CNM vs AIT vs WSO Stock Comparison

Core & Main, Applied Industrial Technologies and Watsco Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CNM Core & Main, Inc.
$46.95 +11.5% 1M -8.7% 1Y
Market cap
$8.58B
P/E
18.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.70B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
2 wins
WSO Watsco Inc
$311.15 +7.0% 1M -13.1% 1Y
Market cap
$11.69B
P/E
26.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.28B
Div. yield
0.04%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Applied Industrial Technologies leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Applied Industrial Technologies 6, Watsco 4, Core & Main 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCNMAITWSOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.58B $10.32B $11.69B WSO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.7x 24.3x 26.5x CNM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.5x 21.7x 28.5x CNM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.5% +8.5% -3.0% AIT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 8.4% 6.1% AIT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.9% 20.0% 14.9% AIT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 0.3x -0.5x WSO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.04% WSO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.7% +8.9% -13.1% AIT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.6%/yr +22.2%/yr +1.1%/yr AIT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.9% 28.8% 35.6% AIT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 66/100 66/100 WSO

Percentile Scorecard

CNMAITWSO

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

AxisCNMAITWSO
Valuation 76 #12 of 46 16 #39 of 46 62 #18 of 46
Growth 37 #25 of 39 53 #19 of 39 32 #27 of 39
Profitability 75 #11 of 41 95 #3 of 41 78 #10 of 41
Financial Health 35 #32 of 49 90 #6 of 49 94 #4 of 49
Shareholder Returns 91 #4 of 34 79 #8 of 34 67 #12 of 34
Overall 63 66 66
  • CNM ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • AIT ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • WSO 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

PeriodCNMAITWSOSPY
1 month +11.5%-18.6%+7.0% -5.9%
3 months +3.3%-21.8%-3.1% -4.6%
6 months -5.5%-9.5%-27.5% +0.2%
Year to date -9.7%+9.4%-7.7% +7.5%
1 year -8.7%+8.9%-13.1% +8.2%
3 years +50.3%+78.2%-15.1% +68.3%
3 years, per year +14.6%+21.2%-5.3% +19.0%
5 years +73.2%+172.3%+5.4% +56.5%
5 years, per year +11.6%+22.2%+1.1% +9.4%
10 years —+470.9%+131.2% +251.5%
10 years, per year —+19.0%+8.7% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCNMAITWSOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.9%28.8%35.6% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.5%32.6%36.8% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.110.860.89 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.260.31-0.37 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.0%-26.5%-50.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.5%-22.4%-31.9% -5.9%
52-week high $59.09$362.17$456.86 $779.14
52-week low $40.35$240.63$279.97 $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.

MultipleCNMAITWSO
P/E now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 22.6x 24.3xmedian 22.6x 26.9xmedian 22.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.0x 2.0xmedian 1.0x 1.5xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.5xmedian 12.6x 16.6xmedian 12.6x 14.7xmedian 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.8xmedian 20.2x 24.3xmedian 20.2x 15.9xmedian 20.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 2.4x 5.4xmedian 2.4x 3.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.31median 2.13 3.36median 2.13 -2.68median 2.13

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 monthsCNMAITWSO
Revenue $7.70B $5.06B $7.28B
Gross profit $2.08B $1.54B $2.00B
Operating income $742.00M $564.03M $684.85M
Net income $479.00M $424.12M $560.52M
Free cash flow $628.00M $421.86M $697.14M
EPS (diluted) $2.37 $11.41 $11.56
Cash & equivalents $312.00M – $364.19M
Total debt $2.45B $282.30M $119.72M
Shares (diluted) 193.36M 37.18M 38.19M
Enterprise value $7.81B $10.21B $9.38B

