EME vs STRL vs STN Stock Comparison

Emcor, Sterling Infrastructure and Stantec Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EME EMCOR Group, Inc.
$647.48 -13.9% 1M -7.0% 1Y
Market cap
$29.51B
P/E
20.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.60B
Div. yield
0.00%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
1 win
STN Stantec Inc
$71.13 +0.6% 1M -36.4% 1Y
Market cap
$8.10B
P/E
12.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.51B
Div. yield
–
Engineering and Construction Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Stantec leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Stantec 5, Sterling Infrastructure 5, Emcor 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEMESTRLSTNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $29.51B $11.07B $8.10B EME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.5x 25.7x 12.4x STN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.6x 19.0x 15.6x STN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.9% +60.8% +9.4% STRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.7% 12.5% 6.2% STRL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 29.2% 37.8% STN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.3x 0.0x STRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.0% +0.4% -36.4% STRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +39.9%/yr +73.3%/yr +5.2%/yr STRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.0% 85.9% 30.3% STN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 71/100 72/100 STN

Percentile Scorecard

EMESTRLSTN

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

AxisEMESTRLSTN
Valuation 57 #23 of 52 49 #27 of 52 92 #5 of 52
Growth 56 #17 of 37 86 #6 of 37 36 #24 of 37
Profitability 86 #6 of 37 97 #2 of 37 89 #5 of 37
Financial Health 70 #18 of 57 75 #15 of 57 79 #13 of 57
Shareholder Returns 54 #13 of 27 50 #14 of 27 65 #10 of 27
Overall 64 71 72
  • EME ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • STRL ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • STN ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEMESTRLSTNSPY
1 month -13.9%-30.6%+0.6% -1.0%
3 months -13.0%-46.2%+5.3% +2.9%
6 months -25.6%-28.5%-20.4% +6.4%
Year to date +5.8%+16.0%-24.6% +11.4%
1 year -7.0%+0.4%-36.4% +13.1%
3 years +235.8%+394.0%+15.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +49.8%+70.4%+4.9% +21.5%
5 years +434.5%+1,461.1%+28.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +39.9%+73.3%+5.2% +10.9%
10 years +1,053.7%+4,443.5%+214.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +27.7%+46.5%+12.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureEMESTRLSTNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.0%85.9%30.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.2%81.4%34.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.943.380.76 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.150.00-1.20 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.2%-64.2%-41.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.4%-64.2%-37.4% -2.5%
52-week high $943.75$993.74$113.70 $779.14
52-week low $581.58$283.57$66.69 $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.

MultipleEMESTRLSTN
P/E now vs peer median 20.0xmedian 25.6x 25.3xmedian 25.6x 12.4xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 0.8x 3.2xmedian 0.8x 0.8xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.0xmedian 12.7x 15.5xmedian 12.7x 5.1xmedian 12.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.5xmedian 22.4x 22.6xmedian 22.4x 15.3xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 2.3x 7.8xmedian 2.3x 3.4xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.43median 0.57 0.14median 0.57 0.60median 0.57

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 monthsEMESTRLSTN
Revenue $18.60B $3.44B $10.51B
Gross profit $3.61B $818.59M $4.58B
Operating income $1.93B $602.35M $1.23B
Net income $1.44B $460.44M $536.90M
Free cash flow $1.17B $482.00M $528.58M
EPS (diluted) $32.30 $13.85 $5.72
Cash & equivalents $924.41M $464.45M $265.54M
Total debt – $1.16B $2.38B
Shares (diluted) 44.55M 31.14M 114.07M
Enterprise value $25.90B $9.40B $7.02B

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
MetricEMESTRLSTN
P/E 20.0x 25.3x 12.4x
P/FCF 24.5x 22.6x 15.3x
P/Operating cash flow 22.2x 18.2x 17.4x
P/S 1.5x 3.2x 0.8x
P/B 7.0x 7.8x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 9.5x 14.9x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 13.0x 15.5x 5.1x
EV/EBIT 14.4x 17.8x 6.6x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 3.1x 0.8x
EV/FCF 23.7x 22.2x 15.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.5x 17.9x 17.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.43 0.14 0.60

