EXPO vs KFY vs ULS Stock Comparison

Exponent, Korn Ferry and UL Solutions Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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EXPO Exponent Inc
$78.31 +21.4% 1M +19.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.21B
P/E
36.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$659.07M
Div. yield
–
Consulting Industrials
2 wins
KFY Korn Ferry
$75.91 +5.5% 1M +14.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.94B
P/E
14.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.99B
Div. yield
0.03%
Consulting Industrials
7 wins
ULS UL Solutions Inc.
$75.46 +16.3% 1M -6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$15.08B
P/E
29.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.15B
Div. yield
0.01%
Consulting Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Korn Ferry leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Korn Ferry 7, UL Solutions 3, Exponent 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEXPOKFYULSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.21B $3.94B $15.08B ULS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.7x 14.1x 29.9x KFY
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 35.4x 13.9x 34.9x KFY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +15.4% +6.9% +6.6% EXPO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 9.4% 16.1% ULS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 11.7% 22.9% ULS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.9x -0.2x KFY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.01% KFY
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.7% +14.2% -6.9% EXPO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.4%/yr -0.3%/yr — KFY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.9% 29.5% 42.7% KFY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 37/100 76/100 63/100 KFY

Percentile Scorecard

EXPOKFYULS

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

AxisEXPOKFYULS
Valuation 22 #88 of 113 87 #16 of 113 27 #83 of 113
Growth 70 #30 of 96 58 #41 of 96 77 #23 of 96
Profitability – 77 #22 of 91 94 #6 of 91
Financial Health – 83 #22 of 122 81 #24 of 122
Shareholder Returns 20 #53 of 66 75 #17 of 66 35 #43 of 66
Overall 37 76 63
  • EXPO ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • KFY ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • ULS ranked among 130 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEXPOKFYULSSPY
1 month +21.4%+5.5%+16.3% +0.7%
3 months +21.3%-7.6%-18.1% +3.7%
6 months +17.1%+14.3%-16.6% +7.1%
Year to date +12.7%+15.0%-4.3% +12.8%
1 year +19.7%+14.2%-6.9% +11.9%
3 years +6.7%+69.4%— +85.2%
3 years, per year +2.2%+19.2%— +22.8%
5 years -31.8%-1.7%— +67.6%
5 years, per year -7.4%-0.3%— +10.9%
10 years +175.8%+276.5%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +10.7%+14.2%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureEXPOKFYULSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.9%29.5%42.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.4%30.4%40.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.390.150.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.600.48-0.16 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.2%-46.2%-38.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.9%-12.0%-28.1% -1.2%
52-week high $79.79$86.28$104.89 $779.14
52-week low $53.67$59.54$64.05 $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.

MultipleEXPOKFYULS
P/E now vs peer median 33.3xmedian 21.9x 13.7xmedian 21.9x 30.2xmedian 21.9x
P/S now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 0.9x 1.3xmedian 0.9x 4.8xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 11.9x 7.1xmedian 11.9x 20.1xmedian 11.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.6xmedian 14.4x 12.1xmedian 14.4x 35.0xmedian 14.4x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.4x 1.9xmedian 2.4x 9.4xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 5.69median 0.97 0.86median 0.97 —median 0.97

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 monthsEXPOKFYULS
Revenue $659.07M $2.99B $3.15B
Gross profit – $2.66B $1.58B
Operating income $140.42M $384.68M $562.00M
Net income – $282.88M $528.00M
Free cash flow – $318.71M $436.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.34 $5.45 $2.48
Cash & equivalents $114.69M $800.85M $434.00M
Total debt – $398.78M $301.00M
Shares (diluted) 48.99M 51.35M 204.00M
Enterprise value $4.21B $215.02M $13.84B

