CXT vs MIDD vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Crane NXT, Middleby and Nordson Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CXT Crane NXT, Co.
$57.00 +19.4% 1M -13.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.35B
P/E
23.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.80B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins
MIDD MIDDLEBY Corp
$114.46 +6.3% 1M -13.7% 1Y
Market cap
$5.22B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.35B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
NDSN Nordson Corp
$321.98 -1.2% 1M +36.5% 1Y
Market cap
$18.07B
P/E
32.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 7, Crane NXT 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCXTMIDDNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.35B $5.22B $18.07B NDSN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.9x -16.5x 32.6x CXT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.4x 16.1x 28.9x CXT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.3% +7.0% +7.0% CXT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.8% -9.4% 18.6% NDSN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.4% 9.2% 13.1% NDSN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 2.8x 1.7x NDSN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.7% -13.7% +36.5% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.3%/yr -8.1%/yr +5.3%/yr CXT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.9% 42.7% 22.2% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 38/100 58/100 NDSN

Percentile Scorecard

CXTMIDDNDSN

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

AxisCXTMIDDNDSN
Valuation 70 #61 of 203 58 #86 of 203 30 #143 of 203
Growth 50 #95 of 187 12 #164 of 187 57 #82 of 187
Profitability 62 #71 of 185 52 #90 of 185 96 #8 of 185
Financial Health 17 #181 of 219 28 #157 of 219 54 #101 of 219
Shareholder Returns 26 #113 of 153 – 53 #73 of 153
Overall 45 38 58
  • CXT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MIDD 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

PeriodCXTMIDDNDSNSPY
1 month +19.4%+6.3%-1.2% -0.8%
3 months +5.1%-15.8%+8.3% +3.5%
6 months +28.6%-19.8%+13.6% +7.0%
Year to date +21.1%-23.0%+33.9% +12.2%
1 year -13.7%-13.7%+36.5% +13.0%
3 years +12.0%+2.1%+51.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +3.9%+0.7%+14.9% +23.1%
5 years +63.5%-34.3%+29.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year +10.3%-8.1%+5.3% +11.0%
10 years +143.4%+3.0%+220.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.3%+0.3%+12.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCXTMIDDNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.9%42.7%22.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.1%47.7%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.211.190.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.35-0.321.64 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.6%-48.6%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.2%-36.1%-3.8% -1.8%
52-week high $65.65$179.20$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $36.13$102.69$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.

MultipleCXTMIDDNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 23.4xmedian 26.0x -16.5xmedian 26.0x 32.3xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.9x 1.5xmedian 1.9x 6.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 14.0x 10.6xmedian 14.0x 21.1xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 21.4x —median 21.4x 24.8xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 2.2x 2.3xmedian 2.2x 5.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -2.23median 1.26 0.40median 1.26 7.34median 1.26

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 monthsCXTMIDDNDSN
Revenue $1.80B $3.35B $2.98B
Gross profit $759.30M $1.29B $1.65B
Operating income $252.60M $574.47M $800.96M
Net income $141.40M -$315.27M $555.18M
Free cash flow $224.00M – $724.01M
EPS (diluted) $2.42 $-6.95 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $231.40M $159.18M $113.43M
Total debt $1.45B $8.60B $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 58.00M 45.34M 56.03M
Enterprise value $2.48B $4.15B $17.63B

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
MetricCXTMIDDNDSN
P/E 23.4x -16.5x 32.3x
P/FCF 14.6x – 24.8x
P/Operating cash flow 12.1x – 23.2x
P/S 1.8x 1.5x 6.0x
P/B 2.6x 2.3x 5.5x
P/Tangible book 6.3x 4.4x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 11.9x 10.6x 21.1x
EV/EBIT 17.8x 12.2x 24.4x
EV/Revenue 2.5x 2.1x 6.6x
EV/FCF 20.1x – 27.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.6x – 25.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.23 0.40 7.34

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCXTMIDDNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.3% 7.0% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.0% -6.3% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.9% 4.2% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% -5.4% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.4% -7.3% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -4.0% -6.2% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -6.6% -174.2% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -9.9% -39.2% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -7.4% -187.0% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -10.5% -41.4% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 41.3% – 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.1% – 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 52.0% – 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.6% – 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCXTMIDDNDSN
Gross margin 42.1% 38.7% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 21.0% 19.7% 31.2%
Operating margin 14.0% 17.2% 26.9%
Pretax margin 9.8% 14.4% 22.6%
Net margin 7.8% -9.4% 18.6%
FCF margin 12.4% – 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 15.0% – 26.0%
Return on equity 11.3% -12.6% 17.2%
Return on assets 3.9% -5.4% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 7.4% 9.2% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 8.6% 11.5% 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 0.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCXTMIDDNDSN
Debt / assets 40.4% 36.9% 29.1%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.9x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 2.8x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 6.5x – 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 64.8% 58.8% 45.0%
Equity / assets 35.2% 41.2% 55.0%
Interest coverage 3.5x 5.6x 8.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 2.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.0x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.83 3.21 6.23

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCXTMIDDNDSN
Dividend yield 1.2% – 1.1%
Net buyback yield -0.7% – 1.1%
Shareholder yield 0.5% 0.0% 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.

ConsensusCXTMIDDNDSN
Forward P/E 12.4xFY2026 16.1xFY2026 28.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.59FY2026 $7.12FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after 0.0% +15.7% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.85BFY2026 $2.66BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.4%FY2026 -16.9%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.8% +0.8% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCXTMIDDNDSN
Held by institutions 100.0% 91.7% 76.0%
Institutions holding 359 452 755
Change in shares held, QoQ +12.7% -1.4% +3.1%
Institutions buying 182 205 389
Institutions selling 111 172 240
Buyers to sellers 1.64 1.19 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.

CXTMIDDNDSN
CXT 1.00 0.32 0.46
MIDD 0.32 1.00 0.43
NDSN 0.46 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CXT, MIDD and NDSN?

Nordson (NDSN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Crane NXT (CXT) $3.35B, Middleby (MIDD) $5.22B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, CXT, MIDD and NDSN?

Crane NXT (CXT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Crane NXT (CXT) 23.9x, Middleby (MIDD) -16.5x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Crane NXT (CXT) is cheapest (Crane NXT (CXT) 12.4x, Middleby (MIDD) 16.1x, Nordson (NDSN) 28.9x). 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%, Middleby (MIDD) +7.0%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest net margin (Crane NXT (CXT) 7.8%, Middleby (MIDD) -9.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Nordson (NDSN) leads (Crane NXT (CXT) 7.4%, Middleby (MIDD) 9.2%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Crane NXT (CXT) -13.7%, Middleby (MIDD) -13.7%, Nordson (NDSN) +36.5%. Over five years, Crane NXT (CXT) compounded fastest (Crane NXT (CXT) +10.3%/yr, Middleby (MIDD) -8.1%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Crane NXT (CXT) 0.00%, Middleby (MIDD) 0.00%, Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%. Crane NXT (CXT) and Middleby (MIDD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Crane NXT (CXT) 38.9%, Middleby (MIDD) 42.7%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CXT, MIDD 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 7. 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.