FTV vs DOV vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Fortive, Dover and Nordson Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FTV Fortive Corp
$60.78 +8.3% 1M +22.9% 1Y
Market cap
$18.56B
P/E
34.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.32B
Div. yield
0.00%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
DOV DOVER Corp
$202.49 +5.6% 1M +14.1% 1Y
Market cap
$27.78B
P/E
23.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.58B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins
NDSN Nordson Corp
$321.98 -1.2% 1M +36.5% 1Y
Market cap
$18.07B
P/E
32.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 8, Dover 3, Fortive 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFTVDOVNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.56B $27.78B $18.07B DOV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.7x 23.8x 32.6x DOV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.0x 19.8x 28.9x FTV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.6% +8.2% +7.0% DOV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.4% — 18.6% NDSN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.4% — 13.1% NDSN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x — 1.7x NDSN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% NDSN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +22.9% +14.1% +36.5% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.9%/yr +4.1%/yr +5.3%/yr NDSN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.8% 24.9% 22.2% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 41/100 58/100 NDSN

Percentile Scorecard

FTVDOVNDSN

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

AxisFTVDOVNDSN
Valuation 45 #112 of 203 47 #109 of 203 30 #143 of 203
Growth 19 #151 of 187 46 #102 of 187 57 #82 of 187
Profitability 73 #50 of 185 – 96 #8 of 185
Financial Health 39 #133 of 219 – 54 #101 of 219
Shareholder Returns 61 #61 of 153 32 #104 of 153 53 #73 of 153
Overall 48 41 58
  • FTV ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • DOV ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFTVDOVNDSNSPY
1 month +8.3%+5.6%-1.2% -0.8%
3 months -3.4%-1.6%+8.3% +3.5%
6 months -2.0%-10.5%+13.6% +7.0%
Year to date +10.1%+3.7%+33.9% +12.2%
1 year +22.9%+14.1%+36.5% +13.0%
3 years -6.5%+57.7%+51.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year -2.2%+16.4%+14.9% +23.1%
5 years -17.9%+22.3%+29.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year -3.9%+4.1%+5.3% +11.0%
10 years +27.2%+265.5%+220.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.4%+13.8%+12.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureFTVDOVNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.8%24.9%22.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.0%25.2%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.600.930.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.850.571.64 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.1%-36.3%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.3%-13.2%-3.8% -1.8%
52-week high $64.16$233.31$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $49.16$177.96$226.69 $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.

MultipleFTVDOVNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 34.6xmedian 26.0x 23.4xmedian 26.0x 32.3xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 1.9x 3.2xmedian 1.9x 6.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x 21.1xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 21.4x 21.7xmedian 21.4x 24.8xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x 5.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -4.19median 1.26 4.10median 1.26 7.34median 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 monthsFTVDOVNDSN
Revenue $4.32B $8.58B $2.98B
Gross profit $2.73B $3.40B $1.65B
Operating income $786.70M – $800.96M
Net income $534.40M – $555.18M
Free cash flow $937.60M – $724.01M
R&D $262.00M – –
EPS (diluted) $1.74 $8.60 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $374.20M – $113.43M
Total debt $3.51B – $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 307.60M 135.55M 56.03M
Enterprise value $17.03B $27.78B $17.63B

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
MetricFTVDOVNDSN
P/E 34.6x 23.4x 32.3x
P/FCF 19.6x 21.7x 24.8x
P/Operating cash flow 17.5x 19.3x 23.2x
P/S 4.3x 3.2x 6.0x
P/B 3.0x – 5.5x
P/Tangible book 4.5x – 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 17.4x – 21.1x
EV/EBIT 27.4x – 24.4x
EV/Revenue 5.0x 3.2x 6.6x
EV/FCF 23.0x – 27.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.5x 19.3x 25.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.19 4.10 7.34

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFTVDOVNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.6% 8.2% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -10.3% 4.1% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.2% 8.3% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -7.9% 6.1% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.4% – 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -9.9% – 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -30.5% – 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -12.6% – 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -22.8% -47.2% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.3% 5.7% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -30.6% 14.3% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.6% 12.1% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -34.8% – 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.5% – 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFTVDOVNDSN
Gross margin 63.2% – 55.3%
EBITDA margin 28.6% – 31.2%
Operating margin 18.2% – 26.9%
Pretax margin 15.6% – 22.6%
Net margin 12.4% – 18.6%
FCF margin 21.7% – 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 24.4% 16.4% 26.0%
Return on equity 8.8% – 17.2%
Return on assets 4.6% – 9.3%
Return on invested capital 7.4% – 13.1%
Return on capital employed 7.6% – 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x – 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.7% – 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFTVDOVNDSN
Debt / assets 30.2% – 29.1%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x – 1.7x
Debt / FCF 3.7x – 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 47.7% – 45.0%
Equity / assets 52.3% – 55.0%
Interest coverage 12.8x – 8.8x
Current ratio 1.2x – 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.9x – 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.30 – 6.23

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFTVDOVNDSN
Dividend yield 0.4% 1.0% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 10.7% – 1.1%
Shareholder yield 11.1% 1.0% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 10.6% – 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 6.0% – 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) -48.4% – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -17.0% – 7.2%

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.

ConsensusFTVDOVNDSN
Forward P/E 19.0xFY2026 19.8xFY2026 28.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.20FY2026 $10.22FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.1%FY2026 +6.3%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.1% +11.4% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.63BFY2026 $8.16BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.4%FY2026 +0.8%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.7% +17.8% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFTVDOVNDSN
Held by institutions 100.0% 91.1% 76.0%
Institutions holding 803 1,163 755
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% -0.3% +3.1%
Institutions buying 350 500 389
Institutions selling 301 405 240
Buyers to sellers 1.16 1.23 1.62

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.

FTVDOVNDSN
FTV 1.00 0.45 0.43
DOV 0.45 1.00 0.57
NDSN 0.43 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FTV, DOV and NDSN?

Dover (DOV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Fortive (FTV) $18.56B, Dover (DOV) $27.78B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, FTV, DOV and NDSN?

Dover (DOV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Fortive (FTV) 34.7x, Dover (DOV) 23.8x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fortive (FTV) is cheapest (Fortive (FTV) 19.0x, Dover (DOV) 19.8x, Nordson (NDSN) 28.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Dover (DOV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Fortive (FTV) +5.6%, Dover (DOV) +8.2%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest net margin (Fortive (FTV) 12.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Nordson (NDSN) leads (Fortive (FTV) 7.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Fortive (FTV) +22.9%, Dover (DOV) +14.1%, Nordson (NDSN) +36.5%. Over five years, Nordson (NDSN) compounded fastest (Fortive (FTV) -3.9%/yr, Dover (DOV) +4.1%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest dividend yield: Fortive (FTV) 0.00%, Dover (DOV) 0.00%, Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%. Dover (DOV) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Fortive (FTV) 26.8%, Dover (DOV) 24.9%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FTV, DOV and NDSN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Nordson (NDSN) leads on 8. 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.