EMR vs ITW vs MSA Stock Comparison

Emerson Electric, Illinois Tool Works and MSA Safety Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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EMR Emerson Electric Co
$170.76 +8.6% 1M +25.2% 1Y
Market cap
$91.71B
P/E
35.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.64B
Div. yield
0.01%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
3 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$281.43 +5.3% 1M +16.3% 1Y
Market cap
$79.75B
P/E
24.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.65B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$179.16 -0.7% 1M +5.7% 1Y
Market cap
$6.90B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

MSA Safety leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (MSA Safety 5, Illinois Tool Works 4, Emerson Electric 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEMRITWMSALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $91.71B $79.75B $6.90B EMR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 35.6x 24.7x 22.0x MSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.3x 26.4x 19.2x MSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.8% +4.8% +6.5% MSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.8% 19.4% 16.1% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.9% 27.1% 15.9% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.8x 0.8x MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.02% 0.00% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.2% +16.3% +5.7% EMR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.0%/yr +4.3%/yr +3.2%/yr EMR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.8% 21.3% 25.1% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 50/100 80/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

EMRITWMSA

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

AxisEMRITWMSA
Valuation 33 #136 of 203 28 #147 of 203 59 #83 of 203
Growth 41 #112 of 188 35 #122 of 188 86 #27 of 188
Profitability 87 #24 of 183 100 #2 of 183 97 #7 of 183
Financial Health 30 #152 of 216 26 #161 of 216 75 #55 of 216
Shareholder Returns 35 #99 of 152 62 #58 of 152 82 #29 of 152
Overall 45 50 80
  • EMR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEMRITWMSASPY
1 month +8.6%+5.3%-0.7% +0.7%
3 months +14.9%-0.8%+2.8% +3.7%
6 months +21.6%+9.1%+7.7% +7.1%
Year to date +28.7%+14.3%+11.9% +12.8%
1 year +25.2%+16.3%+5.7% +11.9%
3 years +93.1%+25.9%+13.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +24.5%+8.0%+4.2% +22.8%
5 years +76.0%+23.5%+17.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +12.0%+4.3%+3.2% +10.9%
10 years +240.9%+147.2%+224.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +13.1%+9.5%+12.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureEMRITWMSASPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.8%21.3%25.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.5%20.7%23.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.530.470.81 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.790.770.23 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -29.9%-28.9%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-6.1%-11.8% -1.2%
52-week high $170.76$299.60$203.08 $779.14
52-week low $123.30$241.07$152.94 $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.

MultipleEMRITWMSA
P/E now vs peer median 37.0xmedian 25.8x 24.8xmedian 25.8x 22.0xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 14.6x 18.3xmedian 14.6x 15.0xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.5xmedian 22.2x 27.9xmedian 22.2x 19.5xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.2x 25.5xmedian 2.2x 4.9xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.89median 1.45 8.57median 1.45 0.12median 1.45

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 monthsEMRITWMSA
Revenue $18.64B $16.65B $1.95B
Gross profit $9.91B $7.38B $925.88M
Operating income $4.68B $4.43B $413.17M
Net income $2.58B $3.23B $314.01M
Free cash flow $3.46B $2.87B $354.30M
R&D – – $68.19M
EPS (diluted) $4.59 $11.31 $8.11
Cash & equivalents $2.18B $809.00M $200.06M
Total debt $13.11B $9.37B $599.74M
Shares (diluted) 561.10M 285.30M 38.70M
Enterprise value $84.45B $76.43B $6.19B

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
MetricEMRITWMSA
P/E 37.0x 24.8x 22.0x
P/FCF 27.5x 27.9x 19.5x
P/Operating cash flow 24.3x 24.5x 17.0x
P/S 5.1x 4.8x 3.6x
P/B 4.7x 25.5x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 30.8x 6.2x
EV/EBITDA 17.2x 18.3x 15.0x
EV/EBIT 22.7x 20.0x 17.7x
EV/Revenue 5.7x 5.3x 3.8x
EV/FCF 30.7x 30.9x 20.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.1x 27.1x 18.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.89 8.57 0.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEMRITWMSA
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.8% 4.8% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.6% 1.1% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.7% 5.7% 8.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.0% 2.8% 6.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.2% 6.4% 10.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 3.1% 34.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -3.0% 6.7% 13.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -42.0% 0.9% 186.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -2.2% 9.1% 15.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -41.6% 2.9% 188.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.4% -0.5% 26.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.1% -0.5% 96.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 4.4% 0.8% 40.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 0.4% 72.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEMRITWMSA
Gross margin 53.2% 44.3% 47.6%
EBITDA margin 33.1% 29.0% 25.1%
Operating margin 25.1% 26.6% 21.2%
Pretax margin 17.6% 25.2% 21.1%
Net margin 13.8% 19.4% 16.1%
FCF margin 18.6% 17.2% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 21.0% 19.6% 20.9%
Return on equity 12.7% 106.9% 22.8%
Return on assets 6.1% 19.6% 12.2%
Return on invested capital 10.9% 27.1% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 14.9% 38.9% 18.0%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.0x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 0.5% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEMRITWMSA
Debt / assets 31.1% 56.8% 23.1%
Debt / equity 0.6x 3.0x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.8x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 3.8x 3.3x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 51.7% 81.0% 46.1%
Equity / assets 48.3% 19.0% 53.9%
Interest coverage – 14.3x 12.7x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.3x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.8x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 4.77 8.24 5.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEMRITWMSA
Dividend yield 1.3% 2.3% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 1.0% 2.0% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 4.4% 3.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 47.8% 57.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% 64.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.1% 5.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 5.1% –

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.

ConsensusEMRITWMSA
Forward P/E 25.3xFY2026 26.4xFY2026 19.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.75FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $9.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.5%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.3% +19.3% +3.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.13BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.6%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.3% +11.4% +19.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEMRITWMSA
Held by institutions 82.1% 84.9% 91.0%
Institutions holding 2,292 1,970 457
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% +0.8% +3.0%
Institutions buying 1,081 847 236
Institutions selling 799 750 147
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.13 1.61

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.

EMRITWMSA
EMR 1.00 0.55 0.51
ITW 0.55 1.00 0.61
MSA 0.51 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EMR, ITW and MSA?

Emerson Electric (EMR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Emerson Electric (EMR) $91.71B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $79.75B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, EMR, ITW and MSA?

MSA Safety (MSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Emerson Electric (EMR) 35.6x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.7x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, MSA Safety (MSA) is cheapest (Emerson Electric (EMR) 25.3x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 26.4x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

MSA Safety (MSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Emerson Electric (EMR) +4.8%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Emerson Electric (EMR) 13.8%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Emerson Electric (EMR) 10.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Emerson Electric (EMR) returned the most: Emerson Electric (EMR) +25.2%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +16.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) +5.7%. Over five years, Emerson Electric (EMR) compounded fastest (Emerson Electric (EMR) +12.0%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.3%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: Emerson Electric (EMR) 0.01%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.02%, MSA Safety (MSA) 0.00%. MSA Safety (MSA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Emerson Electric (EMR) 31.8%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EMR, ITW and MSA?

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