CMT vs MLI vs IIIN Stock Comparison

Core Molding Technologies, Mueller Industries and Insteel Industries Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MLI Mueller Industries Inc
$55.30 -9.3% 1M -47.0% 1Y
Market cap
$12.06B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.00B
Div. yield
0.84%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
8 wins
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.31 -3.3% 1M -8.3% 1Y
Market cap
$548.03M
P/E
18.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
3.96%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mueller Industries leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Mueller Industries 8, Insteel Industries 2, Core Molding Technologies 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCMTMLIIIINLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $189.25M $12.06B $548.03M MLI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.8x 13.9x 18.6x MLI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 47.0x 13.7x 13.8x MLI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -7.9% +20.8% +14.2% MLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.9% 17.3% — MLI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.2% 22.7% — MLI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.3x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.84% 3.96% IIIN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.6% -47.0% -8.3% CMT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.0%/yr +16.0%/yr -7.0%/yr MLI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.3% 131.8% 41.4% IIIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 86/100 68/100 MLI

Percentile Scorecard

CMTMLIIIIN

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

AxisCMTMLIIIIN
Valuation 84 #33 of 203 83 #35 of 203 85 #32 of 203
Growth 7 #175 of 188 68 #61 of 188 32 #128 of 188
Profitability 36 #119 of 184 96 #8 of 184 62 #70 of 184
Financial Health 70 #66 of 217 97 #7 of 217 –
Shareholder Returns 73 #42 of 153 84 #25 of 153 95 #9 of 153
Overall 54 86 68
  • CMT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MLI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IIIN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCMTMLIIIINSPY
1 month -2.1%-9.3%-3.3% +0.9%
3 months -5.2%-15.4%-7.3% +5.9%
6 months -19.3%-58.4%+10.4% +8.5%
Year to date +10.2%-51.8%-10.6% +13.3%
1 year +20.6%-47.0%-8.3% +12.4%
3 years -14.2%+46.2%+4.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year -5.0%+13.5%+1.6% +23.5%
5 years +100.9%+110.1%-30.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year +15.0%+16.0%-7.0% +11.0%
10 years +27.7%+268.9%+7.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year +2.5%+13.9%+0.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCMTMLIIIINSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.3%131.8%41.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.7%165.1%51.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.580.700.98 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.49-0.36-0.20 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -56.0%-61.6%-49.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.0%-60.7%-25.7% -0.9%
52-week high $28.35$140.83$38.11 $779.14
52-week low $17.56$54.11$24.48 $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.

MultipleCMTMLIIIIN
P/E now vs peer median 25.8xmedian 25.4x 13.9xmedian 25.4x 18.6xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.9x 2.4xmedian 1.9x 0.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 14.3x 9.4xmedian 14.3x —median 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -22.8xmedian 21.8x 17.5xmedian 21.8x -58.5xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.2x 3.4xmedian 2.2x 1.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.90median 1.41 1.09median 1.41 -6.38median 1.41

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 monthsCMTMLIIIIN
Revenue $254.42M $5.00B $739.51M
Gross profit $46.19M $1.36B $75.68M
Operating income $9.22M $1.08B –
Net income $7.35M $871.57M $29.55M
Free cash flow -$8.30M $689.59M –
EPS (diluted) $0.84 $3.92 $1.52
Cash & equivalents $12.13M $1.45B $37.48M
Total debt – $5.24M –
Shares (diluted) 8.71M 220.12M 19.49M
Enterprise value $73.15M $6.40B $548.03M

