BLBD vs FSS vs URI Stock Comparison

Blue Bird, Federal Signal and United Rentals Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BLBD Blue Bird Corp
$58.04 -0.1% 1M +2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.95B
P/E
6.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.61B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
6 wins
FSS Federal Signal Corp /De/
$114.29 -0.3% 1M -8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$7.07B
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.45B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
2 wins
URI United Rentals, Inc.
$1,122.70 +7.3% 1M +22.9% 1Y
Market cap
$72.29B
P/E
25.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.50B
Div. yield
–
Equipment Rental Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Blue Bird leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Blue Bird 6, United Rentals 3, Federal Signal 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBLBDFSSURILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.95B $7.07B $72.29B URI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.9x 24.8x 25.3x BLBD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.0x 23.2x 20.3x BLBD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.5% +24.0% +9.4% FSS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.5% 11.7% 16.3% BLBD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 29.3% 15.3% 14.0% BLBD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 0.8x 2.3x BLBD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.9% -8.8% +22.9% URI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.1%/yr +22.3%/yr +26.5%/yr URI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.8% 35.0% 42.2% FSS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 75/100 58/100 BLBD

Percentile Scorecard

BLBDFSSURI

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

AxisBLBDFSSURI
Valuation 94 #14 of 203 52 #99 of 203 27 #34 of 46
Growth 93 #15 of 187 94 #13 of 187 90 #5 of 39
Profitability 90 #19 of 185 89 #22 of 185 92 #4 of 40
Financial Health 71 #64 of 219 75 #55 of 219 19 #40 of 49
Shareholder Returns 32 #105 of 153 65 #54 of 153 61 #13 of 32
Overall 76 75 58
  • BLBD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • FSS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • URI 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

PeriodBLBDFSSURISPY
1 month -0.1%-0.3%+7.3% -0.8%
3 months -23.7%-3.5%-0.4% +3.5%
6 months -10.0%-1.2%+17.0% +7.0%
Year to date +23.5%+5.2%+38.7% +12.2%
1 year +2.9%-8.8%+22.9% +13.0%
3 years +211.4%+99.6%+181.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +46.1%+25.9%+41.2% +23.1%
5 years +206.1%+173.9%+223.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +25.1%+22.3%+26.5% +11.0%
10 years +294.6%+835.3%+1,373.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +14.7%+25.1%+30.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBLBDFSSURISPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.8%35.0%42.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.7%35.9%39.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.131.281.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.07-0.250.54 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.9%-33.3%-40.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.8%-14.5%-3.7% -1.8%
52-week high $81.50$133.73$1,165.29 $779.14
52-week low $46.59$104.77$710.47 $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.

MultipleBLBDFSSURI
P/E now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 26.0x 24.4xmedian 26.0x 24.4xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.9x 2.8xmedian 1.9x 4.0xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 14.0x 15.2xmedian 14.0x 13.3xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 21.4x 20.6xmedian 21.4x 78.0xmedian 21.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.2x 4.6xmedian 2.2x 7.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.05median 1.26 0.85median 1.26 2.56median 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 monthsBLBDFSSURI
Revenue $1.61B $2.45B $17.50B
Gross profit $331.66M $714.00M $6.84B
Operating income $189.81M $395.40M $4.47B
Net income $281.81M $285.40M $2.86B
Free cash flow $153.14M $339.20M $892.00M
EPS (diluted) $8.02 $4.64 $45.89
Cash & equivalents $116.82M $62.80M $153.00M
Total debt $86.81M $453.60M $14.67B
Shares (diluted) 35.15M 61.50M 62.26M
Enterprise value $1.08B $6.82B $71.41B

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
MetricBLBDFSSURI
P/E 7.1x 24.4x 24.4x
P/FCF 12.0x 20.6x 78.0x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x 18.7x 11.2x
P/S 1.1x 2.8x 4.0x
P/B 2.8x 4.6x 7.2x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 6.2x 7.6x
EV/EBITDA 8.6x 15.2x 13.3x
EV/EBIT 9.5x 18.6x 18.8x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 3.0x 4.8x
EV/FCF 11.8x 21.7x 94.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.0x 19.8x 13.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.05 0.85 2.56

