ESAB vs ITW vs EMR Stock Comparison

Esab, Illinois Tool Works and Emerson Electric Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ESAB ESAB Corp
$67.38 -6.2% 1M -43.9% 1Y
Market cap
$4.18B
P/E
24.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.00B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
3 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$276.01 +0.7% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.29B
P/E
24.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.47B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
EMR Emerson Electric Co
$161.75 +2.3% 1M +21.9% 1Y
Market cap
$92.42B
P/E
35.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.64B
Div. yield
0.01%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionESABITWEMRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.18B $78.29B $92.42B EMR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.4x 24.5x 35.8x ESAB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.1x 25.9x 24.0x ESAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +4.3% +4.8% ESAB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.7% 19.4% 13.8% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 27.1% 10.9% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.7x 1.9x 1.8x EMR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.01% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -43.9% +12.3% +21.9% EMR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +4.4%/yr +11.0%/yr EMR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.2% 21.3% 31.7% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 48/100 45/100 ITW

Percentile Scorecard

ESABITWEMR

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

AxisESABITWEMR
Valuation 62 #77 of 203 26 #150 of 203 35 #133 of 203
Growth 25 #140 of 187 33 #125 of 187 40 #112 of 187
Profitability 48 #97 of 185 100 #2 of 185 85 #29 of 185
Financial Health 21 #173 of 219 23 #170 of 219 29 #155 of 219
Shareholder Returns 23 #118 of 153 59 #63 of 153 36 #98 of 153
Overall 36 48 45
  • ESAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • EMR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESABITWEMRSPY
1 month -6.2%+0.7%+2.3% -0.8%
3 months -23.7%-3.0%+8.3% +3.5%
6 months -34.7%+2.3%+14.3% +7.0%
Year to date -39.7%+12.1%+21.9% +12.2%
1 year -43.9%+12.3%+21.9% +13.0%
3 years +6.8%+23.6%+83.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +2.2%+7.3%+22.5% +23.1%
5 years —+24.2%+68.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+4.4%+11.0% +11.0%
10 years —+143.4%+220.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+9.3%+12.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureESABITWEMRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.2%21.3%31.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.1%20.8%33.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.810.471.53 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.950.580.69 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -52.3%-28.9%-29.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.0%-7.9%-1.6% -1.8%
52-week high $134.82$299.60$164.37 $779.14
52-week low $64.45$241.07$123.30 $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.

MultipleESABITWEMR
P/E now vs peer median 24.1xmedian 26.0x 24.7xmedian 26.0x 35.1xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.8xmedian 14.0x 18.4xmedian 14.0x 16.4xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.3xmedian 21.4x 26.9xmedian 21.4x 26.1xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.2x 27.2xmedian 2.2x 4.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.35median 1.26 8.37median 1.26 -0.84median 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 monthsESABITWEMR
Revenue $3.00B $16.47B $18.64B
Gross profit $1.11B $7.27B $9.91B
Operating income $362.44M $4.36B $4.68B
Net income $178.52M $3.19B $2.58B
Free cash flow $196.61M $2.92B $3.46B
EPS (diluted) $2.78 $11.13 $4.59
Cash & equivalents $217.49M $839.00M $2.18B
Total debt $2.40B $9.69B $13.11B
Shares (diluted) 61.63M 287.00M 561.10M
Enterprise value $2.55B $74.85B $85.16B

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
MetricESABITWEMR
P/E 24.1x 24.7x 35.1x
P/FCF 21.3x 26.9x 26.1x
P/Operating cash flow 16.2x 23.6x 23.1x
P/S 1.4x 4.8x 4.8x
P/B 1.6x 27.2x 4.4x
P/Tangible book 3.5x 33.6x 7.7x
EV/EBITDA 13.8x 18.4x 16.4x
EV/EBIT 17.6x 20.0x 21.6x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 5.3x 5.4x
EV/FCF 32.4x 29.9x 29.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.6x 26.3x 25.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.35 8.37 -0.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESABITWEMR
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 4.3% 4.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 0.8% 7.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.4% 5.3% 5.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 2.7% 11.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -16.9% 6.4% 9.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.3% 3.4% 13.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -32.0% -5.1% -3.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -6.2% 1.0% -42.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -33.6% -3.1% -2.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -7.2% 3.0% -41.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.5% 5.8% 4.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.6% 3.1% 10.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -23.8% 7.2% 4.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 4.1% 9.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESABITWEMR
Gross margin 37.0% 44.2% 53.2%
EBITDA margin 15.4% 28.9% 33.1%
Operating margin 12.1% 26.5% 25.1%
Pretax margin 8.7% 25.0% 17.6%
Net margin 5.7% 19.4% 13.8%
FCF margin 6.5% 17.7% 18.6%
Operating cash flow margin 8.6% 20.2% 21.0%
Return on equity 7.4% 104.3% 12.7%
Return on assets 2.9% 19.5% 6.1%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 27.1% 10.9%
Return on capital employed 6.8% 41.9% 14.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.0x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.0x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.4% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESABITWEMR
Debt / assets 36.5% 58.8% 31.1%
Debt / equity 0.9x 3.3x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.7x 1.9x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 12.2x 3.3x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 60.6% 82.4% 51.7%
Equity / assets 39.4% 17.6% 48.3%
Interest coverage 3.5x 14.5x –
Current ratio 2.0x 1.1x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.59 8.00 4.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESABITWEMR
Dividend yield 0.7% 2.4% 1.4%
Net buyback yield – 2.3% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 4.7% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 57.4% 47.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 62.8% 35.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.5% 3.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% 0.7%

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.

ConsensusESABITWEMR
Forward P/E 13.1xFY2026 25.9xFY2026 24.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.13FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $6.75FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.8%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.7% +19.3% +15.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.86BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $18.13BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +0.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.3% +11.4% +15.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESABITWEMR
Held by institutions 100.0% 84.9% 82.1%
Institutions holding 347 1,969 2,290
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.0% +0.8% +0.9%
Institutions buying 187 846 1,080
Institutions selling 111 750 798
Buyers to sellers 1.68 1.13 1.35

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.

ESABITWEMR
ESAB 1.00 0.55 0.57
ITW 0.55 1.00 0.54
EMR 0.57 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESAB, ITW and EMR?

Emerson Electric (EMR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Esab (ESAB) $4.18B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.29B, Emerson Electric (EMR) $92.42B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESAB, ITW and EMR?

Esab (ESAB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Esab (ESAB) 24.4x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.5x, Emerson Electric (EMR) 35.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Esab (ESAB) is cheapest (Esab (ESAB) 13.1x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, Emerson Electric (EMR) 24.0x). 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%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.3%, Emerson Electric (EMR) +4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Esab (ESAB) 5.7%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 13.8%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Esab (ESAB) 6.2%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 10.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Emerson Electric (EMR) returned the most: Esab (ESAB) -43.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +12.3%, Emerson Electric (EMR) +21.9%. Over five years, Emerson Electric (EMR) compounded fastest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.4%/yr, Emerson Electric (EMR) +11.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Esab (ESAB) 46.2%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 31.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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