ESAB vs EMR vs SWK Stock Comparison

Esab, Emerson Electric and Stanley Black & Decker Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ESAB ESAB Corp
$71.00 +5.4% 1M -41.4% 1Y
Market cap
$4.41B
P/E
25.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.00B
Div. yield
0.62%
Power Tools Industrials
2 wins
EMR Emerson Electric Co
$167.78 +5.3% 1M +24.7% 1Y
Market cap
$93.59B
P/E
36.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.64B
Div. yield
1.33%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Emerson Electric leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Emerson Electric 6, Stanley Black & Decker 4, Esab 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESABEMRSWKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.41B $93.59B $15.17B EMR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.4x 36.4x 24.3x SWK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.8x 24.9x 17.3x ESAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +4.8% +0.6% ESAB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.7% 13.8% 4.1% EMR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 10.9% 6.6% EMR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.7x 1.8x 2.3x EMR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.62% 1.33% 3.32% SWK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -41.4% +24.7% +39.7% SWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +11.6%/yr -11.0%/yr EMR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.2% 31.8% 36.5% EMR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 45/100 59/100 SWK

Percentile Scorecard

ESABEMRSWK

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

AxisESABEMRSWK
Valuation 61 #79 of 203 33 #136 of 203 89 #23 of 203
Growth 25 #142 of 188 39 #115 of 188 81 #36 of 188
Profitability 48 #97 of 184 87 #25 of 184 51 #91 of 184
Financial Health 21 #171 of 217 30 #153 of 217 28 #157 of 217
Shareholder Returns 25 #115 of 153 37 #97 of 153 47 #81 of 153
Overall 36 45 59
  • ESAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • EMR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SWK ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESABEMRSWKSPY
1 month +5.4%+5.3%+13.2% +0.9%
3 months -17.8%+15.1%+7.9% +5.9%
6 months -26.3%+22.9%+32.3% +8.5%
Year to date -36.4%+26.4%+35.2% +13.3%
1 year -41.4%+24.7%+39.7% +12.4%
3 years +12.5%+90.6%+22.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +4.0%+24.0%+7.0% +23.5%
5 years —+73.0%-44.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year —+11.6%-11.0% +11.0%
10 years —+235.0%-12.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+12.9%-1.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureESABEMRSWKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.2%31.8%36.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.2%33.5%32.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.821.541.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.900.781.09 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -52.3%-29.9%-71.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -47.3%0.0%-3.4% -0.9%
52-week high $134.82$167.78$104.00 $779.14
52-week low $64.45$123.30$62.12 $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.

MultipleESABEMRSWK
P/E now vs peer median 25.4xmedian 25.4x 36.4xmedian 25.4x 24.3xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.9x 5.0xmedian 1.9x 1.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 14.3x 17.0xmedian 14.3x 10.7xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.5xmedian 21.8x 27.0xmedian 21.8x 11.8xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 2.2x 4.6xmedian 2.2x 1.7xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.53median 1.41 -0.88median 1.41 -4.62median 1.41

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 monthsESABEMRSWK
Revenue $3.00B $18.64B $15.25B
Gross profit $1.11B $9.91B $4.86B
Operating income $362.44M $4.68B $1.32B
Net income $178.52M $2.58B $620.50M
Free cash flow $196.61M $3.46B $1.29B
EPS (diluted) $2.78 $4.59 $4.12
Cash & equivalents $217.49M $2.18B $592.40M
Total debt $2.40B $13.11B $4.76B
Shares (diluted) 61.63M 561.10M 150.65M
Enterprise value $2.83B $86.34B $13.69B

