GIC vs GWW vs RS Stock Comparison

Global Industrial, W.W. Grainger and Reliance Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GIC GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL Co
$44.62 +7.7% 1M +28.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.70B
P/E
19.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.44B
Div. yield
2.47%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
3 wins
GWW W.W. Grainger, Inc.
$1,342.58 +8.0% 1M +37.2% 1Y
Market cap
$63.24B
P/E
33.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.85B
Div. yield
0.71%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
6 wins
RS Reliance, Inc.
$432.71 +11.6% 1M +55.2% 1Y
Market cap
$22.04B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.37B
Div. yield
1.14%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

W.W. Grainger leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (W.W. Grainger 6, Global Industrial 3, Reliance 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGICGWWRSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.70B $63.24B $22.04B GWW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.6x 33.9x 19.9x GIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.9x 27.4x 17.0x RS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.4% +7.8% +24.7% RS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.1% 9.9% 6.4% GWW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 29.6% 12.5% GWW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.6x 0.8x GWW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.47% 0.71% 1.14% GIC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +28.0% +37.2% +55.2% RS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.5%/yr +25.5%/yr +24.6%/yr GWW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.7% 23.6% 25.1% GWW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 58/100 60/100 GIC

Percentile Scorecard

GICGWWRS

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

AxisGICGWWRS
Valuation 69 #15 of 46 7 #43 of 46 53 #22 of 46
Growth 90 #5 of 39 53 #19 of 39 55 #18 of 39
Profitability 79 #9 of 39 97 #2 of 39 61 #16 of 39
Financial Health 70 #15 of 47 72 #14 of 47 85 #8 of 47
Shareholder Returns 48 #17 of 32 61 #13 of 32 45 #18 of 32
Overall 71 58 60
  • GIC ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • GWW ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • RS 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

PeriodGICGWWRSSPY
1 month +7.7%+8.0%+11.6% -0.2%
3 months +22.8%-4.0%+4.4% +3.9%
6 months +31.1%+15.7%+19.4% +8.2%
Year to date +52.7%+33.1%+49.8% +12.9%
1 year +28.0%+37.2%+55.2% +12.3%
3 years +43.2%+90.0%+74.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +12.7%+23.9%+20.3% +23.3%
5 years +13.1%+211.7%+199.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.5%+25.5%+24.6% +10.9%
10 years +474.3%+550.4%+546.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +19.1%+20.6%+20.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGICGWWRSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.7%23.6%25.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.9%21.5%25.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.450.490.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.861.582.20 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.8%-24.8%-22.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.7%-4.2%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $44.94$1,402.04$432.71 $779.14
52-week low $26.65$918.18$265.93 $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.

MultipleGICGWWRS
P/E now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 25.3x 33.9xmedian 25.3x 19.9xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.0x 3.4xmedian 1.0x 1.3xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 13.4x 21.7xmedian 13.4x 13.0xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.5xmedian 21.9x 41.9xmedian 21.9x 44.8xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 2.6x 14.0xmedian 2.6x 2.9xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 2.38median 2.38 8.32median 2.38 -5.84median 2.38

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 monthsGICGWWRS
Revenue $1.44B $18.85B $17.37B
Gross profit $522.40M $7.42B $4.88B
Operating income $115.80M $2.75B $1.53B
Net income $87.10M $1.98B $1.11B
Free cash flow $87.30M $1.51B $491.90M
EPS (diluted) $2.28 $39.62 $21.55
Cash & equivalents $86.70M $589.00M $246.00M
Total debt – $2.41B $1.64B
Shares (diluted) 38.20M 47.20M 51.39M
Enterprise value $1.42B $61.21B $21.11B

