AVTR vs WSO vs GWW Stock Comparison

Avantor, Watsco and W.W. Grainger Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AVTR Avantor, Inc.
$16.68 +9.1% 1M +10.6% 1Y
Market cap
$11.30B
P/E
33.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.64B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
1 win
WSO Watsco Inc
$290.93 -7.1% 1M -18.8% 1Y
Market cap
$10.35B
P/E
25.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.44B
Div. yield
4.43%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
3 wins
GWW W.W. Grainger, Inc.
$1,341.70 +6.9% 1M +39.3% 1Y
Market cap
$63.20B
P/E
33.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.85B
Div. yield
0.71%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionAVTRWSOGWWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.30B $10.35B $63.20B GWW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.5x 25.5x 33.9x WSO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.4x 25.6x 27.4x AVTR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.9% +0.3% +7.8% GWW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.1% — 9.9% GWW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.2% — 29.6% GWW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.5x — 0.6x GWW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 4.43% 0.71% WSO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +10.6% -18.8% +39.3% GWW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.2%/yr +0.1%/yr +23.7%/yr GWW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.2% 35.3% 23.5% GWW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 61/100 59/100 WSO

Percentile Scorecard

AVTRWSOGWW

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

AxisAVTRWSOGWW
Valuation 36 #30 of 46 64 #17 of 46 7 #43 of 46
Growth 42 #23 of 39 34 #26 of 39 53 #19 of 39
Profitability 53 #19 of 39 66 #14 of 39 97 #2 of 39
Financial Health 37 #30 of 47 – 72 #14 of 47
Shareholder Returns 7 #30 of 32 81 #7 of 32 65 #12 of 32
Overall 35 61 59
  • AVTR ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • WSO ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • GWW 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

PeriodAVTRWSOGWWSPY
1 month +9.1%-7.1%+6.9% +0.9%
3 months +16.0%-9.3%-1.3% +5.9%
6 months +112.5%-32.1%+17.2% +8.5%
Year to date +45.5%-13.7%+33.0% +13.3%
1 year +10.6%-18.8%+39.3% +12.4%
3 years -6.4%-15.2%+89.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year -2.2%-5.3%+23.8% +23.5%
5 years -58.7%+0.5%+189.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year -16.2%+0.1%+23.7% +11.0%
10 years —+113.9%+544.1% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+7.9%+20.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAVTRWSOGWWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.2%35.3%23.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.9%36.6%21.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.820.990.49 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.21-0.531.67 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.4%-50.8%-24.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.5%-36.3%-4.3% -0.9%
52-week high $17.29$456.86$1,402.04 $779.14
52-week low $7.41$279.97$918.18 $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.

MultipleAVTRWSOGWW
P/E now vs peer median 33.5xmedian 25.6x 25.5xmedian 25.6x 33.9xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.1x 1.4xmedian 1.1x 3.4xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 13.3x —median 13.3x 21.7xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 22.0x 15.4xmedian 22.0x 41.9xmedian 22.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.6x 2.9xmedian 2.6x 14.0xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median -12.60median 2.36 -2.32median 2.36 8.32median 2.36

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 monthsAVTRWSOGWW
Revenue $6.64B $7.44B $18.85B
Gross profit $2.10B $2.02B $7.42B
Operating income $487.20M $675.29M $2.75B
Net income $337.20M $554.14M $1.98B
Free cash flow $439.20M – $1.51B
EPS (diluted) $0.50 $11.41 $39.62
Cash & equivalents $464.30M $498.70M $589.00M
Total debt $3.68B – $2.41B
Shares (diluted) 680.90M 38.19M 47.20M
Enterprise value $9.89B $10.86B $61.17B

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
MetricAVTRWSOGWW
P/E 33.5x 25.5x 33.9x
P/FCF 25.7x 15.4x 41.9x
P/Operating cash flow 19.3x 14.7x 29.1x
P/S 1.7x 1.4x 3.4x
P/B 1.9x 2.9x 14.0x
P/Tangible book 3.9x 2.9x 14.9x
EV/EBITDA 15.9x – 21.7x
EV/EBIT 29.8x – 23.7x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 1.4x 3.4x
EV/FCF 33.1x – 43.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.8x 14.7x 29.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -12.60 -2.32 8.32

