CLS vs PLXS vs UCTT Stock Comparison

Celestica, Plexus and Ultra Clean Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CLS Celestica Inc
$300.08 -15.9% 1M -8.1% 1Y
Market cap
$37.84B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.23B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Manufacturing Services Technology
8 wins
PLXS Plexus Corp
$239.34 -9.7% 1M +66.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.38B
P/E
31.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.96B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Manufacturing Services Technology
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Celestica leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Celestica 8, Ultra Clean Holdings 2, Plexus 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLSPLXSUCTTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $37.84B $6.38B $2.55B CLS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.0x 31.6x 95.4x CLS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.0x 28.7x 18.8x UCTT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +61.6% +23.1% +15.8% CLS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.8% — 1.1% CLS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 25.0% — 3.2% CLS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.9x — 2.0x CLS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.1% +66.6% +87.3% UCTT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +98.3%/yr +22.4%/yr +2.4%/yr CLS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 79.9% 41.6% 90.3% PLXS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 43/100 45/100 CLS

Percentile Scorecard

CLSPLXSUCTT

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

AxisCLSPLXSUCTT
Valuation 60 #45 of 111 46 #60 of 111 63 #35 of 94
Growth 89 #13 of 108 44 #61 of 108 55 #42 of 92
Profitability 78 #24 of 104 54 #48 of 104 35 #59 of 90
Financial Health 56 #51 of 115 25 #86 of 115 11 #88 of 99
Shareholder Returns 20 #63 of 78 – 58 #31 of 73
Overall 60 43 45
  • CLS ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • PLXS ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • UCTT ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCLSPLXSUCTTSPY
1 month -15.9%-9.7%-28.4% +0.9%
3 months -8.8%-0.5%-19.7% +5.9%
6 months -20.3%-4.5%-22.4% +8.5%
Year to date +1.5%+62.8%+120.6% +13.3%
1 year -8.1%+66.6%+87.3% +12.4%
3 years +1,240.8%+152.8%+136.0% +88.1%
3 years, per year +137.7%+36.3%+33.2% +23.5%
5 years +2,955.8%+174.1%+12.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year +98.3%+22.4%+2.4% +11.0%
10 years +2,419.6%+428.0%+570.0% +263.4%
10 years, per year +38.1%+18.1%+21.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCLSPLXSUCTTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 79.9%41.6%90.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 86.3%44.0%94.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.381.743.67 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.101.600.97 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.0%-34.9%-70.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.5%-21.2%-60.8% -0.9%
52-week high $472.40$303.82$142.59 $779.14
52-week low $246.25$132.74$21.65 $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.

MultipleCLSPLXSUCTT
P/E now vs peer median 29.0xmedian 33.5x 31.6xmedian 33.5x 95.4xmedian 46.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.8x 1.3xmedian 2.8x 1.0xmedian 7.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.5xmedian 19.6x —median 19.6x 15.7xmedian 28.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 69.4xmedian 29.8x 117.8xmedian 29.8x -15.6xmedian 41.4x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 2.9x 4.1xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.10 2.18median 1.10 0.38median 2.30

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 monthsCLSPLXSUCTT
Revenue $18.23B $4.96B $2.44B
Gross profit $2.09B $502.67M $393.80M
Operating income $1.50B $263.84M $105.50M
Net income $1.25B $202.49M $31.50M
Free cash flow $545.40M – -$164.00M
R&D $168.90M – $34.90M
EPS (diluted) $10.23 $7.42 $0.58
Cash & equivalents $3.96B – $270.90M
Total debt $818.80M – $635.10M
Shares (diluted) 121.80M 27.29M 46.20M
Enterprise value $32.37B $6.38B $1.48B