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
MetricEXPOKFYULS
P/E 33.3x 13.7x 30.2x
P/FCF 30.6x 12.1x 35.0x
P/Operating cash flow – 9.5x 22.5x
P/S 5.6x 1.3x 4.8x
P/B – 1.9x 9.4x
P/Tangible book – 2.0x 9.7x
EV/EBITDA – 7.1x 20.1x
EV/EBIT – 8.9x 26.9x
EV/Revenue 5.6x 1.2x 4.8x
EV/FCF – 10.8x 34.7x
EV/Operating cash flow – 8.5x 22.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.69 0.86 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEXPOKFYULS
Revenue growth (1Y) 15.4% 6.9% 6.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 1.4% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 6.5% 10.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 0.9% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 19.1% 8.8% 14.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 13.7% –
Net income growth (1Y) – 11.3% 52.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 15.9% –
EPS growth (1Y) 14.3% 14.1% 53.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 15.9% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 14.0% 16.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 10.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 14.0% 19.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 11.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEXPOKFYULS
Gross margin – 89.1% 50.3%
EBITDA margin – 16.2% 23.9%
Operating margin – 12.9% 17.9%
Pretax margin – 13.1% 22.8%
Net margin – 9.4% 16.1%
FCF margin – 10.7% 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin – 13.5% 21.6%
Return on equity – 14.2% 35.7%
Return on assets – 7.2% 17.4%
Return on invested capital – 11.7% 22.9%
Return on capital employed – 11.8% 25.9%
Asset turnover – 0.8x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.4x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.6% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEXPOKFYULS
Debt / assets – 10.4% 9.7%
Debt / equity – 0.2x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.9x -0.2x
Debt / FCF – 1.3x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets – 47.6% 48.1%
Equity / assets – 52.4% 51.9%
Interest coverage – – 17.6x
Current ratio 1.9x 2.4x 1.4x
Quick ratio – 2.1x 1.3x
Cash ratio – 1.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 3.35 8.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEXPOKFYULS
Dividend yield 1.6% 2.8% 0.7%
Net buyback yield – 2.6% –
Shareholder yield 1.6% 5.4% 0.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 38.4% 20.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 34.1% 25.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 20.7% 7.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 47.4% –

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.

ConsensusEXPOKFYULS
Forward P/E 35.4xFY2026 13.9xFY2026 34.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.21FY2026 $5.45FY2026 $2.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.8%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.1% +13.2% +17.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $600.53MFY2026 $3.26BFY2026 $3.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.9%FY2026 +11.9%FY2026 +8.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.4% +22.6% +1.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEXPOKFYULS
Held by institutions 92.3% 99.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 337 363 390
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +2.2% +1.8%
Institutions buying 155 216 231
Institutions selling 146 96 105
Buyers to sellers 1.06 2.25 2.20

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.

EXPOKFYULS
EXPO 1.00 0.56 0.19
KFY 0.56 1.00 0.15
ULS 0.19 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EXPO, KFY and ULS?

UL Solutions (ULS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Exponent (EXPO) $4.21B, Korn Ferry (KFY) $3.94B, UL Solutions (ULS) $15.08B.

Which stock is cheaper, EXPO, KFY and ULS?

Korn Ferry (KFY) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Exponent (EXPO) 36.7x, Korn Ferry (KFY) 14.1x, UL Solutions (ULS) 29.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Korn Ferry (KFY) is cheapest (Exponent (EXPO) 35.4x, Korn Ferry (KFY) 13.9x, UL Solutions (ULS) 34.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Exponent (EXPO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Exponent (EXPO) +15.4%, Korn Ferry (KFY) +6.9%, UL Solutions (ULS) +6.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

UL Solutions (ULS) has the highest net margin (Korn Ferry (KFY) 9.4%, UL Solutions (ULS) 16.1%). On return on invested capital, UL Solutions (ULS) leads (Korn Ferry (KFY) 11.7%, UL Solutions (ULS) 22.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Exponent (EXPO) returned the most: Exponent (EXPO) +19.7%, Korn Ferry (KFY) +14.2%, UL Solutions (ULS) -6.9%. Over five years, Korn Ferry (KFY) compounded fastest (Exponent (EXPO) -7.4%/yr, Korn Ferry (KFY) -0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Korn Ferry (KFY) has the highest dividend yield: Exponent (EXPO) 0.00%, Korn Ferry (KFY) 0.03%, UL Solutions (ULS) 0.01%. Exponent (EXPO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Korn Ferry (KFY) has been the steadiest (Exponent (EXPO) 32.9%, Korn Ferry (KFY) 29.5%, UL Solutions (ULS) 42.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EXPO, KFY and ULS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Korn Ferry (KFY) leads on 7. 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.