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 21.5x 19.7xmedian 21.5x 19.5xmedian 21.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.4x 7.6xmedian 2.4x 5.0xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.41median 2.38 —median 2.38 2.38median 2.38

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 monthsAVTRFERGGIC
Revenue $6.56B $31.35B $1.44B
Gross profit $2.09B $9.73B $522.40M
Operating income -$301.10M $2.82B $115.80M
Net income -$578.00M $2.03B $87.10M
Free cash flow $454.70M $2.26B $87.30M
EPS (diluted) $-0.85 $10.42 $2.28
Cash & equivalents $306.80M $820.00M $86.70M
Total debt $3.70B $4.13B –
Shares (diluted) 677.20M 194.80M 38.20M
Enterprise value $10.40B $41.84B $1.42B

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
MetricAVTRFERGGIC
P/E -20.2x 22.0x 19.6x
P/FCF 25.7x 19.7x 19.5x
P/Operating cash flow 19.6x 17.0x 18.8x
P/S 1.8x 1.4x 1.2x
P/B 2.1x 7.6x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 4.5x 8.5x 5.0x
EV/EBITDA 120.8x 15.0x 13.1x
EV/EBIT -50.1x 17.0x 14.0x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 1.5x 1.1x
EV/FCF 33.2x 21.1x 18.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.3x 18.3x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.41 – 2.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAVTRFERGGIC
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.6% 5.2% 8.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.9% – 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -5.8% 7.5% 12.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.6% – 8.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -129.0% 17.6% 31.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -33.2% – 7.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -184.1% 31.6% 31.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -49.9% – 8.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -184.7% 34.4% 32.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -49.8% – 8.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -12.4% 35.9% 49.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -11.2% – -8.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -18.2% 42.8% 52.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.2% – -7.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAVTRFERGGIC
Gross margin 31.8% 31.0% 36.4%
EBITDA margin 1.9% 10.2% 8.6%
Operating margin -4.6% 9.0% 8.1%
Pretax margin -7.2% 8.3% 8.1%
Net margin -8.8% 6.5% 6.1%
FCF margin 6.9% 7.2% 6.1%
Operating cash flow margin 9.1% 8.3% 6.3%
Return on equity -10.3% 34.0% 26.3%
Return on assets -5.0% 11.4% 14.4%
Return on invested capital -3.2% 21.7% –
Return on capital employed -2.9% 23.4% 28.6%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.8x 2.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -1.0x 1.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.3% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAVTRFERGGIC
Debt / assets 31.9% 23.2% –
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 27.2x 1.0x –
Debt / FCF 8.1x 1.8x –
Liabilities / assets 51.4% 67.0% 45.5%
Equity / assets 48.6% 33.0% 54.5%
Interest coverage -1.8x – –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.8x 2.2x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.8x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.98 5.41 7.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAVTRFERGGIC
Dividend yield – 1.6% 2.5%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 1.9% 0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 3.4% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusAVTRFERGGIC
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2026 21.5xFY2026 20.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.78FY2026 $10.68FY2026 $2.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -13.3%FY2026 +7.4%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.7% +20.5% +3.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.42BFY2026 $34.30BFY2026 $1.39BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.0%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +1.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.7% -0.7% +6.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAVTRFERGGIC
Held by institutions 100.0% 96.3% 33.7%
Institutions holding 453 937 162
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +2.1% +12.0%
Institutions buying 282 477 90
Institutions selling 109 343 50
Buyers to sellers 2.59 1.39 1.80

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.

AVTRFERGGIC
AVTR 1.00 0.15 0.44
FERG 0.15 1.00 0.30
GIC 0.44 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AVTR, FERG and GIC?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Avantor (AVTR) $11.60B, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) $44.62B, Global Industrial (GIC) $1.70B.

Which stock is cheaper, AVTR, FERG and GIC?

Global Industrial (GIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Avantor (AVTR) -20.1x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 22.0x, Global Industrial (GIC) 19.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Global Industrial (GIC) is cheapest (Avantor (AVTR) 22.2x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.5x, Global Industrial (GIC) 20.0x). 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: Avantor (AVTR) -1.6%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +5.2%, Global Industrial (GIC) +8.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) has the highest net margin (Avantor (AVTR) -8.8%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 6.5%, Global Industrial (GIC) 6.1%). On return on invested capital, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) leads (Avantor (AVTR) -3.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Global Industrial (GIC) returned the most: Avantor (AVTR) +12.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) -7.9%, Global Industrial (GIC) +28.3%. Over five years, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) compounded fastest (Avantor (AVTR) -14.1%/yr, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +8.8%/yr, Global Industrial (GIC) +3.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) has been the steadiest (Avantor (AVTR) 51.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 29.9%, Global Industrial (GIC) 32.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AVTR, FERG and GIC?

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