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
MetricESABEMRSWK
P/E 25.4x 36.4x 24.3x
P/FCF 22.5x 27.0x 11.8x
P/Operating cash flow 17.1x 23.9x 9.8x
P/S 1.5x 5.0x 1.0x
P/B 1.7x 4.6x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 8.0x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 14.3x 17.0x 10.7x
EV/EBIT 18.2x 22.4x 14.7x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 5.6x 1.3x
EV/FCF 33.5x 30.2x 15.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.5x 26.7x 12.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.53 -0.88 -4.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESABEMRSWK
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 4.8% 0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 7.6% -2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.4% 5.7% 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 11.0% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -16.9% 9.2% 51.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.3% 13.6% 149.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -32.0% -3.0% 29.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -6.2% -42.0% -7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -33.6% -2.2% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -7.2% -41.6% -5.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.5% 4.4% 104.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.6% 10.1% 96.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -23.8% 4.4% 211.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 9.4% 110.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESABEMRSWK
Gross margin 37.0% 53.2% 31.9%
EBITDA margin 15.4% 33.1% 11.9%
Operating margin 12.1% 25.1% 8.6%
Pretax margin 8.7% 17.6% 5.6%
Net margin 5.7% 13.8% 4.1%
FCF margin 6.5% 18.6% 8.5%
Operating cash flow margin 8.6% 21.0% 10.2%
Return on equity 7.4% 12.7% 6.9%
Return on assets 2.9% 6.1% 3.0%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 10.9% 6.6%
Return on capital employed 6.8% 14.9% 8.0%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.5x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 1.3% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESABEMRSWK
Debt / assets 36.5% 31.1% 23.7%
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.6x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.7x 1.8x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 12.2x 3.8x 3.7x
Liabilities / assets 60.6% 51.7% 55.4%
Equity / assets 39.4% 48.3% 44.6%
Interest coverage 3.5x – 2.8x
Current ratio 2.0x 0.9x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.63 4.73 2.49

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESABEMRSWK
Dividend yield 0.6% 1.3% 3.3%
Net buyback yield – 1.0% 1.7%
Shareholder yield 0.6% 2.3% 5.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 47.8% 81.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 35.6% 39.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.1% 1.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 0.7% 1.9%

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.

ConsensusESABEMRSWK
Forward P/E 13.8xFY2026 24.9xFY2026 17.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.13FY2026 $6.75FY2026 $5.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.8%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026 +24.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.7% +15.3% +5.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.86BFY2026 $18.13BFY2026 $16.13BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +0.6%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.3% +15.3% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESABEMRSWK
Held by institutions 100.0% 82.1% 95.7%
Institutions holding 347 2,291 771
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.0% +0.9% +5.3%
Institutions buying 187 1,081 417
Institutions selling 111 798 243
Buyers to sellers 1.68 1.35 1.72

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.

ESABEMRSWK
ESAB 1.00 0.59 0.63
EMR 0.59 1.00 0.59
SWK 0.63 0.59 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESAB, EMR and SWK?

Emerson Electric (EMR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Esab (ESAB) $4.41B, Emerson Electric (EMR) $93.59B, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) $15.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESAB, EMR and SWK?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Esab (ESAB) 25.4x, Emerson Electric (EMR) 36.4x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 24.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Esab (ESAB) is cheapest (Esab (ESAB) 13.8x, Emerson Electric (EMR) 24.9x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 17.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Esab (ESAB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Esab (ESAB) +9.7%, Emerson Electric (EMR) +4.8%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Emerson Electric (EMR) has the highest net margin (Esab (ESAB) 5.7%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 13.8%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 4.1%). On return on invested capital, Emerson Electric (EMR) leads (Esab (ESAB) 6.2%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 10.9%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 6.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) returned the most: Esab (ESAB) -41.4%, Emerson Electric (EMR) +24.7%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +39.7%. Over five years, Emerson Electric (EMR) compounded fastest (Emerson Electric (EMR) +11.6%/yr, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) -11.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) has the highest dividend yield: Esab (ESAB) 0.62%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 1.33%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 3.32%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Emerson Electric (EMR) has been the steadiest (Esab (ESAB) 46.2%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 31.8%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 36.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESAB, EMR and SWK?

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