BCC vs GWW vs FERG Stock Comparison

Boise Cascade, W.W. Grainger and Ferguson Enterprises Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BCC BOISE CASCADE Co
$75.37 -2.3% 1M +3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.68B
P/E
25.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.46B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
3 wins
GWW W.W. Grainger, Inc.
$1,357.78 +9.2% 1M +40.2% 1Y
Market cap
$62.99B
P/E
33.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.85B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

W.W. Grainger leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (W.W. Grainger 7, Boise Cascade 3, Ferguson Enterprises 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBCCGWWFERGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.68B $62.99B $44.22B GWW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.3x 33.7x 21.8x FERG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.2x 27.7x 21.5x BCC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.5% +7.8% +5.2% GWW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.6% 9.9% 6.5% GWW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.6% 29.6% 21.7% GWW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.4x 0.6x 1.0x BCC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% BCC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.1% +40.2% -7.9% GWW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.0%/yr +26.2%/yr +8.8%/yr GWW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.1% 23.6% 29.9% GWW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 57/100 67/100 FERG

Percentile Scorecard

BCCGWWFERG

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

AxisBCCGWWFERG
Valuation 87 #7 of 46 7 #43 of 46 44 #26 of 46
Growth 8 #36 of 39 55 #18 of 39 79 #9 of 39
Profitability 46 #22 of 40 97 #2 of 40 87 #6 of 40
Financial Health 75 #13 of 49 69 #16 of 49 48 #26 of 49
Shareholder Returns 42 #19 of 32 58 #14 of 32 74 #9 of 32
Overall 52 57 67
  • BCC ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • GWW ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FERG 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

PeriodBCCGWWFERGSPY
1 month -2.3%+9.2%+3.1% -0.8%
3 months -3.8%-2.9%-2.0% +3.5%
6 months -10.1%+17.2%-13.2% +7.0%
Year to date +2.4%+34.6%+3.1% +12.2%
1 year +3.1%+40.2%-7.9% +13.0%
3 years -18.9%+92.1%+51.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year -6.8%+24.3%+14.8% +23.1%
5 years +40.0%+219.8%+52.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +7.0%+26.2%+8.8% +11.0%
10 years +284.9%+554.1%+333.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +14.4%+20.7%+15.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBCCGWWFERGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.1%23.6%29.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.2%21.5%30.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.920.501.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.081.71-0.26 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.3%-24.8%-43.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.2%-3.2%-14.3% -1.8%
52-week high $91.03$1,402.04$267.71 $779.14
52-week low $65.47$918.18$214.24 $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.

MultipleBCCGWWFERG
P/E now vs peer median 25.1xmedian 25.1x 34.3xmedian 25.1x 22.0xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 1.0x 3.4xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 13.3x 21.9xmedian 13.3x 15.0xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.5xmedian 21.5x 42.4xmedian 21.5x 19.7xmedian 21.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 2.4x 14.2xmedian 2.4x 7.6xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -0.61median 2.38 8.42median 2.38 —median 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 monthsBCCGWWFERG
Revenue $6.46B $18.85B $31.35B
Gross profit $1.07B $7.42B $9.73B
Operating income $160.04M $2.75B $2.82B
Net income $105.69M $1.98B $2.03B
Free cash flow $103.31M $1.51B $2.26B
EPS (diluted) $3.00 $39.62 $10.42
Cash & equivalents $304.82M $589.00M $820.00M
Total debt $448.41M $2.41B $4.13B
Shares (diluted) 35.23M 47.20M 194.80M
Enterprise value $1.04B $60.58B $41.44B