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBLBDFSSURI
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.5% 24.0% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.0% 16.1% 8.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.9% 24.5% 10.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 57.8% 22.1% 6.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 33.3% 27.8% 11.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 598.6% 28.8% 5.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 143.2% 28.8% 12.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 160.8% 28.6% 6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 125.4% 28.4% 16.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 155.1% 28.6% 9.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.4% 45.6% 24.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.5% 59.2% 10.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.0% 49.8% 98.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 73.3% 83.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBLBDFSSURI
Gross margin 20.6% 29.2% 39.1%
EBITDA margin 13.1% 19.8% 36.1%
Operating margin 11.8% 16.2% 25.5%
Pretax margin 20.0% 15.2% 21.8%
Net margin 17.5% 11.7% 16.3%
FCF margin 9.5% 13.9% 5.1%
Operating cash flow margin 11.2% 15.2% 35.4%
Return on equity 58.9% 19.4% 30.2%
Return on assets 30.2% 11.7% 8.9%
Return on invested capital 29.3% 15.3% 14.0%
Return on capital employed 30.9% 18.5% 16.5%
Asset turnover 1.7x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 1.3x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.6% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBLBDFSSURI
Debt / assets 7.4% 18.6% 44.7%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.3x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 0.8x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 0.6x 1.3x 16.4x
Liabilities / assets 43.9% 38.2% 70.4%
Equity / assets 56.1% 61.8% 29.6%
Interest coverage 27.9x 19.3x –
Current ratio 1.6x 2.7x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 4.66 7.13 3.51

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBLBDFSSURI
Dividend yield – 0.5% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 0.0% 2.6%
Shareholder yield 0.4% 0.5% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 12.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 13.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 17.0% –

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.

ConsensusBLBDFSSURI
Forward P/E 13.0xFY2026 23.2xFY2026 20.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.48FY2026 $4.92FY2026 $55.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.3%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 +31.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.9% +10.0% +6.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.64BFY2026 $2.79BFY2026 $18.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +28.1%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.4% -5.3% +3.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBLBDFSSURI
Held by institutions 94.5% 100.0% 95.9%
Institutions holding 303 474 1,586
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% +3.9% +4.7%
Institutions buying 169 249 803
Institutions selling 100 152 537
Buyers to sellers 1.69 1.64 1.50

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.

BLBDFSSURI
BLBD 1.00 0.36 0.21
FSS 0.36 1.00 0.40
URI 0.21 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BLBD, FSS and URI?

United Rentals (URI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Blue Bird (BLBD) $1.95B, Federal Signal (FSS) $7.07B, United Rentals (URI) $72.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, BLBD, FSS and URI?

Blue Bird (BLBD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Blue Bird (BLBD) 6.9x, Federal Signal (FSS) 24.8x, United Rentals (URI) 25.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Blue Bird (BLBD) is cheapest (Blue Bird (BLBD) 13.0x, Federal Signal (FSS) 23.2x, United Rentals (URI) 20.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Federal Signal (FSS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Blue Bird (BLBD) +13.5%, Federal Signal (FSS) +24.0%, United Rentals (URI) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Blue Bird (BLBD) has the highest net margin (Blue Bird (BLBD) 17.5%, Federal Signal (FSS) 11.7%, United Rentals (URI) 16.3%). On return on invested capital, Blue Bird (BLBD) leads (Blue Bird (BLBD) 29.3%, Federal Signal (FSS) 15.3%, United Rentals (URI) 14.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Rentals (URI) returned the most: Blue Bird (BLBD) +2.9%, Federal Signal (FSS) -8.8%, United Rentals (URI) +22.9%. Over five years, United Rentals (URI) compounded fastest (Blue Bird (BLBD) +25.1%/yr, Federal Signal (FSS) +22.3%/yr, United Rentals (URI) +26.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Blue Bird (BLBD) 0.00%, Federal Signal (FSS) 0.01%, United Rentals (URI) 0.00%. Blue Bird (BLBD) and United Rentals (URI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Federal Signal (FSS) has been the steadiest (Blue Bird (BLBD) 42.8%, Federal Signal (FSS) 35.0%, United Rentals (URI) 42.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BLBD, FSS and URI?

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