IBP vs EME vs AGX Stock Comparison

Installed Building Products, Emcor and Argan Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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EME EMCOR Group, Inc.
$639.23 -17.9% 1M -2.3% 1Y
Market cap
$28.12B
P/E
18.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$19.84B
Div. yield
0.25%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
4 wins
AGX Argan Inc
$289.24 -25.5% 1M -4.6% 1Y
Market cap
$4.06B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.19B
Div. yield
0.76%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Emcor leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Emcor 4, Argan 4, Installed Building Products 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIBPEMEAGXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.27B $28.12B $4.06B EME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.1x 18.4x 22.6x EME
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.5x 18.4x 20.6x EME
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.3% +22.1% +29.0% AGX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.5% 7.8% 15.1% AGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.0% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.25% 0.25% 0.76% IBP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.8% -2.3% -4.6% IBP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.2%/yr +37.1%/yr +44.8%/yr AGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 56.3% 42.7% 77.4% EME
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 69/100 74/100 AGX

Percentile Scorecard

IBPEMEAGX

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

AxisIBPEMEAGX
Valuation 39 #32 of 52 67 #18 of 52 69 #17 of 52
Growth 19 #31 of 38 68 #13 of 38 100 #1 of 38
Profitability 95 #3 of 38 92 #4 of 38 97 #2 of 38
Financial Health 70 #18 of 57 59 #24 of 57 63 #22 of 57
Shareholder Returns 75 #8 of 29 61 #12 of 29 39 #18 of 29
Overall 59 69 74
  • IBP ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • EME 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

PeriodIBPEMEAGXSPY
1 month +23.6%-17.9%-25.5% -1.0%
3 months -2.3%-22.2%-51.9% -0.4%
6 months -21.2%-32.3%-60.2% +4.5%
Year to date -9.0%+4.5%-7.7% +12.4%
1 year -0.8%-2.3%-4.6% +13.6%
3 years +88.7%+204.1%+540.9% +76.4%
3 years, per year +23.6%+44.9%+85.8% +20.8%
5 years +77.9%+383.3%+536.5% +63.7%
5 years, per year +12.2%+37.1%+44.8% +10.4%
10 years +599.4%+966.6%+423.5% +267.7%
10 years, per year +21.5%+26.7%+18.0% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureIBPEMEAGXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 56.3%42.7%77.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.4%43.3%73.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.401.651.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.01-0.05-0.06 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.2%-36.2%-63.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.4%-32.3%-63.8% -1.6%
52-week high $344.19$943.75$798.55 $779.14
52-week low $180.32$581.58$289.24 $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.

MultipleIBPEMEAGX
P/E now vs peer median 25.1xmedian 25.8x 18.4xmedian 25.8x 22.6xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 0.8x 1.4xmedian 0.8x 3.4xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 11.7x 12.0xmedian 11.7x 19.0xmedian 11.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 21.6x 19.0xmedian 21.6x 7.4xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 2.4x 6.6xmedian 2.4x 8.0xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 7.55median 0.65 0.42median 0.65 0.33median 0.65

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 monthsIBPEMEAGX
Revenue $2.96B $19.84B $1.19B
Gross profit $996.90M $3.89B $247.88M
Operating income $367.80M $2.07B $182.50M
Net income $250.70M $1.54B $179.31M
Free cash flow $291.70M $1.48B $545.70M
EPS (diluted) $9.39 $34.65 $12.66
Cash & equivalents $394.50M $774.75M $364.48M
Total debt $1.06B – –
Shares (diluted) 26.71M 44.55M 14.16M
Enterprise value $4.75B $24.39B $2.07B

