GVA vs J vs AGX Stock Comparison

Granite Construction, Jacobs Solutions and Argan Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GVA Granite Construction Inc
$110.49 -4.1% 1M +6.4% 1Y
Market cap
$4.84B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.97B
Div. yield
0.47%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
2 wins
J Jacobs Solutions Inc.
$148.28 +7.2% 1M -7.9% 1Y
Market cap
$17.37B
P/E
51.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.22B
Div. yield
0.94%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
4 wins
AGX Argan Inc
$340.91 -6.6% 1M +15.6% 1Y
Market cap
$4.78B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.19B
Div. yield
0.65%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Argan leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Argan 6, Jacobs Solutions 4, Granite Construction 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGVAJAGXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.84B $17.37B $4.78B J
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -29.3x 51.6x 26.7x AGX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 21.9x 24.3x J
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +21.8% +20.1% +29.0% AGX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.3% 2.4% 15.1% AGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.4% 5.8% — GVA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.7x — GVA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.47% 0.94% 0.65% J
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.4% -7.9% +15.6% AGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +23.9%/yr +5.2%/yr +52.1%/yr AGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.1% 33.0% 74.9% J
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 45/100 73/100 AGX

Percentile Scorecard

GVAJAGX

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

AxisGVAJAGX
Valuation 84 #9 of 52 37 #33 of 52 63 #20 of 52
Growth 50 #19 of 37 31 #26 of 37 100 #1 of 37
Profitability 50 #19 of 37 53 #18 of 37 100 #1 of 37
Financial Health 36 #37 of 57 45 #32 of 57 64 #21 of 57
Shareholder Returns 65 #10 of 27 62 #11 of 27 39 #17 of 27
Overall 57 45 73
  • GVA ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • J ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • AGX ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGVAJAGXSPY
1 month -4.1%+7.2%-6.6% -0.2%
3 months -8.9%+5.4%-34.9% +3.9%
6 months -11.5%+17.3%-45.9% +8.2%
Year to date -4.2%+11.9%+8.8% +12.9%
1 year +6.4%-7.9%+15.6% +12.3%
3 years +222.4%+36.7%+664.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +47.8%+11.0%+97.1% +23.3%
5 years +192.0%+28.7%+712.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +23.9%+5.2%+52.1% +10.9%
10 years +158.7%+253.7%+518.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year +10.0%+13.5%+20.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGVAJAGXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.1%33.0%74.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.6%36.0%68.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.970.771.72 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.19-0.240.21 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.4%-34.8%-58.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.1%-7.9%-57.3% -1.2%
52-week high $160.39$161.00$798.55 $779.14
52-week low $98.50$107.27$292.22 $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.

MultipleGVAJAGX
P/E now vs peer median -29.3xmedian 26.7x 51.6xmedian 26.7x 26.7xmedian 26.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.8x 1.2xmedian 0.8x 4.0xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 13.1x 22.4xmedian 13.1x 22.9xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 23.0x 26.9xmedian 23.0x 8.8xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 2.4x 5.3xmedian 2.4x 9.4xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.40median 0.57 -2.43median 0.57 0.39median 0.57

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 monthsGVAJAGX
Revenue $4.97B $14.22B $1.19B
Gross profit $776.94M $3.14B $247.88M
Operating income $314.31M $649.64M $182.50M
Net income -$151.53M $301.35M $179.31M
Free cash flow $471.91M $644.54M $545.70M
EPS (diluted) $-3.77 $2.85 $12.66
Cash & equivalents $877.12M $1.17B $364.48M
Total debt $1.56B $3.58B –
Shares (diluted) 43.75M 118.90M 14.16M
Enterprise value $2.51B $12.02B $2.79B