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEMESTRLSTN
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.9% 60.8% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 16.7% 22.6% 10.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.5% 72.5% 10.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 26.3% 39.4% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 29.9% 94.1% 20.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 41.7% 49.7% 16.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 30.2% 51.3% 24.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 43.8% 55.4% 15.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.5% 49.5% 24.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 47.0% 183.9% 20.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.6% 20.3% -13.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.8% 18.6% 15.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.1% 10.6% -10.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.3% 18.8% 24.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEMESTRLSTN
Gross margin 19.4% 23.8% 43.6%
EBITDA margin 11.5% 20.2% 14.9%
Operating margin 10.4% 17.5% 11.7%
Pretax margin 10.5% 17.5% 11.3%
Net margin 7.7% 12.5% 6.2%
FCF margin 6.3% 14.0% 5.0%
Operating cash flow margin 6.9% 17.4% 4.4%
Return on equity 36.2% 35.6% 36.3%
Return on assets 14.6% 15.4% 15.1%
Return on invested capital – 29.2% 37.8%
Return on capital employed 41.9% 35.5% 28.3%
Asset turnover 1.9x 1.2x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 1.3x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 0.8% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEMESTRLSTN
Debt / assets – 8.9% 3.9%
Debt / equity – 0.2x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.3x 0.0x
Debt / FCF – 0.6x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 59.8% 56.5% 58.6%
Equity / assets 40.2% 43.5% 41.4%
Interest coverage – 36.1x 9.6x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.1x 1.5x
Quick ratio 1.2x 0.4x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 6.38 5.87 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEMESTRLSTN
Dividend yield 0.2% – 1.3%
Net buyback yield 1.5% 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 1.7% 0.6% 1.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 4.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 4.9% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 26.6% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 25.6% – –

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.

ConsensusEMESTRLSTN
Forward P/E 18.6xFY2026 19.0xFY2026 15.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $34.73FY2026 $18.73FY2026 $4.55FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +34.2%FY2026 +72.2%FY2026 +17.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.7% +43.6% +3.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $19.07BFY2026 $4.20BFY2026 $4.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.2%FY2026 +68.8%FY2026 -0.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.1% +12.4% +7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEMESTRLSTN
Held by institutions 93.1% 85.7% 62.0%
Institutions holding 1,235 888 293
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% -6.1% +2.8%
Institutions buying 659 456 162
Institutions selling 419 366 87
Buyers to sellers 1.57 1.25 1.86

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.

EMESTRLSTN
EME 1.00 0.68 0.10
STRL 0.68 1.00 0.07
STN 0.10 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EME, STRL and STN?

Emcor (EME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Emcor (EME) $29.51B, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) $11.07B, Stantec (STN) $8.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, EME, STRL and STN?

Stantec (STN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Emcor (EME) 20.5x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 25.7x, Stantec (STN) 12.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stantec (STN) is cheapest (Emcor (EME) 18.6x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 19.0x, Stantec (STN) 15.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Emcor (EME) +18.9%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +60.8%, Stantec (STN) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) has the highest net margin (Emcor (EME) 7.7%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 12.5%, Stantec (STN) 6.2%). On return on invested capital, Stantec (STN) leads (Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 29.2%, Stantec (STN) 37.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) returned the most: Emcor (EME) -7.0%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +0.4%, Stantec (STN) -36.4%. Over five years, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) compounded fastest (Emcor (EME) +39.9%/yr, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +73.3%/yr, Stantec (STN) +5.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Emcor (EME) 0.00%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 0.00%, Stantec (STN) 0.00%. Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) and Stantec (STN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Stantec (STN) has been the steadiest (Emcor (EME) 46.0%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 85.9%, Stantec (STN) 30.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EME, STRL and STN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Stantec (STN) leads on 5. 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.