CXW vs IRM Stock Comparison

CoreCivic and Iron Mountain Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CXW CoreCivic, Inc.
$30.03 -7.0% 1M +60.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.96B
P/E
23.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.48B
Div. yield
–
Facility Services Industrials
7 wins
IRM Iron Mountain Inc
$109.94 -4.5% 1M +5.8% 1Y
Market cap
$33.66B
P/E
80.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.56B
Div. yield
0.03%
Facility Services Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCXWIRMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.96B $33.66B IRM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.1x 80.4x CXW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 1.8x 47.4x CXW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.3% +17.4% CXW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.1% 5.5% IRM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.6% 7.6% IRM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 6.7x CXW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +60.4% +5.8% CXW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +27.3%/yr +19.1%/yr CXW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.9% 33.1% IRM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 47/100 CXW

Percentile Scorecard

CXWIRM

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

AxisCXWIRM
Valuation 51 #56 of 112 21 #89 of 112
Growth 46 #52 of 96 91 #10 of 96
Profitability 51 #46 of 93 66 #32 of 93
Financial Health 38 #78 of 126 7 #117 of 126
Shareholder Returns 82 #13 of 67 52 #33 of 67
Overall 54 47
  • CXW ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • IRM ranked among 130 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCXWIRMSPY
1 month -7.0%-4.5% -1.0%
3 months -4.1%-14.4% +2.9%
6 months +46.4%-5.2% +6.4%
Year to date +57.1%+32.5% +11.4%
1 year +60.4%+5.8% +13.1%
3 years +139.9%+84.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +33.9%+22.6% +21.5%
5 years +233.7%+139.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year +27.3%+19.1% +10.9%
10 years +114.7%+223.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.9%+12.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCXWIRMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.9%33.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.8%34.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.361.15 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.440.17 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.7%-40.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.5%-17.4% -2.5%
52-week high $35.53$133.06 $779.14
52-week low $16.13$78.86 $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.

MultipleCXWIRM
P/E now vs peer median 23.2xmedian 21.0x 78.2xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 0.9x 4.3xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 12.3x 19.6xmedian 12.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 51.8xmedian 15.1x -66.7xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.4x -25.5xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 3.27median 1.02 29.92median 1.02

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 monthsCXWIRM
Revenue $2.48B $7.56B
Gross profit – $4.10B
Operating income – $1.42B
Net income $127.90M $434.46M
Free cash flow $57.32M -$490.92M
EPS (diluted) $1.29 $1.40
Cash & equivalents $108.93M $204.79M
Total debt $5.01B $17.35B
Shares (diluted) 98.89M 299.85M
Enterprise value $2.48B $32.85B

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
MetricCXWIRM
P/E 23.2x 78.2x
P/FCF 51.8x -66.7x
P/Operating cash flow 14.8x 19.8x
P/S 1.2x 4.3x
P/B 2.1x -25.5x
P/Tangible book 2.1x -13.0x
EV/EBITDA 10.8x 19.6x
EV/EBIT 17.0x 35.2x
EV/Revenue 1.7x 6.6x
EV/FCF 73.4x -101.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x 30.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.27 29.92

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCXWIRM
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.3% 17.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 13.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 13.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 11.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 35.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 12.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 22.9% 867.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.2% 4.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 35.1% 897.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 2.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -26.4% 31.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.6% 17.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -66.4% 50.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -19.8% -60.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCXWIRM
Gross margin – 54.2%
EBITDA margin 15.6% 33.6%
Operating margin – 18.8%
Pretax margin 7.0% 6.7%
Net margin 5.1% 5.5%
FCF margin 2.3% -6.5%
Operating cash flow margin 8.1% 21.9%
Return on equity 9.0% –
Return on assets 3.7% 2.0%
Return on invested capital 6.6% 7.6%
Return on capital employed 8.5% 7.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 3.8x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCXWIRM
Debt / assets 39.0% 79.0%
Debt / equity 0.9x -13.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 6.7x
Debt / FCF 23.5x -35.3x
Liabilities / assets 58.4% 105.8%
Equity / assets 41.6% -5.8%
Interest coverage 3.3x –
Current ratio 1.3x 0.7x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.87 1.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCXWIRM
Dividend yield – 3.1%
Net buyback yield 6.4% –
Shareholder yield 6.4% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 229.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -203.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 16.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 11.1%

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.

ConsensusCXWIRM
Forward P/E 1.8xFY2026 47.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $16.94FY2026 $2.32FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1,468.5%FY2026 +9.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -85.4% +28.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.85BFY2026 $8.36BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +29.1%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.2% +2.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCXWIRM
Held by institutions 87.5% 86.2%
Institutions holding 278 1,161
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.2% +1.9%
Institutions buying 155 598
Institutions selling 86 377
Buyers to sellers 1.80 1.59

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.

CXWIRM
CXW 1.00 0.05
IRM 0.05 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CXW and IRM?

Iron Mountain (IRM) is the largest by market capitalisation: CoreCivic (CXW) $2.96B, Iron Mountain (IRM) $33.66B.

Which stock is cheaper, CXW and IRM?

CoreCivic (CXW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (CoreCivic (CXW) 23.1x, Iron Mountain (IRM) 80.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, CoreCivic (CXW) is cheapest (CoreCivic (CXW) 1.8x, Iron Mountain (IRM) 47.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

CoreCivic (CXW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: CoreCivic (CXW) +24.3%, Iron Mountain (IRM) +17.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Iron Mountain (IRM) has the highest net margin (CoreCivic (CXW) 5.1%, Iron Mountain (IRM) 5.5%). On return on invested capital, Iron Mountain (IRM) leads (CoreCivic (CXW) 6.6%, Iron Mountain (IRM) 7.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year CoreCivic (CXW) returned the most: CoreCivic (CXW) +60.4%, Iron Mountain (IRM) +5.8%. Over five years, CoreCivic (CXW) compounded fastest (CoreCivic (CXW) +27.3%/yr, Iron Mountain (IRM) +19.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: CoreCivic (CXW) 0.00%, Iron Mountain (IRM) 0.03%. CoreCivic (CXW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Iron Mountain (IRM) has been the steadiest (CoreCivic (CXW) 41.9%, Iron Mountain (IRM) 33.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CXW and IRM move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.05, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CXW and IRM?

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