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
MetricGVAJAGX
P/E -29.3x 51.6x 26.7x
P/FCF 10.2x 26.9x 8.8x
P/Operating cash flow 8.0x 23.6x 8.6x
P/S 1.0x 1.2x 4.0x
P/B 6.0x 5.3x 9.4x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 6.5x 9.6x
EV/EBITDA 10.8x 22.4x 22.9x
EV/EBIT 17.4x 30.4x 23.2x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 1.4x 3.6x
EV/FCF 11.6x 30.7x 7.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.1x 26.9x 7.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.40 -2.43 0.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGVAJAGX
Revenue growth (1Y) 21.8% 20.1% 29.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.1% 28.1% 35.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 22.0% 6.3% 43.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 30.8% 5.8% 45.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 37.5% -23.4% 55.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 76.7% 14.0% 71.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -185.3% -40.0% 53.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -85.3% -26.5% 67.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -225.5% -30.4% 52.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -73.5% -21.3% 67.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 37.6% 47.1% 279.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 147.4% -10.7% 108.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 52.7% 56.4% 289.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 94.5% -10.1% 111.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGVAJAGX
Gross margin 15.6% 22.1% 20.9%
EBITDA margin 10.2% 6.2% 15.5%
Operating margin 6.3% 4.6% 15.4%
Pretax margin -1.3% 3.6% 18.2%
Net margin -3.3% 2.4% 15.1%
FCF margin 9.5% 4.5% 45.9%
Operating cash flow margin 12.2% 5.2% 46.7%
Return on equity -14.8% 9.2% 36.6%
Return on assets -3.3% 2.5% 13.3%
Return on invested capital 13.4% 5.8% –
Return on capital employed 16.9% 8.2% 39.2%
Asset turnover 1.2x 1.2x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.0x 2.4x 3.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGVAJAGX
Debt / assets 32.6% 30.5% –
Debt / equity 1.9x 1.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.7x –
Debt / FCF 3.3x 5.6x –
Liabilities / assets 83.1% 72.2% 63.8%
Equity / assets 16.9% 27.8% 36.2%
Interest coverage 4.5x 3.9x –
Current ratio 1.0x 1.3x 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.6x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 2.12 2.85 5.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGVAJAGX
Dividend yield 0.5% 0.9% 0.6%
Net buyback yield 1.1% 3.9% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 1.5% 4.9% 0.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) -15.0% 53.6% 15.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 4.8% 25.1% 5.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.1% 6.9% 37.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -0.1% 8.9% 27.7%

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.

ConsensusGVAJAGX
Forward P/E – 21.9xFY2026 24.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-3.74FY2026 $6.78FY2026 $14.02FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -196.9%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026 +43.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +27.6% +5.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.09BFY2026 $9.78BFY2026 $1.36BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.2%FY2026 -18.7%FY2026 +43.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.2% -0.5% +19.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGVAJAGX
Held by institutions 100.0% 92.2% 99.2%
Institutions holding 445 871 559
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.0% +3.0% +10.8%
Institutions buying 239 375 315
Institutions selling 151 360 185
Buyers to sellers 1.58 1.04 1.70

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.

GVAJAGX
GVA 1.00 0.26 0.31
J 0.26 1.00 -0.08
AGX 0.31 -0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GVA, J and AGX?

Jacobs Solutions (J) is the largest by market capitalisation: Granite Construction (GVA) $4.84B, Jacobs Solutions (J) $17.37B, Argan (AGX) $4.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, GVA, J and AGX?

Argan (AGX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Granite Construction (GVA) -29.3x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 51.6x, Argan (AGX) 26.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Jacobs Solutions (J) is cheapest (Jacobs Solutions (J) 21.9x, Argan (AGX) 24.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Argan (AGX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Granite Construction (GVA) +21.8%, Jacobs Solutions (J) +20.1%, Argan (AGX) +29.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Argan (AGX) has the highest net margin (Granite Construction (GVA) -3.3%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 2.4%, Argan (AGX) 15.1%). On return on invested capital, Granite Construction (GVA) leads (Granite Construction (GVA) 13.4%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 5.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Argan (AGX) returned the most: Granite Construction (GVA) +6.4%, Jacobs Solutions (J) -7.9%, Argan (AGX) +15.6%. Over five years, Argan (AGX) compounded fastest (Granite Construction (GVA) +23.9%/yr, Jacobs Solutions (J) +5.2%/yr, Argan (AGX) +52.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Jacobs Solutions (J) has the highest dividend yield: Granite Construction (GVA) 0.47%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 0.94%, Argan (AGX) 0.65%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Jacobs Solutions (J) has been the steadiest (Granite Construction (GVA) 33.1%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 33.0%, Argan (AGX) 74.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GVA, J and AGX?

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