GGG vs IEX vs MSA Stock Comparison

Graco, Idex and MSA Safety Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GGG Graco Inc
$67.96 -13.9% 1M -17.3% 1Y
Market cap
$10.90B
P/E
21.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.31B
Div. yield
1.71%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
6 wins
IEX Idex Corp /De/
$222.63 -5.8% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$16.35B
P/E
30.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.66B
Div. yield
1.30%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
3 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$170.24 -6.7% 1M +6.4% 1Y
Market cap
$6.56B
P/E
21.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.01B
Div. yield
1.26%
Power Tools Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Graco leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Graco 6, Idex 3, MSA Safety 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGGGIEXMSALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.90B $16.35B $6.56B IEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.2x 30.6x 21.7x GGG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.2x 24.1x 18.3x MSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.4% +6.9% +8.1% MSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.4% 14.6% 15.0% GGG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.5% 10.0% 13.5% GGG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.0x 1.2x 1.9x GGG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.71% 1.30% 1.26% GGG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.3% +32.3% +6.4% IEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.7%/yr -1.0%/yr +2.1%/yr MSA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.7% 22.6% 25.8% IEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 55/100 70/100 GGG

Percentile Scorecard

GGGIEXMSA

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

AxisGGGIEXMSA
Valuation 45 #113 of 204 34 #135 of 204 52 #99 of 204
Growth 35 #124 of 191 43 #109 of 191 79 #41 of 191
Profitability 98 #5 of 189 85 #30 of 189 90 #20 of 189
Financial Health 86 #33 of 221 74 #58 of 221 49 #114 of 221
Shareholder Returns 92 #14 of 159 41 #94 of 159 80 #32 of 159
Overall 71 55 70
  • GGG ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • IEX ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGGGIEXMSASPY
1 month -13.9%-5.8%-6.7% -5.9%
3 months -18.2%-4.7%-12.3% -4.6%
6 months -13.6%+3.6%-1.0% +0.2%
Year to date -17.1%+25.1%+6.3% +7.5%
1 year -17.3%+32.3%+6.4% +8.2%
3 years -12.3%+15.1%+6.6% +68.3%
3 years, per year -4.3%+4.8%+2.1% +19.0%
5 years -12.7%-5.1%+11.0% +56.5%
5 years, per year -2.7%-1.0%+2.1% +9.4%
10 years +171.4%+161.6%+203.5% +251.5%
10 years, per year +10.5%+10.1%+11.7% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureGGGIEXMSASPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.7%22.6%25.8% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.0%21.2%24.4% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.630.720.77 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.651.430.25 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.3%-35.9%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.3%-7.4%-16.2% -5.9%
52-week high $94.82$240.52$203.08 $779.14
52-week low $66.08$161.68$152.94 $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.

MultipleGGGIEXMSA
P/E now vs peer median 21.2xmedian 23.4x 30.6xmedian 23.4x 21.7xmedian 23.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 1.7x 4.5xmedian 1.7x 3.3xmedian 1.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 13.4x 17.9xmedian 13.4x 15.4xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 21.9x 24.5xmedian 21.9x 20.4xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 2.1x 4.1xmedian 2.1x 4.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 13.11median 1.02 -8.04median 1.02 0.20median 1.02

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 monthsGGGIEXMSA
Revenue $2.31B $3.66B $2.01B
Gross profit $1.20B $1.64B $952.50M
Operating income $619.56M $763.90M $407.09M
Net income $517.48M $535.80M $302.79M
Free cash flow $600.10M $667.10M $322.01M
R&D $82.33M – $71.63M
EPS (diluted) $3.17 $7.24 $7.83
Cash & equivalents $139.82M $602.10M $187.25M
Total debt $134.46M $1.75B $1.12B
Shares (diluted) 163.02M 74.00M 38.65M
Enterprise value $8.92B $13.96B $5.83B