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
MetricCNMAITWSO
P/E 19.1x 24.3x 26.9x
P/FCF 13.8x 24.3x 15.9x
P/Operating cash flow 12.7x 22.7x 15.1x
P/S 1.1x 2.0x 1.5x
P/B 4.1x 5.4x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 6.4x 6.5x 3.4x
EV/EBITDA 11.5x 16.6x 14.7x
EV/EBIT 14.6x 18.5x 15.7x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 2.1x 1.5x
EV/FCF 17.2x 24.7x 15.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.8x 23.1x 14.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.31 3.36 -2.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCNMAITWSO
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.5% 8.5% -3.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 4.4% 0.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.9% 8.3% -3.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.7% 5.6% 0.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.5% 9.7% -11.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 5.0% -5.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.7% 5.6% -10.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -5.0% 5.3% -6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 9.2% 8.7% -11.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.6% 7.2% -10.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 12.7% -6.8% 71.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.5% 5.5% 21.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 11.3% -7.3% 76.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.2% 5.5% 22.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCNMAITWSO
Gross margin 27.0% 30.4% 27.5%
EBITDA margin 12.1% 12.4% 10.0%
Operating margin 9.6% 11.2% 9.4%
Pretax margin 8.1% 11.0% 9.7%
Net margin 6.0% 8.4% 6.1%
FCF margin 8.2% 8.3% 9.6%
Operating cash flow margin 8.9% 8.9% 10.1%
Return on equity 22.7% 22.6% 16.8%
Return on assets 7.4% 14.2% 11.5%
Return on invested capital 12.9% 20.0% 14.9%
Return on capital employed 13.9% 22.9% 18.1%
Asset turnover 1.2x 1.7x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.1x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.2% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCNMAITWSO
Debt / assets 36.5% 9.5% 2.4%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.1x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 0.3x -0.5x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 0.7x 0.2x
Liabilities / assets 68.6% 36.8% 31.7%
Equity / assets 31.4% 63.2% 68.3%
Interest coverage 6.3x – –
Current ratio 2.5x 2.9x 3.2x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.7x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.12 9.69 6.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCNMAITWSO
Dividend yield – 0.7% 4.1%
Net buyback yield 4.2% 3.4% -0.5%
Shareholder yield 4.2% 4.1% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 17.4% 89.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 17.5% 71.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 10.6% 11.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 11.1% 11.4%

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.

ConsensusCNMAITWSO
Forward P/E 14.5xFY2026 21.7xFY2027 28.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.23FY2026 $12.94FY2027 $10.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +39.8%FY2026 +18.2%FY2027 -10.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.1% +7.2% +11.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.13BFY2026 $4.92BFY2027 $7.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.2%FY2026 -1.0%FY2027 +1.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.5% +5.2% +11.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCNMAITWSO
Held by institutions 100.0% 94.4% 100.0%
Institutions holding 451 619 788
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +1.3% -0.9%
Institutions buying 222 328 341
Institutions selling 178 207 306
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.58 1.11

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.

CNMAITWSO
CNM 1.00 0.45 0.48
AIT 0.45 1.00 0.41
WSO 0.48 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CNM, AIT and WSO?

Watsco (WSO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Core & Main (CNM) $8.58B, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) $10.32B, Watsco (WSO) $11.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, CNM, AIT and WSO?

Core & Main (CNM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Core & Main (CNM) 18.7x, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 24.3x, Watsco (WSO) 26.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Core & Main (CNM) is cheapest (Core & Main (CNM) 14.5x, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 21.7x, Watsco (WSO) 28.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Core & Main (CNM) -0.5%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.5%, Watsco (WSO) -3.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has the highest net margin (Core & Main (CNM) 6.0%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 8.4%, Watsco (WSO) 6.1%). On return on invested capital, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) leads (Core & Main (CNM) 12.9%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 20.0%, Watsco (WSO) 14.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) returned the most: Core & Main (CNM) -8.7%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.9%, Watsco (WSO) -13.1%. Over five years, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) compounded fastest (Core & Main (CNM) +11.6%/yr, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +22.2%/yr, Watsco (WSO) +1.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Watsco (WSO) has the highest dividend yield: Core & Main (CNM) 0.00%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 0.01%, Watsco (WSO) 0.04%. Core & Main (CNM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has been the steadiest (Core & Main (CNM) 33.9%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 28.8%, Watsco (WSO) 35.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CNM, AIT and WSO?

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