AZZ vs WS vs ACA Stock Comparison

Azz, Worthington Steel and Arcosa Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AZZ Azz Inc
$133.41 -2.6% 1M +35.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.13B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$42.25 +16.7% 1M +34.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.13B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
0.02%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
2 wins
ACA Arcosa, Inc.
$149.18 +1.7% 1M +61.6% 1Y
Market cap
$7.33B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.74B
Div. yield
0.13%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Arcosa leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Arcosa 7, Azz 3, Worthington Steel 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZZWSACALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.13B $2.13B $7.33B ACA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.6x -55.6x 14.9x ACA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.1x 11.1x 33.6x WS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% +69.1% +9.7% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.6% -0.7% 17.9% ACA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.4% 0.2% 6.5% AZZ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 19.9x 1.8x AZZ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.13% ACA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +35.2% +34.3% +61.6% ACA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +20.8%/yr — +23.0%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.1% 47.3% 31.7% ACA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 33/100 56/100 AZZ

Percentile Scorecard

AZZWSACA

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

AxisAZZWSACA
Valuation 75 #52 of 203 59 #83 of 203 49 #105 of 203
Growth 63 #69 of 187 32 #127 of 187 82 #34 of 187
Profitability 72 #52 of 185 29 #131 of 185 51 #91 of 185
Financial Health 56 #98 of 219 10 #197 of 219 58 #92 of 219
Shareholder Returns 24 #117 of 153 34 #102 of 153 41 #90 of 153
Overall 58 33 56
  • AZZ ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ACA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAZZWSACASPY
1 month -2.6%+16.7%+1.7% -0.8%
3 months -10.2%+15.1%+2.9% +3.5%
6 months -7.9%+12.0%+24.1% +7.0%
Year to date +24.5%+22.0%+40.3% +12.2%
1 year +35.2%+34.3%+61.6% +13.0%
3 years +187.2%—+117.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +42.2%—+29.6% +23.1%
5 years +157.4%—+181.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +20.8%—+23.0% +11.0%
10 years +149.6%—— +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.6%—— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAZZWSACASPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.1%47.3%31.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.2%49.8%32.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.171.640.95 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.100.721.94 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.8%-51.5%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.7%-13.2%0.0% -1.8%
52-week high $160.17$48.69$149.18 $779.14
52-week low $97.64$28.10$92.25 $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.

MultipleAZZWSACA
P/E now vs peer median 23.9xmedian 26.0x -55.2xmedian 26.0x 14.9xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x 2.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 14.0x 42.0xmedian 14.0x 15.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.6xmedian 21.4x 46.3xmedian 21.4x 54.9xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.2x 1.3xmedian 2.2x 2.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.27median 1.26 1.70median 1.26 0.75median 1.26

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 monthsAZZWSACA
Revenue $1.75B $5.30B $2.74B
Gross profit $423.83M $549.30M $632.30M
Operating income $287.42M $6.30M $322.70M
Net income $167.46M -$56.50M $491.40M
Free cash flow $214.45M $46.70M $133.40M
EPS (diluted) $5.56 $-0.77 $9.99
Cash & equivalents $1.95M $248.20M $432.10M
Total debt $468.47M $2.20B $1.44B
Shares (diluted) 30.12M 50.00M 49.20M
Enterprise value $4.12B $1.62B $6.31B

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
MetricAZZWSACA
P/E 23.9x -55.2x 14.9x
P/FCF 18.6x 46.3x 54.9x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 10.7x 21.5x
P/S 2.3x 0.4x 2.7x
P/B 2.8x 1.3x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 1.4x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.7x 42.0x 15.2x
EV/EBIT 15.5x 652.7x 25.8x
EV/Revenue 2.6x 0.8x 3.0x
EV/FCF 20.8x 88.1x 62.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.3x 20.4x 24.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.27 1.70 0.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZZWSACA
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% 69.1% 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 15.5% 7.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.0% 36.2% 20.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 13.4% 14.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.3% -95.9% 61.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.4% -65.2% -5.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -46.7% -144.9% 433.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 99.0% -34.5% 20.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -46.5% -132.7% 430.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 87.1% -32.5% 19.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -42.0% 18.9% -23.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.3% -10.4% 16.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -47.3% 50.2% -54.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 35.3% -41.1% 54.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZZWSACA
Gross margin 24.3% 10.4% 23.0%
EBITDA margin 21.8% 1.8% 19.9%
Operating margin 16.5% 0.1% 11.8%
Pretax margin 12.9% -0.2% 8.4%
Net margin 9.6% -0.7% 17.9%
FCF margin 12.3% 0.9% 4.9%
Operating cash flow margin 16.7% 3.8% 12.4%
Return on equity 12.0% -4.0% 17.4%
Return on assets 7.3% -1.4% 9.5%
Return on invested capital 11.4% 0.2% 6.5%
Return on capital employed 14.1% 0.3% 6.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x -3.6x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.2% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZZWSACA
Debt / assets 20.0% 36.5% 27.1%
Debt / equity 0.3x 1.3x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 19.9x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 2.2x 47.0x 10.8x
Liabilities / assets 39.5% 72.8% 43.7%
Equity / assets 60.5% 27.2% 56.3%
Interest coverage 6.3x 0.5x 3.3x
Current ratio 1.8x 1.8x 3.1x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.8x 2.2x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 4.44 1.55 3.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZZWSACA
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.5% 0.1%
Net buyback yield – – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 1.5% 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -57.9% 2.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 70.0% 7.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 2.2% 1.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 1.0%

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.

ConsensusAZZWSACA
Forward P/E 18.1xFY2026 11.1xFY2026 33.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.37FY2026 $3.82FY2026 $4.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.1%FY2026 +71.3%FY2026 -0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.1% +30.4% +7.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.97BFY2026 $10.90BFY2026 $2.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.4%FY2026 +217.0%FY2026 -14.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.1% +2.4% +12.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZZWSACA
Held by institutions 94.6% 56.3% 91.8%
Institutions holding 364 238 426
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% +1.2% -1.1%
Institutions buying 196 112 230
Institutions selling 119 68 114
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.65 2.02

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.

AZZWSACA
AZZ 1.00 0.46 0.39
WS 0.46 1.00 0.38
ACA 0.39 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZZ, WS and ACA?

Arcosa (ACA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Azz (AZZ) $4.13B, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.13B, Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZZ, WS and ACA?

Arcosa (ACA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Azz (AZZ) 24.6x, Worthington Steel (WS) -55.6x, Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Worthington Steel (WS) is cheapest (Azz (AZZ) 18.1x, Worthington Steel (WS) 11.1x, Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Azz (AZZ) +9.5%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%, Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest net margin (Azz (AZZ) 9.6%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%, Arcosa (ACA) 17.9%). On return on invested capital, Azz (AZZ) leads (Azz (AZZ) 11.4%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.2%, Arcosa (ACA) 6.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcosa (ACA) returned the most: Azz (AZZ) +35.2%, Worthington Steel (WS) +34.3%, Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Azz (AZZ) +20.8%/yr, Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest dividend yield: Azz (AZZ) 0.00%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.02%, Arcosa (ACA) 0.13%. Azz (AZZ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Arcosa (ACA) has been the steadiest (Azz (AZZ) 32.1%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.3%, Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AZZ, WS and ACA?

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