ESAB vs ITW vs IR Stock Comparison

Esab, Illinois Tool Works and Ingersoll Rand Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ESAB ESAB Corp
$67.38 -6.2% 1M -43.9% 1Y
Market cap
$4.19B
P/E
24.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.00B
Div. yield
0.65%
Power Tools Industrials
3 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$276.01 +0.7% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.61B
P/E
24.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.47B
Div. yield
2.37%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
6 wins
IR Ingersoll Rand Inc.
$74.54 -2.0% 1M -6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$28.92B
P/E
30.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.94B
Div. yield
0.11%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 6, Esab 3, Ingersoll Rand 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESABITWIRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.19B $78.61B $28.92B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.1x 24.7x 30.3x ESAB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.1x 25.9x 22.3x ESAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +4.3% +7.8% ESAB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.7% 19.4% 12.1% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 27.1% 7.6% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.7x 1.9x 1.8x IR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.65% 2.37% 0.11% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -43.9% +12.3% -6.6% ITW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +4.4%/yr +7.0%/yr IR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.2% 21.3% 33.1% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 48/100 58/100 IR

Percentile Scorecard

ESABITWIR

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

AxisESABITWIR
Valuation 62 #77 of 203 26 #150 of 203 42 #118 of 203
Growth 25 #140 of 187 33 #125 of 187 71 #55 of 187
Profitability 48 #97 of 185 100 #2 of 185 72 #53 of 185
Financial Health 21 #173 of 219 23 #170 of 219 50 #110 of 219
Shareholder Returns 23 #118 of 153 59 #63 of 153 55 #69 of 153
Overall 36 48 58
  • ESAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESABITWIRSPY
1 month -6.2%+0.7%-2.0% -0.8%
3 months -23.7%-3.0%-11.9% +3.5%
6 months -34.7%+2.3%-11.3% +7.0%
Year to date -39.7%+12.1%-5.9% +12.2%
1 year -43.9%+12.3%-6.6% +13.0%
3 years +6.8%+23.6%+25.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +2.2%+7.3%+7.9% +23.1%
5 years —+24.2%+40.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+4.4%+7.0% +11.0%
10 years —+143.4%— +258.0%
10 years, per year —+9.3%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureESABITWIRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.2%21.3%33.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.1%20.8%31.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.810.471.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.950.58-0.20 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -52.3%-28.9%-36.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.0%-7.9%-24.5% -1.8%
52-week high $134.82$299.60$98.76 $779.14
52-week low $64.45$241.07$68.54 $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.

MultipleESABITWIR
P/E now vs peer median 24.1xmedian 26.0x 24.7xmedian 26.0x 30.3xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.8xmedian 14.0x 18.4xmedian 14.0x 16.5xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.3xmedian 21.4x 26.9xmedian 21.4x 23.7xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.2x 27.2xmedian 2.2x 2.8xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.35median 1.26 8.37median 1.26 2.44median 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 monthsESABITWIR
Revenue $3.00B $16.47B $7.94B
Gross profit $1.11B $7.27B $3.40B
Operating income $362.44M $4.36B $1.44B
Net income $178.52M $3.19B $966.00M
Free cash flow $196.61M $2.92B $1.22B
EPS (diluted) $2.78 $11.13 $2.45
Cash & equivalents $217.49M $839.00M $1.17B
Total debt $2.40B $9.69B $4.77B
Shares (diluted) 61.63M 287.00M 391.90M
Enterprise value $2.61B $75.17B $24.11B

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
MetricESABITWIR
P/E 24.1x 24.7x 30.3x
P/FCF 21.3x 26.9x 23.7x
P/Operating cash flow 16.2x 23.6x 21.4x
P/S 1.4x 4.8x 3.6x
P/B 1.6x 27.2x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 3.5x 33.6x 4.7x
EV/EBITDA 13.8x 18.4x 16.5x
EV/EBIT 17.6x 20.0x 22.6x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 5.3x 4.1x
EV/FCF 32.4x 29.9x 26.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.6x 26.3x 24.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.35 8.37 2.44

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESABITWIR
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 4.3% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 0.8% 7.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.4% 5.3% 5.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 2.7% 9.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -16.9% 6.4% 28.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.3% 3.4% 13.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -32.0% -5.1% 82.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -6.2% 1.0% 10.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -33.6% -3.1% 87.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -7.2% 3.0% 12.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.5% 5.8% -5.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.6% 3.1% 9.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -23.8% 7.2% -6.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 4.1% 9.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESABITWIR
Gross margin 37.0% 44.2% 42.8%
EBITDA margin 15.4% 28.9% 24.8%
Operating margin 12.1% 26.5% 18.1%
Pretax margin 8.7% 25.0% 15.2%
Net margin 5.7% 19.4% 12.1%
FCF margin 6.5% 17.7% 15.4%
Operating cash flow margin 8.6% 20.2% 17.0%
Return on equity 7.4% 104.3% 9.4%
Return on assets 2.9% 19.5% 5.3%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 27.1% 7.6%
Return on capital employed 6.8% 41.9% 9.2%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.0x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.4% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESABITWIR
Debt / assets 36.5% 58.8% 26.2%
Debt / equity 0.9x 3.3x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.7x 1.9x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 12.2x 3.3x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 60.6% 82.4% 43.7%
Equity / assets 39.4% 17.6% 56.3%
Interest coverage 3.5x 14.5x 5.6x
Current ratio 2.0x 1.1x 1.6x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.59 8.00 3.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESABITWIR
Dividend yield 0.7% 2.4% 0.1%
Net buyback yield – 2.3% 2.8%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 4.7% 3.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 57.4% 3.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 62.8% 2.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.5% -2.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% -1.0%

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.

ConsensusESABITWIR
Forward P/E 13.1xFY2026 25.9xFY2026 22.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.13FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $3.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.8%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +0.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.7% +19.3% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.86BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $8.35BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.3% +11.4% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESABITWIR
Held by institutions 100.0% 84.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 347 1,969 894
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.0% +0.8% -1.5%
Institutions buying 187 846 367
Institutions selling 111 750 360
Buyers to sellers 1.68 1.13 1.02

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.

ESABITWIR
ESAB 1.00 0.55 0.58
ITW 0.55 1.00 0.71
IR 0.58 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESAB, ITW and IR?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Esab (ESAB) $4.19B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.61B, Ingersoll Rand (IR) $28.92B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESAB, ITW and IR?

Esab (ESAB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Esab (ESAB) 24.1x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.7x, Ingersoll Rand (IR) 30.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Esab (ESAB) is cheapest (Esab (ESAB) 13.1x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, Ingersoll Rand (IR) 22.3x). 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%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.3%, Ingersoll Rand (IR) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Esab (ESAB) 5.7%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, Ingersoll Rand (IR) 12.1%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Esab (ESAB) 6.2%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, Ingersoll Rand (IR) 7.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illinois Tool Works (ITW) returned the most: Esab (ESAB) -43.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +12.3%, Ingersoll Rand (IR) -6.6%. Over five years, Ingersoll Rand (IR) compounded fastest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.4%/yr, Ingersoll Rand (IR) +7.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: Esab (ESAB) 0.65%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 2.37%, Ingersoll Rand (IR) 0.11%.

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%, Ingersoll Rand (IR) 33.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.