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
MetricIBPEMEAGX
P/E 25.1x 18.4x 22.6x
P/FCF 21.5x 19.0x 7.4x
P/Operating cash flow 17.4x 17.5x 7.3x
P/S 2.1x 1.4x 3.4x
P/B 9.8x 6.6x 8.0x
P/Tangible book 16.9x 9.9x 8.1x
EV/EBITDA 14.5x 12.0x 19.0x
EV/EBIT 18.9x 13.2x 19.2x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 1.4x 3.0x
EV/FCF 23.8x 18.5x 6.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.3x 17.0x 6.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 7.55 0.42 0.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIBPEMEAGX
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.3% 22.1% 29.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 17.9% 35.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.5% 23.4% 43.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 26.4% 45.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.8% 35.5% 55.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 39.4% 71.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 0.3% 36.6% 53.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.4% 41.2% 67.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 2.9% 37.8% 52.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 44.2% 67.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.4% 29.2% 279.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 29.9% 108.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.3% 29.0% 289.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.0% 30.4% 111.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIBPEMEAGX
Gross margin 33.6% 19.6% 20.9%
EBITDA margin 16.2% 11.5% 15.5%
Operating margin 12.4% 10.4% 15.4%
Pretax margin 11.3% 10.5% 18.2%
Net margin 8.5% 7.8% 15.1%
FCF margin 9.8% 7.5% 45.9%
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 8.1% 46.7%
Return on equity 38.4% 36.9% 36.6%
Return on assets 11.2% 14.4% 13.3%
Return on invested capital 16.0% – –
Return on capital employed 19.8% 44.5% 39.2%
Asset turnover 1.3x 1.9x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.0x 3.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.1% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIBPEMEAGX
Debt / assets 47.2% – –
Debt / equity 1.7x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x – –
Debt / FCF 3.6x – –
Liabilities / assets 71.6% 61.9% 63.8%
Equity / assets 28.4% 38.1% 36.2%
Interest coverage 10.2x – –
Current ratio 3.0x 1.2x 1.5x
Quick ratio 2.2x 1.1x 0.9x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.1x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 5.27 5.79 4.87

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIBPEMEAGX
Dividend yield 1.2% 0.3% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 3.0% 2.2% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 4.3% 2.4% 1.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 4.2% 15.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 4.3% 5.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 42.2% 37.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 27.2% 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.

ConsensusIBPEMEAGX
Forward P/E 23.5xFY2026 18.4xFY2026 20.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.04FY2026 $34.73FY2026 $14.02FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -12.2%FY2026 +34.2%FY2026 +43.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.6% +10.7% +5.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.10BFY2026 $19.07BFY2026 $1.36BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.3%FY2026 +12.2%FY2026 +43.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.8% +13.1% +19.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIBPEMEAGX
Held by institutions 97.9% 93.1% 99.2%
Institutions holding 425 1,238 560
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.2% -0.1% +10.8%
Institutions buying 229 662 316
Institutions selling 146 419 185
Buyers to sellers 1.57 1.58 1.71

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.

IBPEMEAGX
IBP 1.00 0.09 0.02
EME 0.09 1.00 0.61
AGX 0.02 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IBP, EME and AGX?

Emcor (EME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Installed Building Products (IBP) $6.27B, Emcor (EME) $28.12B, Argan (AGX) $4.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, IBP, EME and AGX?

Emcor (EME) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Installed Building Products (IBP) 25.1x, Emcor (EME) 18.4x, Argan (AGX) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Emcor (EME) is cheapest (Installed Building Products (IBP) 23.5x, Emcor (EME) 18.4x, Argan (AGX) 20.6x). 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: Installed Building Products (IBP) +0.3%, Emcor (EME) +22.1%, Argan (AGX) +29.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Argan (AGX) has the highest net margin (Installed Building Products (IBP) 8.5%, Emcor (EME) 7.8%, Argan (AGX) 15.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Installed Building Products (IBP) returned the most: Installed Building Products (IBP) -0.8%, Emcor (EME) -2.3%, Argan (AGX) -4.6%. Over five years, Argan (AGX) compounded fastest (Installed Building Products (IBP) +12.2%/yr, Emcor (EME) +37.1%/yr, Argan (AGX) +44.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Installed Building Products (IBP) has the highest dividend yield: Installed Building Products (IBP) 1.25%, Emcor (EME) 0.25%, Argan (AGX) 0.76%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Emcor (EME) has been the steadiest (Installed Building Products (IBP) 56.3%, Emcor (EME) 42.7%, Argan (AGX) 77.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IBP, EME 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, Emcor (EME) leads on 4. 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.