CXT vs IPGP vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Crane NXT, Ipg Photonics and Nordson Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CXT Crane NXT, Co.
$58.43 +22.4% 1M -11.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.36B
P/E
23.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.80B
Div. yield
1.22%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
IPGP Ipg Photonics Corp
$74.34 -4.8% 1M -14.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.16B
P/E
114.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.07B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
NDSN Nordson Corp
$324.30 -0.5% 1M +36.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.06B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
1.05%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 6, Crane NXT 5, Ipg Photonics 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCXTIPGPNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.36B $3.16B $18.06B NDSN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.9x 114.6x 32.5x CXT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.7x 70.8x 29.1x CXT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.3% +13.0% +7.0% CXT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.8% 2.6% 18.6% NDSN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.4% — 13.1% NDSN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x — 1.7x NDSN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.22% 0.00% 1.05% CXT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.0% -14.7% +36.1% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.6%/yr -14.1%/yr +5.3%/yr CXT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.9% 72.0% 22.2% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 58/100 57/100 IPGP

Percentile Scorecard

CXTIPGPNDSN

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

AxisCXTIPGPNDSN
Valuation 68 #65 of 203 40 #123 of 203 30 #142 of 203
Growth 49 #97 of 188 31 #130 of 188 55 #85 of 188
Profitability 61 #72 of 183 31 #126 of 183 96 #8 of 183
Financial Health 18 #179 of 217 96 #9 of 217 54 #101 of 217
Shareholder Returns 26 #113 of 153 93 #11 of 153 51 #76 of 153
Overall 44 58 57
  • CXT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IPGP ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCXTIPGPNDSNSPY
1 month +22.4%-4.8%-0.5% -0.2%
3 months +7.2%-11.5%+7.2% +3.9%
6 months +31.9%-33.8%+15.1% +8.2%
Year to date +24.1%+3.8%+34.9% +12.9%
1 year -11.0%-14.7%+36.1% +12.3%
3 years +14.8%-15.7%+52.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +4.7%-5.5%+15.2% +23.3%
5 years +65.7%-53.2%+29.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +10.6%-14.1%+5.3% +10.9%
10 years +147.8%-21.0%+225.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.5%-2.3%+12.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCXTIPGPNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.9%72.0%22.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.1%77.3%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.222.140.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.28-0.201.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.6%-72.0%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.0%-51.7%-3.1% -1.2%
52-week high $65.65$153.91$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $36.13$69.41$226.69 $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.

MultipleCXTIPGPNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 23.9xmedian 25.2x 114.6xmedian 25.2x 32.5xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.9x 3.0xmedian 1.9x 6.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 14.0x 30.5xmedian 14.0x 21.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 21.7x 152.0xmedian 21.7x 24.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 2.3x 1.5xmedian 2.3x 5.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -2.29median 1.32 -3.37median 1.32 7.39median 1.32

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 monthsCXTIPGPNDSN
Revenue $1.80B $1.07B $2.98B
Gross profit $759.30M $410.10M $1.65B
Operating income $252.60M $7.97M $800.96M
Net income $141.40M $27.56M $555.18M
Free cash flow $224.00M $20.80M $724.01M
R&D – $123.44M –
EPS (diluted) $2.42 $0.64 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $231.40M $399.23M $113.43M
Total debt $1.45B – $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 58.00M 42.91M 56.03M
Enterprise value $2.51B -$231.98M $17.62B

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
MetricCXTIPGPNDSN
P/E 23.9x 114.6x 32.5x
P/FCF 15.0x 152.0x 24.9x
P/Operating cash flow 12.4x 32.8x 23.4x
P/S 1.9x 3.0x 6.1x
P/B 2.7x 1.5x 5.5x
P/Tangible book 6.5x 1.5x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 12.1x 30.5x 21.2x
EV/EBIT 18.2x 287.5x 24.6x
EV/Revenue 2.5x 2.1x 6.6x
EV/FCF 20.5x 110.1x 27.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.0x 23.8x 25.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.29 -3.37 7.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCXTIPGPNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.3% 13.0% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.0% -7.9% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.9% 25.1% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% -6.8% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.4% 103.4% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -4.0% -62.6% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -6.6% 112.8% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -9.9% -36.2% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -7.4% 112.7% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -10.5% -34.0% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 41.3% -36.2% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.1% -24.2% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 52.0% -67.8% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.6% -43.0% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCXTIPGPNDSN
Gross margin 42.1% 38.4% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 21.0% 7.0% 31.2%
Operating margin 14.0% 0.7% 26.9%
Pretax margin 9.8% 3.7% 22.6%
Net margin 7.8% 2.6% 18.6%
FCF margin 12.4% 1.9% 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 15.0% 9.0% 26.0%
Return on equity 11.3% 1.3% 17.2%
Return on assets 3.9% 1.1% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 7.4% – 13.1%
Return on capital employed 8.6% 0.4% 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 3.5x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 3.9% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCXTIPGPNDSN
Debt / assets 40.4% – 29.1%
Debt / equity 1.1x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x – 1.7x
Debt / FCF 6.5x – 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 64.8% 12.3% 45.0%
Equity / assets 35.2% 87.7% 55.0%
Interest coverage 3.5x – 8.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 6.2x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.9x 4.4x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x 3.6x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.85 8.98 6.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCXTIPGPNDSN
Dividend yield 1.2% – 1.0%
Net buyback yield -0.7% 4.2% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 0.5% 4.2% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 7.2%

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.

ConsensusCXTIPGPNDSN
Forward P/E 12.7xFY2026 70.8xFY2026 29.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.59FY2026 $1.05FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after 0.0% +109.5% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.85BFY2026 $1.18BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.4%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.8% +7.7% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCXTIPGPNDSN
Held by institutions 100.0% 71.5% 76.0%
Institutions holding 359 356 755
Change in shares held, QoQ +12.7% +4.7% +3.1%
Institutions buying 182 214 389
Institutions selling 111 96 240
Buyers to sellers 1.64 2.23 1.62

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.

CXTIPGPNDSN
CXT 1.00 0.32 0.46
IPGP 0.32 1.00 0.31
NDSN 0.46 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CXT, IPGP and NDSN?

Nordson (NDSN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Crane NXT (CXT) $3.36B, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) $3.16B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, CXT, IPGP and NDSN?

Crane NXT (CXT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Crane NXT (CXT) 23.9x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 114.6x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Crane NXT (CXT) is cheapest (Crane NXT (CXT) 12.7x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 70.8x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Crane NXT (CXT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Crane NXT (CXT) +17.3%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) +13.0%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest net margin (Crane NXT (CXT) 7.8%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 2.6%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Nordson (NDSN) leads (Crane NXT (CXT) 7.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Crane NXT (CXT) -11.0%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -14.7%, Nordson (NDSN) +36.1%. Over five years, Crane NXT (CXT) compounded fastest (Crane NXT (CXT) +10.6%/yr, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -14.1%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Crane NXT (CXT) has the highest dividend yield: Crane NXT (CXT) 1.22%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 0.00%, Nordson (NDSN) 1.05%. Ipg Photonics (IPGP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Crane NXT (CXT) 38.9%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 72.0%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CXT, IPGP and NDSN?

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