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
MetricCMTMLIIIIN
P/E 25.8x 13.9x 18.6x
P/FCF -22.8x 17.5x -58.5x
P/Operating cash flow 11.4x 15.7x 15.1x
P/S 0.7x 2.4x 0.7x
P/B 1.2x 3.4x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 1.2x 3.8x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA 8.3x 9.4x –
EV/EBIT 19.2x 9.8x –
EV/Revenue 0.7x 2.1x 0.7x
EV/FCF -21.3x 15.3x –
EV/Operating cash flow 10.6x 13.7x 15.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.90 1.09 -6.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCMTMLIIIIN
Revenue growth (1Y) -7.9% 20.8% 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -12.9% 11.9% 4.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -4.4% 11.7% -19.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -9.9% 9.2% 5.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -26.4% 12.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -29.0% 9.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) -21.5% 14.9% -28.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.3% 11.4% -3.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -22.3% 16.2% -27.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -28.5% 12.8% -2.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -30.0% 2.1% 33.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -21.9% 3.0% -36.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -165.4% 1.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -33.3% 1.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCMTMLIIIIN
Gross margin 18.2% 27.3% –
EBITDA margin 8.4% 22.5% –
Operating margin 3.6% 21.5% –
Pretax margin 3.7% 22.8% –
Net margin 2.9% 17.3% –
FCF margin -3.3% 13.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 6.5% 15.4% 4.9%
Return on equity 4.6% 24.5% 7.9%
Return on assets 3.1% 20.4% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 4.2% 22.7% –
Return on capital employed 4.9% 29.7% –
Asset turnover 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 0.9x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.6% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCMTMLIIIIN
Debt / assets – 0.1% –
Debt / equity – 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.3x –
Debt / FCF – 0.0x –
Liabilities / assets 29.2% 17.6% –
Equity / assets 70.8% 82.4% 79.0%
Interest coverage 56.6x 3,260x –
Current ratio 2.0x 4.4x 3.7x
Quick ratio 1.0x 3.4x –
Cash ratio 0.3x 2.3x –
Altman Z-score 4.13 13.61 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCMTMLIIIIN
Dividend yield – 0.8% 4.0%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 2.3% –
Shareholder yield 1.7% 3.1% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 16.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 20.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 35.7% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 30.2% –

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.

ConsensusCMTMLIIIIN
Forward P/E 47.0xFY2026 13.7xFY2026 13.8xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $0.47FY2026 $4.03FY2026 $2.05FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -69.1%FY2026 +17.5%FY2026 +35.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +314.9% +10.2% +7.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $283.16MFY2026 $5.04BFY2026 $759.46MFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +3.4%FY2026 +20.5%FY2026 +2.7%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +2.1% +10.9% +4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCMTMLIIIIN
Held by institutions 75.1% 95.3% 82.1%
Institutions holding 92 738 187
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.5% +6.5% +0.9%
Institutions buying 44 419 122
Institutions selling 26 226 48
Buyers to sellers 1.69 1.85 2.54

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.

CMTMLIIIIN
CMT 1.00 0.05 0.17
MLI 0.05 1.00 0.07
IIIN 0.17 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CMT, MLI and IIIN?

Mueller Industries (MLI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Core Molding Technologies (CMT) $189.25M, Mueller Industries (MLI) $12.06B, Insteel Industries (IIIN) $548.03M.

Which stock is cheaper, CMT, MLI and IIIN?

Mueller Industries (MLI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Core Molding Technologies (CMT) 25.8x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.9x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 18.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mueller Industries (MLI) is cheapest (Core Molding Technologies (CMT) 47.0x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.7x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 13.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mueller Industries (MLI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Core Molding Technologies (CMT) -7.9%, Mueller Industries (MLI) +20.8%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mueller Industries (MLI) has the highest net margin (Core Molding Technologies (CMT) 2.9%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 17.3%). On return on invested capital, Mueller Industries (MLI) leads (Core Molding Technologies (CMT) 4.2%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 22.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Core Molding Technologies (CMT) returned the most: Core Molding Technologies (CMT) +20.6%, Mueller Industries (MLI) -47.0%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -8.3%. Over five years, Mueller Industries (MLI) compounded fastest (Core Molding Technologies (CMT) +15.0%/yr, Mueller Industries (MLI) +16.0%/yr, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -7.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Insteel Industries (IIIN) has the highest dividend yield: Core Molding Technologies (CMT) 0.00%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 0.84%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 3.96%. Core Molding Technologies (CMT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Insteel Industries (IIIN) has been the steadiest (Core Molding Technologies (CMT) 42.3%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 131.8%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CMT, MLI and IIIN?

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