GWW vs AIT vs WCC Stock Comparison

W.W. Grainger, Applied Industrial Technologies and Wesco International Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GWW W.W. Grainger, Inc.
$1,371.95 +9.8% 1M +43.1% 1Y
Market cap
$64.62B
P/E
34.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.85B
Div. yield
0.69%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
5 wins
WCC Wesco International Inc
$366.68 +0.5% 1M +60.6% 1Y
Market cap
$17.85B
P/E
22.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.04B
Div. yield
0.53%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

W.W. Grainger leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (W.W. Grainger 5, Wesco International 4, Applied Industrial Technologies 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGWWAITWCCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $64.62B $11.04B $17.85B GWW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.6x 26.2x 22.4x WCC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.0x 23.6x 20.7x WCC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +8.5% +13.5% WCC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.9% 8.4% 3.1% GWW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 29.6% 20.0% 9.8% GWW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 0.3x 3.0x AIT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.69% 0.66% 0.53% GWW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +43.1% +19.0% +60.6% WCC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +24.3%/yr +25.4%/yr +23.1%/yr AIT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.6% 27.7% 45.6% GWW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 69/100 48/100 AIT

Percentile Scorecard

GWWAITWCC

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

AxisGWWAITWCC
Valuation 7 #43 of 46 27 #34 of 46 40 #28 of 46
Growth 50 #20 of 39 58 #17 of 39 74 #11 of 39
Profitability 97 #2 of 39 95 #3 of 39 40 #24 of 39
Financial Health 72 #14 of 47 91 #5 of 47 28 #34 of 47
Shareholder Returns 63 #12 of 31 77 #8 of 31 60 #13 of 31
Overall 58 69 48
  • GWW ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • AIT ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • WCC 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

PeriodGWWAITWCCSPY
1 month +9.8%-10.0%+0.5% +0.7%
3 months +1.2%-11.0%+7.3% +3.7%
6 months +18.1%-1.1%+5.0% +7.1%
Year to date +36.0%+17.8%+49.9% +12.8%
1 year +43.1%+19.0%+60.6% +11.9%
3 years +89.0%+99.7%+186.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +23.6%+25.9%+42.0% +22.8%
5 years +196.2%+210.3%+183.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year +24.3%+25.4%+23.1% +10.9%
10 years +558.6%+501.9%+564.9% +262.0%
10 years, per year +20.7%+19.7%+20.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGWWAITWCCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.6%27.7%45.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.4%31.1%44.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.490.792.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.830.691.33 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -24.8%-26.5%-37.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.1%-16.5%-4.5% -1.2%
52-week high $1,402.04$362.17$384.12 $779.14
52-week low $918.18$240.63$228.29 $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.

MultipleGWWAITWCC
P/E now vs peer median 34.6xmedian 26.2x 26.2xmedian 26.2x 22.4xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 1.1x 2.2xmedian 1.1x 0.7xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.1xmedian 13.5x 17.8xmedian 13.5x 13.5xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.8xmedian 23.0x 26.2xmedian 23.0x 42.9xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 2.6x 5.9xmedian 2.6x 3.3xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 8.51median 2.55 3.62median 2.55 9.39median 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 monthsGWWAITWCC
Revenue $18.85B $5.06B $26.04B
Gross profit $7.42B $1.54B $5.60B
Operating income $2.75B $564.03M $1.45B
Net income $1.98B $424.12M $792.20M
Free cash flow $1.51B $421.86M $415.80M
EPS (diluted) $39.62 $11.41 $16.14
Cash & equivalents $589.00M – $842.50M
Total debt $2.41B $282.30M $6.01B
Shares (diluted) 47.20M 37.18M 49.30M
Enterprise value $62.60B $10.93B $14.89B