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
MetricBCCGWWFERG
P/E 25.1x 34.3x 22.0x
P/FCF 25.5x 42.4x 19.7x
P/Operating cash flow 9.5x 29.4x 17.0x
P/S 0.4x 3.4x 1.4x
P/B 1.3x 14.2x 7.6x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 15.1x 8.5x
EV/EBITDA 8.4x 21.9x 15.0x
EV/EBIT 17.3x 24.0x 17.0x
EV/Revenue 0.4x 3.5x 1.5x
EV/FCF 26.8x 43.6x 21.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.1x 30.2x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.61 8.42 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBCCGWWFERG
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.5% 7.8% 5.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.3% 5.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -10.7% 8.2% 7.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -11.5% 5.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -53.6% 2.8% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -40.8% 3.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) -59.7% -1.4% 31.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -43.3% 2.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) -56.8% -0.9% 34.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -40.9% 4.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.7% 5.5% 35.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -32.5% 9.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 844.4% 6.6% 42.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -48.4% 3.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBCCGWWFERG
Gross margin 16.5% 39.4% 31.0%
EBITDA margin 5.1% 15.9% 10.2%
Operating margin 2.5% 14.6% 9.0%
Pretax margin 2.3% 14.2% 8.3%
Net margin 1.6% 9.9% 6.5%
FCF margin 1.6% 8.0% 7.2%
Operating cash flow margin 4.3% 11.5% 8.3%
Return on equity 5.2% 44.7% 34.0%
Return on assets 3.1% 20.8% 11.4%
Return on invested capital 4.6% 29.6% 21.7%
Return on capital employed 5.9% 37.1% 23.4%
Asset turnover 1.9x 2.0x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 1.1x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.4% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBCCGWWFERG
Debt / assets 13.2% 25.0% 23.2%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.5x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.4x 0.6x 1.0x
Debt / FCF 4.3x 1.6x 1.8x
Liabilities / assets 40.2% 53.1% 67.0%
Equity / assets 59.8% 46.9% 33.0%
Interest coverage 6.5x – –
Current ratio 2.7x 2.8x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.3x 1.6x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.22 13.21 5.41

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBCCGWWFERG
Dividend yield 1.2% 0.7% 1.6%
Net buyback yield 7.8% 1.5% 1.9%
Shareholder yield 9.0% 2.2% 3.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 32.5% 25.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 33.2% 32.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -85.0% 12.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -42.8% 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.

ConsensusBCCGWWFERG
Forward P/E 20.2xFY2026 27.7xFY2026 21.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.73FY2026 $48.94FY2026 $10.68FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.7%FY2026 +24.0%FY2026 +7.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.2% +8.9% +20.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.80BFY2026 $20.21BFY2026 $34.30BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.3%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.2% +0.8% -0.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBCCGWWFERG
Held by institutions 96.0% 75.5% 96.3%
Institutions holding 333 1,364 937
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.4% +3.5% +2.1%
Institutions buying 164 656 477
Institutions selling 128 428 343
Buyers to sellers 1.28 1.53 1.39

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.

BCCGWWFERG
BCC 1.00 0.38 0.57
GWW 0.38 1.00 0.37
FERG 0.57 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BCC, GWW and FERG?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Boise Cascade (BCC) $2.68B, W.W. Grainger (GWW) $62.99B, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) $44.22B.

Which stock is cheaper, BCC, GWW and FERG?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Boise Cascade (BCC) 25.3x, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 33.7x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Boise Cascade (BCC) is cheapest (Boise Cascade (BCC) 20.2x, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 27.7x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.5x). 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: Boise Cascade (BCC) -1.5%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +7.8%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +5.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) has the highest net margin (Boise Cascade (BCC) 1.6%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 9.9%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 6.5%). On return on invested capital, W.W. Grainger (GWW) leads (Boise Cascade (BCC) 4.6%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 29.6%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year W.W. Grainger (GWW) returned the most: Boise Cascade (BCC) +3.1%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +40.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) -7.9%. Over five years, W.W. Grainger (GWW) compounded fastest (Boise Cascade (BCC) +7.0%/yr, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +26.2%/yr, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Boise Cascade (BCC) has the highest dividend yield: Boise Cascade (BCC) 0.01%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 0.01%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 0.00%. Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, W.W. Grainger (GWW) has been the steadiest (Boise Cascade (BCC) 38.1%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 23.6%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 29.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BCC, GWW and FERG?

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 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.