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
MetricGGGIEXMSA
P/E 21.2x 30.6x 21.7x
P/FCF 18.2x 24.5x 20.4x
P/Operating cash flow 16.5x 21.7x 17.5x
P/S 4.7x 4.5x 3.3x
P/B 4.4x 4.1x 4.6x
P/Tangible book 5.4x 5.7x 7.5x
EV/EBITDA 14.9x 17.9x 15.4x
EV/EBIT 17.6x 22.9x 18.4x
EV/Revenue 4.7x 4.8x 3.7x
EV/FCF 18.2x 26.2x 23.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.5x 23.3x 19.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 13.11 -8.04 0.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGGGIEXMSA
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.4% 6.9% 8.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 3.5% 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.8% 8.1% 10.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 4.1% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 3.9% 12.2% 8.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -0.5% 0.7% 26.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 3.9% 12.1% 8.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -0.3% -4.6% 108.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.5% 13.9% 9.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.6% -3.8% 109.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -1.9% 17.0% 7.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 3.3% 217.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.0% 14.2% 13.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 3.9% 96.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGGGIEXMSA
Gross margin 52.0% 44.9% 47.3%
EBITDA margin 31.6% 26.7% 24.1%
Operating margin 26.8% 20.9% 20.2%
Pretax margin 27.6% 19.2% 19.8%
Net margin 22.4% 14.6% 15.0%
FCF margin 26.0% 18.2% 16.0%
Operating cash flow margin 28.6% 20.6% 18.7%
Return on equity 20.7% 13.4% 21.4%
Return on assets 16.2% 7.8% 10.3%
Return on invested capital 19.5% 10.0% 13.5%
Return on capital employed 23.2% 12.2% 15.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.4x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 0.9% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGGGIEXMSA
Debt / assets 4.1% 25.5% 34.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.4x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.0x 1.2x 1.9x
Debt / FCF 0.2x 2.6x 3.5x
Liabilities / assets 24.3% 41.6% 56.3%
Equity / assets 75.7% 58.4% 43.7%
Interest coverage 189.0x – 10.8x
Current ratio 2.1x 2.8x 2.7x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.8x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.9x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 10.34 5.49 4.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGGGIEXMSA
Dividend yield 1.7% 1.3% 1.3%
Net buyback yield 4.3% 1.8% 2.1%
Shareholder yield 6.0% 3.1% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 39.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 32.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.5% –

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.

ConsensusGGGIEXMSA
Forward P/E 20.2xFY2026 24.1xFY2026 18.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.36FY2026 $9.24FY2026 $9.32FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.9%FY2026 +16.2%FY2026 +17.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.4% +12.2% +3.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.20BFY2026 $3.96BFY2026 $1.99BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.9%FY2026 +14.6%FY2026 +5.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.6% +2.7% +19.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGGGIEXMSA
Held by institutions 91.0% 100.0% 91.0%
Institutions holding 732 688 457
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +0.1% +3.0%
Institutions buying 336 352 236
Institutions selling 281 202 147
Buyers to sellers 1.20 1.74 1.61

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.

GGGIEXMSA
GGG 1.00 0.55 0.43
IEX 0.55 1.00 0.42
MSA 0.43 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GGG, IEX and MSA?

Idex (IEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Graco (GGG) $10.90B, Idex (IEX) $16.35B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.56B.

Which stock is cheaper, GGG, IEX and MSA?

Graco (GGG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Graco (GGG) 21.2x, Idex (IEX) 30.6x, MSA Safety (MSA) 21.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, MSA Safety (MSA) is cheapest (Graco (GGG) 20.2x, Idex (IEX) 24.1x, MSA Safety (MSA) 18.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

MSA Safety (MSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Graco (GGG) +5.4%, Idex (IEX) +6.9%, MSA Safety (MSA) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Graco (GGG) has the highest net margin (Graco (GGG) 22.4%, Idex (IEX) 14.6%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.0%). On return on invested capital, Graco (GGG) leads (Graco (GGG) 19.5%, Idex (IEX) 10.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) 13.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Idex (IEX) returned the most: Graco (GGG) -17.3%, Idex (IEX) +32.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.4%. Over five years, MSA Safety (MSA) compounded fastest (Graco (GGG) -2.7%/yr, Idex (IEX) -1.0%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +2.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Graco (GGG) has the highest dividend yield: Graco (GGG) 1.71%, Idex (IEX) 1.30%, MSA Safety (MSA) 1.26%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Idex (IEX) has been the steadiest (Graco (GGG) 26.7%, Idex (IEX) 22.6%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GGG, IEX and MSA?

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