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAVTRWSOGWW
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.9% 0.3% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 0.8% 5.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.8% -2.4% 8.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -4.5% 0.2% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 83.5% -10.6% 2.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -14.0% -6.4% 3.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 510.2% -10.0% -1.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -2.5% -7.2% 2.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 510.7% -10.8% -0.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.7% -11.0% 4.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -9.3% 28.2% 5.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.8% 13.9% 9.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -16.1% – 6.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.2% – 3.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAVTRWSOGWW
Gross margin 31.6% – 39.4%
EBITDA margin 13.8% – 15.9%
Operating margin 7.3% – 14.6%
Pretax margin 4.8% – 14.2%
Net margin 5.1% – 9.9%
FCF margin 6.6% – 8.0%
Operating cash flow margin 8.8% 9.5% 11.5%
Return on equity 5.9% 15.8% 44.7%
Return on assets 2.9% 10.7% 20.8%
Return on invested capital 5.2% – 29.6%
Return on capital employed 4.8% – 37.1%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.4x 2.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.3x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.5% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAVTRWSOGWW
Debt / assets 31.7% – 25.0%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.5x – 0.6x
Debt / FCF 8.4x – 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 49.8% – 53.1%
Equity / assets 50.2% 67.6% 46.9%
Interest coverage 3.0x – –
Current ratio 1.9x 3.2x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.2x – 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.3x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.24 – 13.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAVTRWSOGWW
Dividend yield – 4.4% 0.7%
Net buyback yield -0.1% – 1.5%
Shareholder yield -0.1% 4.4% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 92.7% 25.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 32.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 11.4% 12.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 11.4% 9.1%

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.

ConsensusAVTRWSOGWW
Forward P/E 21.4xFY2026 25.6xFY2026 27.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.78FY2026 $11.37FY2026 $48.94FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -13.3%FY2026 -7.2%FY2026 +24.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.7% +9.1% +8.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.42BFY2026 $7.25BFY2026 $20.21BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.0%FY2026 +0.1%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.7% +7.9% +0.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAVTRWSOGWW
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 75.5%
Institutions holding 453 785 1,365
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% -0.9% +3.5%
Institutions buying 282 341 657
Institutions selling 109 305 428
Buyers to sellers 2.59 1.12 1.54

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.

AVTRWSOGWW
AVTR 1.00 0.06 0.19
WSO 0.06 1.00 0.41
GWW 0.19 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AVTR, WSO and GWW?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Avantor (AVTR) $11.30B, Watsco (WSO) $10.35B, W.W. Grainger (GWW) $63.20B.

Which stock is cheaper, AVTR, WSO and GWW?

Watsco (WSO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Avantor (AVTR) 33.5x, Watsco (WSO) 25.5x, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 33.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Avantor (AVTR) is cheapest (Avantor (AVTR) 21.4x, Watsco (WSO) 25.6x, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 27.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Avantor (AVTR) +0.9%, Watsco (WSO) +0.3%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) has the highest net margin (Avantor (AVTR) 5.1%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 9.9%). On return on invested capital, W.W. Grainger (GWW) leads (Avantor (AVTR) 5.2%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 29.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year W.W. Grainger (GWW) returned the most: Avantor (AVTR) +10.6%, Watsco (WSO) -18.8%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +39.3%. Over five years, W.W. Grainger (GWW) compounded fastest (Avantor (AVTR) -16.2%/yr, Watsco (WSO) +0.1%/yr, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +23.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Watsco (WSO) has the highest dividend yield: Watsco (WSO) 4.43%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 0.71%. Avantor (AVTR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, W.W. Grainger (GWW) has been the steadiest (Avantor (AVTR) 51.2%, Watsco (WSO) 35.3%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 23.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AVTR, WSO and GWW?

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