HWM vs ITW vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Howmet Aerospace, Illinois Tool Works and Nordson Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$205.71 -10.9% 1M +1.1% 1Y
Market cap
$81.11B
P/E
39.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.73B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
6 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$281.43 +5.3% 1M +16.3% 1Y
Market cap
$79.57B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.65B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
NDSN Nordson Corp
$329.10 -0.1% 1M +41.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.02B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Howmet Aerospace leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Howmet Aerospace 6, Illinois Tool Works 5, Nordson 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHWMITWNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $81.11B $79.57B $18.02B HWM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.5x 24.6x 32.5x ITW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 39.6x 26.4x 29.5x ITW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +22.0% +4.8% +7.0% HWM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.1% 19.4% 18.6% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.5% 27.1% 13.1% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 1.8x 1.7x HWM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.01% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.1% +16.3% +41.1% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +47.3%/yr +4.3%/yr +5.3%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.5% 21.3% 22.2% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 50/100 58/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

HWMITWNDSN

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

AxisHWMITWNDSN
Valuation 40 #60 of 100 28 #147 of 203 30 #143 of 203
Growth 90 #11 of 96 35 #122 of 188 58 #80 of 188
Profitability 99 #2 of 95 100 #2 of 183 97 #6 of 183
Financial Health 47 #56 of 105 26 #161 of 216 53 #103 of 216
Shareholder Returns 88 #9 of 65 62 #58 of 152 54 #71 of 152
Overall 73 50 58
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHWMITWNDSNSPY
1 month -10.9%+5.3%-0.1% +0.7%
3 months -25.8%-0.8%+11.5% +3.7%
6 months -15.4%+9.1%+14.1% +7.1%
Year to date +0.3%+14.3%+36.9% +12.8%
1 year +1.1%+16.3%+41.1% +11.9%
3 years +371.8%+25.9%+55.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year +67.8%+8.0%+15.8% +22.8%
5 years +592.9%+23.5%+29.5% +67.6%
5 years, per year +47.3%+4.3%+5.3% +10.9%
10 years —+147.2%+232.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+9.5%+12.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureHWMITWNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.5%21.3%22.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.5%20.7%21.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.090.470.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.030.771.86 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.5%-28.9%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.7%-6.1%-1.7% -1.2%
52-week high $292.71$299.60$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $185.88$241.07$226.69 $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.

MultipleHWMITWNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 39.9xmedian 26.9x 24.8xmedian 25.8x 33.0xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 3.0x 4.8xmedian 1.9x 6.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.2xmedian 15.0x 18.3xmedian 14.6x 21.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.4xmedian 27.2x 27.9xmedian 22.2x 25.3xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 14.2xmedian 2.5x 25.5xmedian 2.2x 5.6xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.81median 0.93 8.57median 1.45 7.50median 1.45

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 monthsHWMITWNDSN
Revenue $9.73B $16.65B $2.98B
Gross profit $3.56B $7.38B $1.65B
Operating income $2.73B $4.43B $800.96M
Net income $2.05B $3.23B $555.18M
Free cash flow $1.93B $2.87B $724.01M
R&D $38.00M – –
EPS (diluted) $5.13 $11.31 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $507.00M $809.00M $113.43M
Total debt $4.83B $9.37B $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 400.00M 285.30M 56.03M
Enterprise value $76.86B $76.24B $17.57B

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
MetricHWMITWNDSN
P/E 39.9x 24.8x 33.0x
P/FCF 42.4x 27.9x 25.3x
P/Operating cash flow 34.1x 24.5x 23.7x
P/S 8.4x 4.8x 6.2x
P/B 14.2x 25.5x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 16.7x 30.8x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA 28.2x 18.3x 21.5x
EV/EBIT 31.6x 20.0x 24.9x
EV/Revenue 8.9x 5.3x 6.7x
EV/FCF 44.7x 30.9x 27.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 35.9x 27.1x 25.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.81 8.57 7.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHWMITWNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 22.0% 4.8% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 1.1% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 33.7% 5.7% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 26.3% 2.8% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 36.4% 6.4% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 35.5% 3.1% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 41.6% 6.7% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 47.5% 0.9% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 43.6% 9.1% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 49.5% 2.9% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% -0.5% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 38.8% -0.5% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 50.9% 0.8% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.0% 0.4% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHWMITWNDSN
Gross margin 36.6% 44.3% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 31.4% 29.0% 31.2%
Operating margin 28.1% 26.6% 26.9%
Pretax margin 25.8% 25.2% 22.6%
Net margin 21.1% 19.4% 18.6%
FCF margin 19.8% 17.2% 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 24.7% 19.6% 26.0%
Return on equity 35.7% 106.9% 17.2%
Return on assets 15.5% 19.6% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 21.5% 27.1% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 24.7% 38.9% 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHWMITWNDSN
Debt / assets 36.4% 56.8% 29.1%
Debt / equity 0.8x 3.0x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 1.8x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 2.5x 3.3x 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 56.6% 81.0% 45.0%
Equity / assets 43.4% 19.0% 55.0%
Interest coverage – 14.3x 8.8x
Current ratio 1.9x 1.3x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.8x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 8.71 8.24 6.32

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHWMITWNDSN
Dividend yield 0.2% 2.3% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 1.6% 2.0% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.8% 4.4% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 9.9% 57.4% 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 10.5% 64.6% 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 23.8% 5.2% 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 43.3% 5.1% 7.2%

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.

ConsensusHWMITWNDSN
Forward P/E 39.6xFY2026 26.4xFY2026 29.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.19FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +37.7%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.2% +19.3% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.37BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +25.7%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.9% +11.4% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHWMITWNDSN
Held by institutions 91.0% 84.9% 76.0%
Institutions holding 1,601 1,970 756
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.7% +0.8% +3.1%
Institutions buying 908 847 390
Institutions selling 484 750 240
Buyers to sellers 1.88 1.13 1.63

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.

HWMITWNDSN
HWM 1.00 0.30 0.31
ITW 0.30 1.00 0.55
NDSN 0.31 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HWM, ITW and NDSN?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $81.11B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $79.57B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, HWM, ITW and NDSN?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 39.5x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.6x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is cheapest (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 39.6x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 26.4x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +22.0%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.1%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +1.1%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +16.3%, Nordson (NDSN) +41.1%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +47.3%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.3%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.00%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.02%, Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 35.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HWM, ITW and NDSN?

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