FERG vs IDXX vs AIT Stock Comparison

Ferguson Enterprises, Idexx Laboratories and Applied Industrial Technologies Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Idexx Laboratories leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Idexx Laboratories 4, Applied Industrial Technologies 4, Ferguson Enterprises 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFERGIDXXAITLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $46.65B $45.40B $11.14B FERG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.0x 39.8x 26.3x FERG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.6x 36.0x 23.3x FERG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.2% +12.8% +8.5% IDXX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.5% 25.0% 8.4% IDXX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.7% 45.6% 20.0% IDXX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 0.5x 0.3x AIT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.6% -11.3% +16.0% AIT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.8%/yr -3.3%/yr +25.2%/yr AIT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.8% 32.0% 27.8% AIT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 78/100 69/100 IDXX

Percentile Scorecard

FERGIDXXAIT

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

AxisFERGIDXXAIT
Valuation 42 #27 of 46 75 #155 of 625 22 #36 of 46
Growth 76 #10 of 39 76 #147 of 602 61 #16 of 39
Profitability 87 #6 of 39 97 #18 of 549 95 #3 of 39
Financial Health 50 #24 of 47 46 #351 of 654 91 #5 of 47
Shareholder Returns 74 #9 of 32 93 #26 of 367 77 #8 of 32
Overall 66 78 69
  • FERG ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • IDXX ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • AIT ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFERGIDXXAITSPY
1 month +1.5%+6.4%-11.3% +0.9%
3 months +2.0%-1.2%-10.5% +5.9%
6 months -9.9%+1.7%+0.9% +8.5%
Year to date +3.7%-16.8%+16.5% +13.3%
1 year -6.6%-11.3%+16.0% +12.4%
3 years +52.1%+43.8%+98.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +15.0%+12.9%+25.7% +23.5%
5 years +52.6%-15.5%+207.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year +8.8%-3.3%+25.2% +11.0%
10 years +335.4%+435.8%+495.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year +15.9%+18.3%+19.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureFERGIDXXAITSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.8%32.0%27.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.9%31.2%31.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.130.800.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.22-0.350.58 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.6%-51.3%-26.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.8%-26.6%-17.4% -0.9%
52-week high $267.71$766.68$362.17 $779.14
52-week low $214.24$504.70$240.63 $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.

MultipleFERGIDXXAIT
P/E now vs peer median 22.1xmedian 25.6x 39.0xmedian 17.4x 25.9xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.1x 9.8xmedian 9.1x 2.2xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 13.3x 28.0xmedian 17.1x 17.6xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.8xmedian 22.0x 35.4xmedian 19.0x 25.9xmedian 22.0x
P/B now vs peer median 7.6xmedian 2.6x 27.5xmedian 2.2x 5.8xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median —median 2.36 2.58median 0.34 3.58median 2.36

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 monthsFERGIDXXAIT
Revenue $31.35B $4.55B $5.06B
Gross profit $9.73B $2.84B $1.54B
Operating income $2.82B $1.46B $564.03M
Net income $2.03B $1.14B $424.12M
Free cash flow $2.26B $1.25B $421.86M
R&D – $261.47M –
EPS (diluted) $10.42 $14.37 $11.41
Cash & equivalents $820.00M $196.93M –
Total debt $4.13B $968.86M $282.30M
Shares (diluted) 194.80M 79.31M 37.18M
Enterprise value $43.87B $44.61B $11.03B

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
MetricFERGIDXXAIT
P/E 22.1x 39.0x 25.9x
P/FCF 19.8x 35.4x 25.9x
P/Operating cash flow 17.1x 32.4x 24.2x
P/S 1.4x 9.8x 2.2x
P/B 7.6x 27.5x 5.8x
P/Tangible book 8.6x 29.3x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA 15.1x 28.0x 17.6x
EV/EBIT 17.1x 31.0x 19.7x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 9.9x 2.2x
EV/FCF 21.2x 36.0x 26.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.4x 32.9x 24.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 2.58 3.58

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFERGIDXXAIT
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.2% 12.8% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 9.0% 4.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.5% 14.4% 8.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 10.5% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.6% 16.2% 9.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 11.7% 5.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 31.6% 15.6% 5.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 12.9% 5.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 34.4% 18.1% 8.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 15.1% 7.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 35.9% 51.4% -6.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 22.5% 5.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 42.8% 59.9% -7.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 28.4% 5.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFERGIDXXAIT
Gross margin 31.0% 62.4% 30.4%
EBITDA margin 10.2% 35.4% 12.4%
Operating margin 9.0% 32.0% 11.2%
Pretax margin 8.3% 31.3% 11.0%
Net margin 6.5% 25.0% 8.4%
FCF margin 7.2% 27.5% 8.3%
Operating cash flow margin 8.3% 30.1% 8.9%
Return on equity 34.0% 71.9% 22.6%
Return on assets 11.4% 33.4% 14.2%
Return on invested capital 21.7% 45.6% 20.0%
Return on capital employed 23.4% 68.6% 22.9%
Asset turnover 1.8x 1.3x 1.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.2x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 1.4% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFERGIDXXAIT
Debt / assets 23.2% 28.1% 9.5%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.6x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 0.5x 0.3x
Debt / FCF 1.8x 0.8x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 67.0% 53.2% 36.8%
Equity / assets 33.0% 46.8% 63.2%
Interest coverage – 38.6x –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.2x 2.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.7x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 5.42 20.21 10.05

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFERGIDXXAIT
Dividend yield 1.5% – 0.7%
Net buyback yield 1.9% 2.4% 3.1%
Shareholder yield 3.4% 2.4% 3.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 17.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 17.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 10.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 11.1%

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.

ConsensusFERGIDXXAIT
Forward P/E 21.6xFY2026 36.0xFY2026 23.3xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $10.68FY2026 $15.63FY2026 $12.83FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +7.4%FY2026 +19.5%FY2026 +17.2%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% +12.9% +7.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $34.30BFY2026 $5.00BFY2026 $4.91BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +11.5%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 -1.1%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after -0.7% +0.6% +5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFERGIDXXAIT
Held by institutions 96.3% 93.6% 94.4%
Institutions holding 937 1,289 617
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.1% +4.1% +1.3%
Institutions buying 477 587 326
Institutions selling 343 496 207
Buyers to sellers 1.39 1.18 1.57

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.

FERGIDXXAIT
FERG 1.00 0.34 0.54
IDXX 0.34 1.00 0.18
AIT 0.54 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FERG, IDXX and AIT?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) $46.65B, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) $45.40B, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) $11.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, FERG, IDXX and AIT?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 23.0x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 39.8x, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 26.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) is cheapest (Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.6x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 36.0x, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 23.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +5.2%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) +12.8%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) has the highest net margin (Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 6.5%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 25.0%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 8.4%). On return on invested capital, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads (Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.7%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 45.6%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 20.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) returned the most: Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) -6.6%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -11.3%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +16.0%. Over five years, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) compounded fastest (Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +8.8%/yr, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -3.3%/yr, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +25.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 0.00%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 0.00%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 0.01%. Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has been the steadiest (Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 29.8%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 32.0%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 27.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FERG, IDXX and AIT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads on 4. 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.