GWW vs FERG vs AVTR Stock Comparison

W.W. Grainger, Ferguson Enterprises and Avantor Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GWW W.W. Grainger, Inc.
$1,342.58 +8.0% 1M +37.2% 1Y
Market cap
$63.23B
P/E
33.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.85B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Distribution Industrials
8 wins
AVTR Avantor, Inc.
$17.12 +12.2% 1M +13.3% 1Y
Market cap
$11.32B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.56B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

W.W. Grainger leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (W.W. Grainger 8, Ferguson Enterprises 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGWWFERGAVTRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $63.23B $44.71B $11.32B GWW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.8x 22.0x -19.6x FERG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.4x 21.5x 21.9x FERG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +5.2% -1.6% GWW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.9% 6.5% -8.8% GWW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 29.6% 21.7% -3.2% GWW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.0x 27.2x GWW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.2% -8.6% +13.3% GWW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.5%/yr +8.6%/yr -14.9%/yr GWW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.6% 29.8% 51.2% GWW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 65/100 16/100 FERG

Percentile Scorecard

GWWFERGAVTR

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

AxisGWWFERGAVTR
Valuation 7 #43 of 46 44 #26 of 46 18 #38 of 46
Growth 53 #19 of 39 76 #10 of 39 3 #38 of 39
Profitability 97 #2 of 39 87 #6 of 39 21 #31 of 39
Financial Health 72 #14 of 47 48 #25 of 47 33 #32 of 47
Shareholder Returns 61 #13 of 32 71 #10 of 32 7 #30 of 32
Overall 58 65 16
  • GWW ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FERG ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • AVTR 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

PeriodGWWFERGAVTRSPY
1 month +8.0%+3.1%+12.2% -0.2%
3 months -4.0%-1.1%+37.6% +3.9%
6 months +15.7%-11.1%+117.8% +8.2%
Year to date +33.1%+3.1%+49.4% +12.9%
1 year +37.2%-8.6%+13.3% +12.3%
3 years +90.0%+51.3%-4.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +23.9%+14.8%-1.3% +23.3%
5 years +211.7%+51.3%-55.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +25.5%+8.6%-14.9% +10.9%
10 years +550.4%+333.0%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +20.6%+15.8%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGWWFERGAVTRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.6%29.8%51.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.5%30.8%53.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.491.130.82 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.58-0.290.26 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -24.8%-43.6%-82.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.2%-14.3%-1.0% -1.2%
52-week high $1,402.04$267.71$17.29 $779.14
52-week low $918.18$214.24$7.41 $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.

MultipleGWWFERGAVTR
P/E now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 25.3x 22.0xmedian 25.3x -20.0xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x 1.8xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.7xmedian 13.4x 15.0xmedian 13.4x 120.0xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 41.9xmedian 21.9x 19.7xmedian 21.9x 25.5xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 2.6x 7.6xmedian 2.6x 2.1xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 8.32median 2.38 —median 2.38 0.40median 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 monthsGWWFERGAVTR
Revenue $18.85B $31.35B $6.56B
Gross profit $7.42B $9.73B $2.09B
Operating income $2.75B $2.82B -$301.10M
Net income $1.98B $2.03B -$578.00M
Free cash flow $1.51B $2.26B $454.70M
EPS (diluted) $39.62 $10.42 $-0.85
Cash & equivalents $589.00M $820.00M $306.80M
Total debt $2.41B $4.13B $3.70B
Shares (diluted) 47.20M 194.80M 677.20M
Enterprise value $60.83B $41.93B $10.12B

