CLS vs DSWL vs FLEX Stock Comparison

Celestica, Deswell Industries and Flex Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CLS Celestica Inc
$276.22 -24.4% 1M -8.5% 1Y
Market cap
$35.80B
P/E
28.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.23B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Manufacturing Services Technology
6 wins
DSWL Deswell Industries Inc
$2.98 -3.9% 1M -15.1% 1Y
Market cap
$47.34M
P/E
4.5x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
10.07%
Electronic Manufacturing Services Technology
3 wins
FLEX Flex Ltd.
$83.35 -27.3% 1M +28.9% 1Y
Market cap
$33.42B
P/E
34.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$29.27B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Manufacturing Services Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Celestica leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Celestica 6, Deswell Industries 3, Flex 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLSDSWLFLEXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $35.80B $47.34M $33.42B CLS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.7x 4.5x 34.3x DSWL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.9x — 17.1x FLEX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.6% — +12.2% CLS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.8% — 3.3% CLS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 25.0% — 11.3% CLS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.9x — 1.5x CLS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 10.07% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.5% -15.1% +28.9% FLEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +95.0%/yr -5.6%/yr +45.2%/yr CLS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 79.9% 43.2% 69.0% DSWL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 95/100 55/100 DSWL

Percentile Scorecard

CLSDSWLFLEX

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

AxisCLSDSWLFLEX
Valuation 65 #40 of 112 97 #4 of 112 64 #41 of 112
Growth 91 #11 of 109 – 51 #54 of 109
Profitability 78 #24 of 104 – 55 #47 of 104
Financial Health 57 #51 of 116 89 #14 of 116 19 #94 of 116
Shareholder Returns 16 #68 of 81 100 #1 of 81 88 #11 of 81
Overall 61 95 55
  • CLS ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • DSWL ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • FLEX ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCLSDSWLFLEXSPY
1 month -24.4%-3.9%-27.3% -0.2%
3 months -21.1%-13.1%-26.4% +3.9%
6 months -23.6%-11.0%-4.4% +8.2%
Year to date -6.6%-13.9%+38.0% +12.9%
1 year -8.5%-15.1%+28.9% +12.3%
3 years +1,134.2%+31.9%+330.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +131.2%+9.7%+62.7% +23.3%
5 years +2,715.7%-25.1%+545.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year +95.0%-5.6%+45.2% +10.9%
10 years +2,211.5%+69.3%+696.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +36.9%+5.4%+23.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCLSDSWLFLEXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 79.9%43.2%69.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 86.3%44.2%64.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.380.243.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.11-0.350.42 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.0%-56.6%-52.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -41.5%-26.6%-48.6% -1.2%
52-week high $472.40$4.06$162.07 $779.14
52-week low $246.25$2.91$54.51 $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.

MultipleCLSDSWLFLEX
P/E now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 33.2x 4.5xmedian 33.2x 31.4xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.8x 0.8xmedian 2.8x 1.1xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.8xmedian 20.0x —median 20.0x 21.4xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 63.9xmedian 29.8x 10.0xmedian 29.8x 37.3xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 3.0x 0.4xmedian 3.0x 5.6xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.17 —median 1.17 2.17median 1.17

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 monthsCLSDSWLFLEX
Revenue $18.23B – $29.27B
Gross profit $2.09B – $2.74B
Operating income $1.50B – $1.45B
Net income $1.25B – $973.00M
Free cash flow $545.40M – $826.00M
R&D $168.90M – –
EPS (diluted) $10.23 – $2.60
Cash & equivalents $3.96B $23.06M $2.84B
Total debt $818.80M – $5.22B
Shares (diluted) 121.80M 15.92M 374.00M
Enterprise value $30.33B -$147.95M $22.89B