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
MetricCLSPLXSUCTT
P/E 29.0x 31.6x 95.4x
P/FCF 69.4x 117.8x -15.6x
P/Operating cash flow 26.9x 93.6x -23.5x
P/S 2.1x 1.3x 1.0x
P/B 6.1x 4.1x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 6.3x 4.1x 3.8x
EV/EBITDA 20.5x – 15.7x
EV/EBIT 23.1x – 27.7x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 1.3x 1.2x
EV/FCF 63.6x – -17.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.7x 93.6x -26.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 2.18 0.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLSPLXSUCTT
Revenue growth (1Y) 61.6% 23.1% 15.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 5.6% 9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 53.8% 23.7% 16.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 8.4% 7.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 62.0% 30.4% 214.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 10.4% 12.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 73.8% 17.1% 119.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 13.3% 205.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 65.4% 18.5% 116.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 14.5% 250.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 154.8% -72.6% -245.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -25.6% -55.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 37.0% – -1,059%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – -77.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLSPLXSUCTT
Gross margin 11.5% – 16.1%
EBITDA margin 9.3% – 7.6%
Operating margin 8.3% – 4.3%
Pretax margin 8.0% – 3.6%
Net margin 6.8% – 1.1%
FCF margin 3.0% – -6.7%
Operating cash flow margin 7.7% 1.4% -4.4%
Return on equity 28.7% – 4.8%
Return on assets 10.0% – 1.8%
Return on invested capital 25.0% – 3.2%
Return on capital employed 32.1% – 6.9%
Asset turnover 1.5x 1.3x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 0.3x -3.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.9% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLSPLXSUCTT
Debt / assets 5.4% – 30.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x – 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.9x – 2.0x
Debt / FCF 1.5x – -3.9x
Liabilities / assets 59.0% 60.0% 61.4%
Equity / assets 41.0% 40.0% 38.6%
Interest coverage 21.3x – 5.8x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.4x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x – 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.5x – 0.6x
Altman Z-score – – 3.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLSPLXSUCTT
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -8.8% – 0.2%
Shareholder yield -8.8% – 0.2%
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.

ConsensusCLSPLXSUCTT
Forward P/E 26.0xFY2026 28.7xFY2026 18.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.54FY2026 $8.35FY2026 $2.98FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +93.3%FY2026 +12.4%FY2026 +183.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +77.4% +26.7% +102.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $20.07BFY2026 $4.60BFY2026 $2.65BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +64.1%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026 +29.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +70.3% +16.8% +38.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLSPLXSUCTT
Held by institutions 69.0% 99.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 874 447 433
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% -0.6% +2.5%
Institutions buying 519 245 238
Institutions selling 272 135 161
Buyers to sellers 1.91 1.81 1.48

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.

CLSPLXSUCTT
CLS 1.00 0.55 0.48
PLXS 0.55 1.00 0.64
UCTT 0.48 0.64 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CLS, PLXS and UCTT?

Celestica (CLS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Celestica (CLS) $37.84B, Plexus (PLXS) $6.38B, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) $2.55B.

Which stock is cheaper, CLS, PLXS and UCTT?

Celestica (CLS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Celestica (CLS) 29.0x, Plexus (PLXS) 31.6x, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) 95.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) is cheapest (Celestica (CLS) 26.0x, Plexus (PLXS) 28.7x, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) 18.8x). 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%, Plexus (PLXS) +23.1%, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) +15.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Celestica (CLS) has the highest net margin (Celestica (CLS) 6.8%, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) 1.1%). On return on invested capital, Celestica (CLS) leads (Celestica (CLS) 25.0%, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) 3.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) returned the most: Celestica (CLS) -8.1%, Plexus (PLXS) +66.6%, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) +87.3%. Over five years, Celestica (CLS) compounded fastest (Celestica (CLS) +98.3%/yr, Plexus (PLXS) +22.4%/yr, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) +2.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Plexus (PLXS) has been the steadiest (Celestica (CLS) 79.9%, Plexus (PLXS) 41.6%, Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT) 90.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CLS, PLXS and UCTT?

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 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.