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
MetricGWWFERGAVTR
P/E 33.9x 22.0x -20.0x
P/FCF 41.9x 19.7x 25.5x
P/Operating cash flow 29.1x 17.0x 19.4x
P/S 3.4x 1.4x 1.8x
P/B 14.0x 7.6x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 14.9x 8.5x 4.4x
EV/EBITDA 21.7x 15.0x 120.0x
EV/EBIT 23.7x 17.0x -49.7x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 1.5x 2.3x
EV/FCF 43.1x 21.1x 32.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 29.9x 18.3x 25.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 8.32 – 0.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGWWFERGAVTR
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 5.2% -1.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.6% – -2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.2% 7.5% -5.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% – -5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 2.8% 17.6% -129.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% – -33.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -1.4% 31.6% -184.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.5% – -49.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -0.9% 34.4% -184.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.1% – -49.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.5% 35.9% -12.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.8% – -11.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.6% 42.8% -18.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.6% – -14.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGWWFERGAVTR
Gross margin 39.4% 31.0% 31.8%
EBITDA margin 15.9% 10.2% 1.9%
Operating margin 14.6% 9.0% -4.6%
Pretax margin 14.2% 8.3% -7.2%
Net margin 9.9% 6.5% -8.8%
FCF margin 8.0% 7.2% 6.9%
Operating cash flow margin 11.5% 8.3% 9.1%
Return on equity 44.7% 34.0% -10.3%
Return on assets 20.8% 11.4% -5.0%
Return on invested capital 29.6% 21.7% -3.2%
Return on capital employed 37.1% 23.4% -2.9%
Asset turnover 2.0x 1.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.3x -1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.3% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGWWFERGAVTR
Debt / assets 25.0% 23.2% 31.9%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.7x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.0x 27.2x
Debt / FCF 1.6x 1.8x 8.1x
Liabilities / assets 53.1% 67.0% 51.4%
Equity / assets 46.9% 33.0% 48.6%
Interest coverage – – -1.8x
Current ratio 2.8x 1.8x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.6x 0.8x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 13.12 5.41 1.97

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGWWFERGAVTR
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.6% –
Net buyback yield 1.5% 1.9% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 3.4% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 32.8% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 12.5% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.1% – –

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.

ConsensusGWWFERGAVTR
Forward P/E 27.4xFY2026 21.5xFY2026 21.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $48.94FY2026 $10.68FY2026 $0.78FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +24.0%FY2026 +7.4%FY2026 -13.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.9% +20.5% +7.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $20.21BFY2026 $34.30BFY2026 $6.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.6%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 -2.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.8% -0.7% -1.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGWWFERGAVTR
Held by institutions 75.5% 96.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,365 937 453
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +2.1% +3.5%
Institutions buying 657 477 282
Institutions selling 428 343 109
Buyers to sellers 1.54 1.39 2.59

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.

GWWFERGAVTR
GWW 1.00 0.37 0.19
FERG 0.37 1.00 0.20
AVTR 0.19 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GWW, FERG and AVTR?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) is the largest by market capitalisation: W.W. Grainger (GWW) $63.23B, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) $44.71B, Avantor (AVTR) $11.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, GWW, FERG and AVTR?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 33.8x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 22.0x, Avantor (AVTR) -19.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) is cheapest (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 27.4x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.5x, Avantor (AVTR) 21.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: W.W. Grainger (GWW) +7.8%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +5.2%, Avantor (AVTR) -1.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

W.W. Grainger (GWW) has the highest net margin (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 9.9%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 6.5%, Avantor (AVTR) -8.8%). On return on invested capital, W.W. Grainger (GWW) leads (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 29.6%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.7%, Avantor (AVTR) -3.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year W.W. Grainger (GWW) returned the most: W.W. Grainger (GWW) +37.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) -8.6%, Avantor (AVTR) +13.3%. Over five years, W.W. Grainger (GWW) compounded fastest (W.W. Grainger (GWW) +25.5%/yr, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +8.6%/yr, Avantor (AVTR) -14.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: W.W. Grainger (GWW) 0.01%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 0.00%, Avantor (AVTR) 0.00%. Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) and Avantor (AVTR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, W.W. Grainger (GWW) has been the steadiest (W.W. Grainger (GWW) 23.6%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 29.8%, Avantor (AVTR) 51.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GWW, FERG and AVTR?

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 8. 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.