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
MetricCLSDSWLFLEX
P/E 26.7x 4.5x 31.4x
P/FCF 63.9x 10.0x 37.3x
P/Operating cash flow 24.7x – 19.7x
P/S 1.9x 0.8x 1.1x
P/B 5.6x 0.4x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 5.8x 0.4x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 18.8x – 21.4x
EV/EBIT 21.1x – 22.9x
EV/Revenue 1.7x – 1.1x
EV/FCF 58.1x – 40.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.5x – 21.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – – 2.17

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLSDSWLFLEX
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.6% – 12.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – – 1.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 53.8% – 21.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 62.0% – 16.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – 14.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 73.8% – 9.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – – -2.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 65.4% – 11.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – – 14.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 154.8% – -0.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 19.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 37.0% – -25.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 54.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLSDSWLFLEX
Gross margin 11.5% – 9.4%
EBITDA margin 9.3% – 5.3%
Operating margin 8.3% – 5.0%
Pretax margin 8.0% – 4.4%
Net margin 6.8% – 3.3%
FCF margin 3.0% – 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 7.7% – 5.3%
Return on equity 28.7% – 18.3%
Return on assets 10.0% – 4.1%
Return on invested capital 25.0% – 11.3%
Return on capital employed 32.1% – 13.9%
Asset turnover 1.5x – 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x – 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLSDSWLFLEX
Debt / assets 5.4% – 20.7%
Debt / equity 0.1x – 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.9x – 1.5x
Debt / FCF 1.5x – 6.3x
Liabilities / assets 59.0% 15.8% 78.2%
Equity / assets 41.0% 84.2% 21.8%
Interest coverage 21.3x – 6.5x
Current ratio 1.6x 5.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.0x 3.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.5x 2.5x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – – 2.66

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLSDSWLFLEX
Dividend yield – 10.1% –
Net buyback yield -9.6% – 2.3%
Shareholder yield -9.6% 10.1% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusCLSDSWLFLEX
Forward P/E 23.9xFY2026 – 17.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.54FY2026 – $4.88FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +93.3%FY2026 – +47.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +77.4% – +38.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $20.07BFY2026 – $36.41BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +64.1%FY2026 – +30.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +70.3% – +29.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLSDSWLFLEX
Held by institutions 69.0% – 94.3%
Institutions holding 874 – 1,106
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% – -0.8%
Institutions buying 519 – 674
Institutions selling 272 – 342
Buyers to sellers 1.91 – 1.97

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.

CLSDSWLFLEX
CLS 1.00 0.10 0.57
DSWL 0.10 1.00 0.08
FLEX 0.57 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLS, DSWL and FLEX?

Celestica (CLS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Celestica (CLS) $35.80B, Deswell Industries (DSWL) $47.34M, Flex (FLEX) $33.42B.

Which stock is cheaper, CLS, DSWL and FLEX?

Deswell Industries (DSWL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Celestica (CLS) 28.7x, Deswell Industries (DSWL) 4.5x, Flex (FLEX) 34.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Flex (FLEX) is cheapest (Celestica (CLS) 23.9x, Flex (FLEX) 17.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Celestica (CLS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Celestica (CLS) +61.6%, Flex (FLEX) +12.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Celestica (CLS) has the highest net margin (Celestica (CLS) 6.8%, Flex (FLEX) 3.3%). On return on invested capital, Celestica (CLS) leads (Celestica (CLS) 25.0%, Flex (FLEX) 11.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Flex (FLEX) returned the most: Celestica (CLS) -8.5%, Deswell Industries (DSWL) -15.1%, Flex (FLEX) +28.9%. Over five years, Celestica (CLS) compounded fastest (Celestica (CLS) +95.0%/yr, Deswell Industries (DSWL) -5.6%/yr, Flex (FLEX) +45.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Celestica (CLS) 0.00%, Deswell Industries (DSWL) 10.07%, Flex (FLEX) 0.00%. Celestica (CLS) and Flex (FLEX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Deswell Industries (DSWL) has been the steadiest (Celestica (CLS) 79.9%, Deswell Industries (DSWL) 43.2%, Flex (FLEX) 69.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CLS, DSWL and FLEX?

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