GIC vs WSO vs AIT Stock Comparison

Global Industrial, Watsco and Applied Industrial Technologies Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (FAST) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
GIC GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL Co
$44.31 +4.6% 1M +54.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.66B
P/E
19.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.44B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
5 wins
WSO Watsco Inc
$303.13 +0.8% 1M -17.7% 1Y
Market cap
$11.55B
P/E
26.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.44B
Div. yield
0.04%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Global Industrial leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Global Industrial 5, Applied Industrial Technologies 3, Watsco 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGICWSOAITLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.66B $11.55B $10.75B WSO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.1x 26.5x 25.3x GIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.8x 26.7x 23.6x GIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.4% +0.3% +8.5% AIT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.1% — 8.4% AIT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 20.0% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 0.3x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.04% 0.01% WSO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +54.1% -17.7% +19.0% GIC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.8%/yr +0.9%/yr +25.4%/yr AIT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.7% 35.4% 27.7% GIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 62/100 69/100 GIC

Percentile Scorecard

GICWSOAIT

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

AxisGICWSOAIT
Valuation 71 #14 of 46 67 #16 of 46 27 #34 of 46
Growth 90 #5 of 39 34 #26 of 39 58 #17 of 39
Profitability 76 #10 of 39 66 #14 of 39 95 #3 of 39
Financial Health 70 #15 of 47 – 91 #5 of 47
Shareholder Returns 57 #14 of 31 80 #7 of 31 77 #8 of 31
Overall 73 62 69
  • GIC ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • WSO ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • 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

PeriodGICWSOAITSPY
1 month +4.6%+0.8%-10.0% +0.7%
3 months +25.6%-2.5%-11.0% +3.7%
6 months +33.8%-30.8%-1.1% +7.1%
Year to date +51.6%-10.0%+17.8% +12.8%
1 year +54.1%-17.7%+19.0% +11.9%
3 years +38.9%-12.5%+99.7% +85.2%
3 years, per year +11.6%-4.3%+25.9% +22.8%
5 years +9.2%+4.7%+210.3% +67.6%
5 years, per year +1.8%+0.9%+25.4% +10.9%
10 years +470.3%+122.8%+501.9% +262.0%
10 years, per year +19.0%+8.3%+19.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGICWSOAITSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.7%35.4%27.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.2%36.6%31.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.450.980.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.11-0.500.69 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.8%-50.8%-26.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.4%-33.6%-16.5% -1.2%
52-week high $44.94$456.86$362.17 $779.14
52-week low $26.65$279.97$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.

MultipleGICWSOAIT
P/E now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 26.2x 26.5xmedian 26.2x 26.2xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.1x 1.5xmedian 1.1x 2.2xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.0xmedian 13.5x —median 13.5x 17.8xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 23.0x 15.4xmedian 23.0x 26.2xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.6x 3.1xmedian 2.6x 5.9xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 2.36median 2.55 -2.42median 2.55 3.62median 2.55

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 monthsGICWSOAIT
Revenue $1.44B $7.44B $5.06B
Gross profit $522.40M $2.02B $1.54B
Operating income $115.80M $675.29M $564.03M
Net income $87.10M $554.14M $424.12M
Free cash flow $87.30M – $421.86M
EPS (diluted) $2.28 $11.41 $11.41
Cash & equivalents $86.70M $498.70M –
Total debt – – $282.30M
Shares (diluted) 38.20M 38.19M 37.18M
Enterprise value $1.38B $11.55B $10.64B

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
MetricGICWSOAIT
P/E 19.4x 26.5x 26.2x
P/FCF 19.3x 15.4x 26.2x
P/Operating cash flow 18.7x 15.3x 24.5x
P/S 1.2x 1.5x 2.2x
P/B 4.9x 3.1x 5.9x
P/Tangible book 4.9x 3.1x 7.0x
EV/EBITDA 13.0x – 17.8x
EV/EBIT 13.8x – 19.9x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 1.5x 2.2x
EV/FCF 18.3x – 26.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.7x 15.3x 24.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.36 -2.42 3.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGICWSOAIT
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.4% 0.3% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 0.8% 4.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.7% -2.4% 8.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 0.2% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 31.0% -10.6% 9.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.9% -6.4% 5.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 31.6% -10.0% 5.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.2% -7.2% 5.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 32.3% -10.8% 8.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.2% -11.0% 7.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 49.3% 28.2% -6.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.4% 13.9% 5.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 52.1% – -7.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.7% – 5.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGICWSOAIT
Gross margin 36.4% – 30.4%
EBITDA margin 8.6% – 12.4%
Operating margin 8.1% – 11.2%
Pretax margin 8.1% – 11.0%
Net margin 6.1% – 8.4%
FCF margin 6.1% – 8.3%
Operating cash flow margin 6.3% 9.5% 8.9%
Return on equity 26.3% 15.8% 22.6%
Return on assets 14.4% 10.7% 14.2%
Return on invested capital – – 20.0%
Return on capital employed 28.6% – 22.9%
Asset turnover 2.4x 1.4x 1.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.3x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.5% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGICWSOAIT
Debt / assets – – 9.5%
Debt / equity – – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 0.3x
Debt / FCF – – 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 45.5% – 36.8%
Equity / assets 54.5% 67.6% 63.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.2x 3.2x 2.9x
Quick ratio 1.4x – 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 7.25 – 10.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGICWSOAIT
Dividend yield 2.5% 4.3% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 0.1% – 3.1%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 4.3% 3.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 92.7% 17.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 17.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 11.4% 10.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 11.4% 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.

ConsensusGICWSOAIT
Forward P/E 19.8xFY2026 26.7xFY2026 23.6xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $2.24FY2026 $11.37FY2026 $12.83FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +21.1%FY2026 -7.2%FY2026 +17.2%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +3.6% +9.1% +7.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.39BFY2026 $7.25BFY2026 $4.91BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +1.0%FY2026 +0.1%FY2026 -1.1%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +6.8% +7.9% +5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGICWSOAIT
Held by institutions 33.7% 100.0% 94.4%
Institutions holding 162 786 618
Change in shares held, QoQ +12.0% -0.9% +1.3%
Institutions buying 90 342 327
Institutions selling 50 305 207
Buyers to sellers 1.80 1.12 1.58

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.

GICWSOAIT
GIC 1.00 0.27 0.36
WSO 0.27 1.00 0.42
AIT 0.36 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GIC, WSO and AIT?

Watsco (WSO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Global Industrial (GIC) $1.66B, Watsco (WSO) $11.55B, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) $10.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, GIC, WSO and AIT?

Global Industrial (GIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Global Industrial (GIC) 19.1x, Watsco (WSO) 26.5x, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 25.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Global Industrial (GIC) is cheapest (Global Industrial (GIC) 19.8x, Watsco (WSO) 26.7x, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 23.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Global Industrial (GIC) +8.4%, Watsco (WSO) +0.3%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has the highest net margin (Global Industrial (GIC) 6.1%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 8.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Global Industrial (GIC) returned the most: Global Industrial (GIC) +54.1%, Watsco (WSO) -17.7%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +19.0%. Over five years, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) compounded fastest (Global Industrial (GIC) +1.8%/yr, Watsco (WSO) +0.9%/yr, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +25.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Watsco (WSO) has the highest dividend yield: Global Industrial (GIC) 0.00%, Watsco (WSO) 0.04%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 0.01%. Global Industrial (GIC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Global Industrial (GIC) has been the steadiest (Global Industrial (GIC) 25.7%, Watsco (WSO) 35.4%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 27.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GIC, WSO 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, Global Industrial (GIC) leads on 5. 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.