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
MetricGICGWWRS
P/E 19.6x 33.9x 19.9x
P/FCF 19.5x 41.9x 44.8x
P/Operating cash flow 18.8x 29.1x 27.5x
P/S 1.2x 3.4x 1.3x
P/B 5.0x 14.0x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 5.0x 14.9x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 21.7x 13.0x
EV/EBIT 13.9x 23.7x 15.3x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 3.5x 1.3x
EV/FCF 18.5x 43.1x 47.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.8x 29.9x 29.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.38 8.32 -5.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGICGWWRS
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.4% 7.8% 24.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 5.6% 4.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.7% 8.2% 20.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 5.6% 1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 31.0% 2.8% 54.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 3.3% -6.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 31.6% -1.4% 51.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.2% 2.5% -7.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 32.3% -0.9% 56.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.2% 4.1% -3.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 49.3% 5.5% -22.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.4% 9.8% -25.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 52.1% 6.6% -25.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.7% 3.6% -31.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGICGWWRS
Gross margin 36.4% 39.4% 28.1%
EBITDA margin 8.6% 15.9% 10.4%
Operating margin 8.1% 14.6% 8.8%
Pretax margin 8.1% 14.2% 8.4%
Net margin 6.1% 9.9% 6.4%
FCF margin 6.1% 8.0% 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 6.3% 11.5% 4.6%
Return on equity 26.3% 44.7% 14.7%
Return on assets 14.4% 20.8% 9.7%
Return on invested capital – 29.6% 12.5%
Return on capital employed 28.6% 37.1% 15.2%
Asset turnover 2.4x 2.0x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.1x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.4% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGICGWWRS
Debt / assets – 25.0% 14.1%
Debt / equity – 0.5x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.6x 0.8x
Debt / FCF – 1.6x 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 45.5% 53.1% 33.4%
Equity / assets 54.5% 46.9% 66.6%
Interest coverage – – 22.6x
Current ratio 2.2x 2.8x 4.1x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.6x 2.1x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 7.28 13.12 6.70

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGICGWWRS
Dividend yield 2.5% 0.7% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 0.1% 1.5% 2.2%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 2.3% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 25.0% 23.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 32.8% 52.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 12.5% 2.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 9.1% 3.4%

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.

ConsensusGICGWWRS
Forward P/E 19.9xFY2026 27.4xFY2026 17.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.24FY2026 $48.94FY2026 $25.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +21.1%FY2026 +24.0%FY2026 +78.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.6% +8.9% +1.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.39BFY2026 $20.21BFY2026 $16.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.0%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +17.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.8% +0.8% +10.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGICGWWRS
Held by institutions 33.7% 75.5% 82.3%
Institutions holding 162 1,365 688
Change in shares held, QoQ +12.0% +3.5% +1.0%
Institutions buying 90 657 341
Institutions selling 50 428 229
Buyers to sellers 1.80 1.54 1.49

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.

GICGWWRS
GIC 1.00 0.29 0.21
GWW 0.29 1.00 0.28
RS 0.21 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GIC, GWW and RS?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Global Industrial (GIC) $1.70B, W.W. Grainger (GWW) $63.24B, Reliance (RS) $22.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, GIC, GWW and RS?

Global Industrial (GIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Global Industrial (GIC) 19.6x, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 33.9x, Reliance (RS) 19.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Reliance (RS) is cheapest (Global Industrial (GIC) 19.9x, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 27.4x, Reliance (RS) 17.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Reliance (RS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Global Industrial (GIC) +8.4%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +7.8%, Reliance (RS) +24.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) has the highest net margin (Global Industrial (GIC) 6.1%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 9.9%, Reliance (RS) 6.4%). On return on invested capital, W.W. Grainger (GWW) leads (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 29.6%, Reliance (RS) 12.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Reliance (RS) returned the most: Global Industrial (GIC) +28.0%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +37.2%, Reliance (RS) +55.2%. Over five years, W.W. Grainger (GWW) compounded fastest (Global Industrial (GIC) +2.5%/yr, W.W. Grainger (GWW) +25.5%/yr, Reliance (RS) +24.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Global Industrial (GIC) has the highest dividend yield: Global Industrial (GIC) 2.47%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 0.71%, Reliance (RS) 1.14%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, W.W. Grainger (GWW) has been the steadiest (Global Industrial (GIC) 32.7%, W.W. Grainger (GWW) 23.6%, Reliance (RS) 25.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GIC, GWW and RS?

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