AVTR vs FERG vs RS Stock Comparison

Avantor, Ferguson Enterprises and Reliance Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AVTR Avantor, Inc.
$17.28 +13.2% 1M +12.2% 1Y
Market cap
$11.70B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.56B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
RS Reliance, Inc.
$421.68 +8.8% 1M +52.2% 1Y
Market cap
$22.02B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.81B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionAVTRFERGRSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.70B $44.46B $22.02B FERG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -20.2x 21.9x 24.6x FERG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 21.5x 16.6x RS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.6% +5.2% +15.4% RS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -8.8% 6.5% 5.7% FERG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -3.2% 21.7% 10.5% FERG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 27.2x 1.0x 0.9x RS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.2% -7.9% +52.2% RS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -14.1%/yr +8.8%/yr +24.0%/yr RS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.2% 29.9% 25.0% RS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 16/100 67/100 53/100 FERG

Percentile Scorecard

AVTRFERGRS

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

AxisAVTRFERGRS
Valuation 18 #38 of 46 44 #26 of 46 38 #29 of 46
Growth 3 #38 of 39 79 #9 of 39 40 #24 of 39
Profitability 21 #32 of 40 87 #6 of 40 56 #18 of 40
Financial Health 31 #34 of 49 48 #26 of 49 81 #10 of 49
Shareholder Returns 7 #30 of 32 74 #9 of 32 52 #16 of 32
Overall 16 67 53
  • AVTR ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FERG ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • RS 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

PeriodAVTRFERGRSSPY
1 month +13.2%+3.1%+8.8% -0.8%
3 months +46.9%-2.0%+4.3% +3.5%
6 months +116.8%-13.2%+16.9% +7.0%
Year to date +50.8%+3.1%+46.0% +12.2%
1 year +12.2%-7.9%+52.2% +13.0%
3 years -3.1%+51.2%+69.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year -1.0%+14.8%+19.3% +23.1%
5 years -53.2%+52.1%+192.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year -14.1%+8.8%+24.0% +11.0%
10 years —+333.0%+518.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+15.8%+20.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAVTRFERGRSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.2%29.9%25.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.0%30.8%25.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.831.130.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.24-0.262.09 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.4%-43.6%-22.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.1%-14.3%-1.6% -1.8%
52-week high $17.29$267.71$428.49 $779.14
52-week low $7.41$214.24$265.93 $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.

MultipleAVTRFERGRS
P/E now vs peer median -20.2xmedian 25.1x 22.0xmedian 25.1x 24.1xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 120.8xmedian 13.3x 15.0xmedian 13.3x 15.2xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 21.5x 19.7xmedian 21.5x 39.9xmedian 21.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.4x 7.6xmedian 2.4x 2.9xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.41median 2.38 —median 2.38 -2.02median 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 monthsAVTRFERGRS
Revenue $6.56B $31.35B $15.81B
Gross profit $2.09B $9.73B $4.46B
Operating income -$301.10M $2.82B $1.24B
Net income -$578.00M $2.03B $896.10M
Free cash flow $454.70M $2.26B $539.50M
EPS (diluted) $-0.85 $10.42 $17.40
Cash & equivalents $306.80M $820.00M $235.40M
Total debt $3.70B $4.13B $1.66B
Shares (diluted) 677.20M 194.80M 51.38M
Enterprise value $10.50B $41.68B $21.06B

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
MetricAVTRFERGRS
P/E -20.2x 22.0x 24.1x
P/FCF 25.7x 19.7x 39.9x
P/Operating cash flow 19.6x 17.0x 25.3x
P/S 1.8x 1.4x 1.4x
P/B 2.1x 7.6x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 4.5x 8.5x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA 120.8x 15.0x 15.2x
EV/EBIT -50.1x 17.0x 18.6x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 1.5x 1.5x
EV/FCF 33.2x 21.1x 42.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.3x 18.3x 27.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.41 – -2.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAVTRFERGRS
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.6% 5.2% 15.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.9% – 0.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -5.8% 7.5% 11.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.6% – -2.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -129.0% 17.6% 23.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -33.2% – -15.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -184.1% 31.6% 21.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -49.9% – -16.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -184.7% 34.4% 24.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -49.8% – -11.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -12.4% 35.9% -30.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -11.2% – -26.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -18.2% 42.8% -35.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.2% – -31.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAVTRFERGRS
Gross margin 31.8% 31.0% 28.2%
EBITDA margin 1.9% 10.2% 9.6%
Operating margin -4.6% 9.0% 7.8%
Pretax margin -7.2% 8.3% 7.5%
Net margin -8.8% 6.5% 5.7%
FCF margin 6.9% 7.2% 3.4%
Operating cash flow margin 9.1% 8.3% 5.4%
Return on equity -10.3% 34.0% 12.3%
Return on assets -5.0% 11.4% 8.2%
Return on invested capital -3.2% 21.7% 10.5%
Return on capital employed -2.9% 23.4% 12.6%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.8x 1.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -1.0x 1.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.3% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAVTRFERGRS
Debt / assets 31.9% 23.2% 14.9%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 27.2x 1.0x 0.9x
Debt / FCF 8.1x 1.8x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 51.4% 67.0% 33.6%
Equity / assets 48.6% 33.0% 66.4%
Interest coverage -1.8x – 19.5x
Current ratio 1.8x 1.8x 4.3x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.8x 2.1x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.98 5.41 6.57

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAVTRFERGRS
Dividend yield – 1.6% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 1.9% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 3.4% 3.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 28.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 47.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 2.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 4.2%

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.

ConsensusAVTRFERGRS
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2026 21.5xFY2026 16.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.78FY2026 $10.68FY2026 $25.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -13.3%FY2026 +7.4%FY2026 +78.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.7% +20.5% +1.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.42BFY2026 $34.30BFY2026 $16.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.0%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +17.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.7% -0.7% +10.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAVTRFERGRS
Held by institutions 100.0% 96.3% 82.3%
Institutions holding 453 937 688
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +2.1% +1.0%
Institutions buying 282 477 341
Institutions selling 109 343 229
Buyers to sellers 2.59 1.39 1.49

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.

AVTRFERGRS
AVTR 1.00 0.15 0.09
FERG 0.15 1.00 0.37
RS 0.09 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AVTR, FERG and RS?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Avantor (AVTR) $11.70B, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) $44.46B, Reliance (RS) $22.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, AVTR, FERG and RS?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Avantor (AVTR) -20.2x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.9x, Reliance (RS) 24.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Reliance (RS) is cheapest (Avantor (AVTR) 22.2x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.5x, Reliance (RS) 16.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Reliance (RS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Avantor (AVTR) -1.6%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +5.2%, Reliance (RS) +15.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) has the highest net margin (Avantor (AVTR) -8.8%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 6.5%, Reliance (RS) 5.7%). On return on invested capital, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) leads (Avantor (AVTR) -3.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.7%, Reliance (RS) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Reliance (RS) returned the most: Avantor (AVTR) +12.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) -7.9%, Reliance (RS) +52.2%. Over five years, Reliance (RS) compounded fastest (Avantor (AVTR) -14.1%/yr, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +8.8%/yr, Reliance (RS) +24.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Avantor (AVTR) 0.00%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 0.00%, Reliance (RS) 0.01%. Avantor (AVTR) and Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Reliance (RS) has been the steadiest (Avantor (AVTR) 51.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 29.9%, Reliance (RS) 25.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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