FTV vs ITW vs LASR Stock Comparison

Fortive, Illinois Tool Works and Nlight Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FTV Fortive Corp
$65.86 +18.9% 1M +30.8% 1Y
Market cap
$19.53B
P/E
30.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.40B
Div. yield
0.00%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$281.43 +5.3% 1M +16.3% 1Y
Market cap
$79.39B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.65B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
8 wins
LASR Nlight, Inc.
$39.01 0.0% 1M +20.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.11B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$310.70M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 8, Fortive 2, Nlight 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFTVITWLASRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $19.53B $79.39B $2.11B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.0x 24.6x -168.8x ITW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.6x 26.4x 73.6x FTV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +4.8% +43.2% LASR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.8% 19.4% -4.0% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.1% 27.1% -3.8% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 1.8x — ITW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +30.8% +16.3% +20.3% FTV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.8%/yr +4.3%/yr +6.8%/yr LASR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.0% 21.3% 87.2% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 50/100 46/100 ITW

Percentile Scorecard

FTVITWLASR

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

AxisFTVITWLASR
Valuation 47 #108 of 203 28 #147 of 203 11 #181 of 203
Growth 26 #140 of 188 35 #122 of 188 97 #6 of 188
Profitability 76 #45 of 183 100 #2 of 183 25 #137 of 183
Financial Health 38 #135 of 216 26 #161 of 216 89 #24 of 216
Shareholder Returns 58 #65 of 152 62 #58 of 152 6 #143 of 152
Overall 49 50 46
  • FTV ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LASR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFTVITWLASRSPY
1 month +18.9%+5.3%0.0% +0.7%
3 months +12.6%-0.8%-40.6% +3.7%
6 months +10.2%+9.1%-44.2% +7.1%
Year to date +19.3%+14.3%+4.0% +12.8%
1 year +30.8%+16.3%+20.3% +11.9%
3 years +1.3%+25.9%+372.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +0.4%+8.0%+67.9% +22.8%
5 years -13.0%+23.5%+38.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year -2.8%+4.3%+6.8% +10.9%
10 years +31.2%+147.2%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +2.8%+9.5%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureFTVITWLASRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.0%21.3%87.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.1%20.7%89.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.600.473.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.140.770.23 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.1%-28.9%-80.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-6.1%-54.1% -1.2%
52-week high $65.86$299.60$84.95 $779.14
52-week low $50.10$241.07$28.60 $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.

MultipleFTVITWLASR
P/E now vs peer median 30.3xmedian 25.8x 24.8xmedian 25.8x -178.2xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x 7.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 14.6x 18.3xmedian 14.6x -616.2xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.1xmedian 22.2x 27.9xmedian 22.2x 53.8xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 2.2x 25.5xmedian 2.2x 5.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -11.48median 1.45 8.57median 1.45 -4.21median 1.45

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 monthsFTVITWLASR
Revenue $4.40B $16.65B $310.70M
Gross profit $2.79B $7.38B $97.95M
Operating income $863.00M $4.43B -$16.99M
Net income $651.90M $3.23B -$12.48M
Free cash flow $1.09B $2.87B $41.83M
R&D $268.20M – $50.56M
EPS (diluted) $2.15 $11.31 $-0.22
Cash & equivalents $377.30M $809.00M $295.76M
Total debt $3.51B $9.37B $60.00M
Shares (diluted) 303.90M 285.30M 56.98M
Enterprise value $18.04B $76.06B $1.19B

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
MetricFTVITWLASR
P/E 30.3x 24.8x -178.2x
P/FCF 18.1x 27.9x 53.8x
P/Operating cash flow 16.4x 24.5x 42.3x
P/S 4.5x 4.8x 7.2x
P/B 3.3x 25.5x 5.1x
P/Tangible book 4.9x 30.8x 5.1x
EV/EBITDA 17.3x 18.3x -616.2x
EV/EBIT 26.4x 20.0x -112.9x
EV/Revenue 5.2x 5.3x 6.2x
EV/FCF 21.0x 30.9x 45.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.0x 27.1x 36.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -11.48 8.57 -4.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFTVITWLASR
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 4.8% 43.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -9.9% 1.1% 11.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.2% 5.7% 113.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -7.6% 2.8% 29.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 22.1% 6.4% 67.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -8.1% 3.1% 33.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.2% 6.7% 73.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.7% 0.9% 37.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 18.7% 9.1% 76.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.6% 2.9% 42.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -1.6% -0.5% 587.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.3% -0.5% 119.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.3% 0.8% 311.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.9% 0.4% 65.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFTVITWLASR
Gross margin 63.5% 44.3% 31.5%
EBITDA margin 29.9% 29.0% -1.0%
Operating margin 19.6% 26.6% -5.5%
Pretax margin 16.8% 25.2% -3.8%
Net margin 14.8% 19.4% -4.0%
FCF margin 24.7% 17.2% 13.5%
Operating cash flow margin 27.3% 19.6% 17.1%
Return on equity 10.8% 106.9% -2.9%
Return on assets 5.6% 19.6% -2.4%
Return on invested capital 8.1% 27.1% -3.8%
Return on capital employed 8.4% 38.9% -3.7%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.0x -4.3x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 0.5% 13.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFTVITWLASR
Debt / assets 30.6% 56.8% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 3.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 1.8x –
Debt / FCF 3.2x 3.3x –
Liabilities / assets 48.2% 81.0% 15.0%
Equity / assets 51.8% 19.0% 85.0%
Interest coverage 4.9x 14.3x -14.7x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.3x 8.2x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.8x 6.9x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 6.0x
Altman Z-score 3.49 8.24 17.83

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFTVITWLASR
Dividend yield 0.4% 2.3% –
Net buyback yield 6.5% 2.0% -8.7%
Shareholder yield 6.9% 4.4% -8.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 11.7% 57.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 7.0% 64.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -24.4% 5.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -8.3% 5.1% –

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.

ConsensusFTVITWLASR
Forward P/E 20.6xFY2026 26.4xFY2026 73.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.20FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $0.53FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.1%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +120.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.1% +19.3% +13.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.63BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $313.28MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.4%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.7% +11.4% +17.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFTVITWLASR
Held by institutions 100.0% 84.9% 89.4%
Institutions holding 804 1,970 358
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +0.8% +5.4%
Institutions buying 351 847 220
Institutions selling 301 750 112
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.13 1.96

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.

FTVITWLASR
FTV 1.00 0.58 0.02
ITW 0.58 1.00 0.10
LASR 0.02 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FTV, ITW and LASR?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Fortive (FTV) $19.53B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $79.39B, Nlight (LASR) $2.11B.

Which stock is cheaper, FTV, ITW and LASR?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Fortive (FTV) 30.0x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.6x, Nlight (LASR) -168.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fortive (FTV) is cheapest (Fortive (FTV) 20.6x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 26.4x, Nlight (LASR) 73.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nlight (LASR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Fortive (FTV) +7.0%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%, Nlight (LASR) +43.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Fortive (FTV) 14.8%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, Nlight (LASR) -4.0%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Fortive (FTV) 8.1%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, Nlight (LASR) -3.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fortive (FTV) returned the most: Fortive (FTV) +30.8%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +16.3%, Nlight (LASR) +20.3%. Over five years, Nlight (LASR) compounded fastest (Fortive (FTV) -2.8%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.3%/yr, Nlight (LASR) +6.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: Fortive (FTV) 0.00%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.02%, Nlight (LASR) 0.00%. Nlight (LASR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Fortive (FTV) 27.0%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, Nlight (LASR) 87.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FTV, ITW and LASR?

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 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.