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
MetricGWWAITWCC
P/E 34.6x 26.2x 22.4x
P/FCF 42.8x 26.2x 42.9x
P/Operating cash flow 29.7x 24.5x 33.0x
P/S 3.4x 2.2x 0.7x
P/B 14.3x 5.9x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 15.2x 7.0x 4.9x
EV/EBITDA 22.1x 17.8x 13.5x
EV/EBIT 24.2x 19.9x 15.9x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 2.2x 0.9x
EV/FCF 44.0x 26.6x 55.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.5x 24.9x 42.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 8.51 3.62 9.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGWWAITWCC
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 8.5% 13.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 4.4% 5.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.2% 8.3% 15.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 5.6% 4.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 2.8% 9.7% 20.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 5.0% -0.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -1.4% 5.6% 22.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.5% 5.3% -2.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -0.9% 8.7% 26.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 7.2% 2.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.5% -6.8% 64.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.8% 5.5% -13.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.6% -7.3% 66.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 5.5% -17.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGWWAITWCC
Gross margin 39.4% 30.4% 21.5%
EBITDA margin 15.9% 12.4% 6.5%
Operating margin 14.6% 11.2% 5.6%
Pretax margin 14.2% 11.0% 4.0%
Net margin 9.9% 8.4% 3.1%
FCF margin 8.0% 8.3% 1.6%
Operating cash flow margin 11.5% 8.9% 2.1%
Return on equity 44.7% 22.6% 14.9%
Return on assets 20.8% 14.2% 4.3%
Return on invested capital 29.6% 20.0% 9.8%
Return on capital employed 37.1% 22.9% 11.6%
Asset turnover 2.0x 1.7x 1.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.1x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.2% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGWWAITWCC
Debt / assets 25.0% 9.5% 32.0%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.1x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 0.3x 3.0x
Debt / FCF 1.6x 0.7x 14.4x
Liabilities / assets 53.1% 36.8% 71.0%
Equity / assets 46.9% 63.2% 29.0%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.8x 2.9x 2.0x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.7x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 13.29 10.12 3.27

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGWWAITWCC
Dividend yield 0.7% 0.7% 0.5%
Net buyback yield 1.5% 3.1% 0.4%
Shareholder yield 2.2% 3.8% 1.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.0% 17.4% 12.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 32.8% 17.5% 22.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.5% 10.6% 10.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 11.1% 18.2%

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.

ConsensusGWWAITWCC
Forward P/E 28.0xFY2026 23.6xFY2027 20.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $48.94FY2026 $12.83FY2027 $17.71FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +24.0%FY2026 +17.2%FY2027 +37.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.9% +7.8% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $20.21BFY2026 $4.91BFY2027 $27.17BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.6%FY2026 -1.1%FY2027 +15.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.8% +5.4% +8.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGWWAITWCC
Held by institutions 75.5% 94.4% 96.3%
Institutions holding 1,366 618 700
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +1.3% -3.7%
Institutions buying 658 327 328
Institutions selling 428 207 277
Buyers to sellers 1.54 1.58 1.18

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.

GWWAITWCC
GWW 1.00 0.47 0.36
AIT 0.47 1.00 0.57
WCC 0.36 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GWW, AIT and WCC?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) is the largest by market capitalisation: W.W. Grainger (GWW) $64.62B, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) $11.04B, Wesco International (WCC) $17.85B.

Which stock is cheaper, GWW, AIT and WCC?

Wesco International (WCC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 34.6x, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 26.2x, Wesco International (WCC) 22.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Wesco International (WCC) is cheapest (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 28.0x, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 23.6x, Wesco International (WCC) 20.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Wesco International (WCC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: W.W. Grainger (GWW) +7.8%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.5%, Wesco International (WCC) +13.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) has the highest net margin (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 9.9%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 8.4%, Wesco International (WCC) 3.1%). On return on invested capital, W.W. Grainger (GWW) leads (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 29.6%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 20.0%, Wesco International (WCC) 9.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Wesco International (WCC) returned the most: W.W. Grainger (GWW) +43.1%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +19.0%, Wesco International (WCC) +60.6%. Over five years, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) compounded fastest (W.W. Grainger (GWW) +24.3%/yr, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +25.4%/yr, Wesco International (WCC) +23.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) has the highest dividend yield: W.W. Grainger (GWW) 0.69%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 0.66%, Wesco International (WCC) 0.53%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, W.W. Grainger (GWW) has been the steadiest (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 23.6%, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 27.7%, Wesco International (WCC) 45.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GWW, AIT and WCC?

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 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.