IBP vs J vs STRL Stock Comparison

Installed Building Products, Jacobs Solutions and Sterling Infrastructure Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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J Jacobs Solutions Inc.
$152.74 +12.0% 1M -3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$18.15B
P/E
53.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.22B
Div. yield
0.01%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Sterling Infrastructure leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Sterling Infrastructure 5, Jacobs Solutions 3, Installed Building Products 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIBPJSTRLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.67B $18.15B $10.57B J
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.6x 53.6x 19.1x STRL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.1x 22.5x 19.9x STRL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.3% +20.1% +93.1% STRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.5% 2.4% — IBP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.0% 5.8% — IBP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 2.7x — IBP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -19.3% -3.5% -7.4% J
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.8%/yr +5.6%/yr +73.2%/yr STRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 55.3% 33.1% 85.7% J
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 51/100 71/100 STRL

Percentile Scorecard

IBPJSTRL

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

AxisIBPJSTRL
Valuation 59 #22 of 52 37 #33 of 52 43 #30 of 52
Growth 19 #30 of 37 33 #25 of 37 100 #1 of 37
Profitability 97 #2 of 37 53 #18 of 37 81 #8 of 37
Financial Health 71 #17 of 57 54 #27 of 57 59 #24 of 57
Shareholder Returns 81 #6 of 27 77 #7 of 27 –
Overall 66 51 71
  • IBP ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • J ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • STRL ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIBPJSTRLSPY
1 month +9.3%+12.0%-26.0% +0.7%
3 months -5.7%+15.0%-35.7% +3.7%
6 months -26.5%+18.0%-27.5% +7.1%
Year to date -18.2%+15.3%+22.0% +12.8%
1 year -19.3%-3.5%-7.4% +11.9%
3 years +93.5%+40.7%+417.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +24.6%+12.1%+73.0% +22.8%
5 years +67.0%+31.5%+1,454.3% +67.6%
5 years, per year +10.8%+5.6%+73.2% +10.9%
10 years +561.9%+261.3%+4,790.8% +262.0%
10 years, per year +20.8%+13.7%+47.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIBPJSTRLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 55.3%33.1%85.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.0%36.1%81.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.370.783.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.35-0.11-0.09 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.2%-34.8%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -38.4%-3.5%-62.4% -1.2%
52-week high $344.19$158.36$993.74 $779.14
52-week low $180.32$107.27$283.57 $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.

MultipleIBPJSTRL
P/E now vs peer median 22.5xmedian 28.1x 53.1xmedian 28.1x 20.7xmedian 28.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 0.8x 1.3xmedian 0.8x 2.7xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 12.7x 23.0xmedian 12.7x —median 12.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 25.0x 27.8xmedian 25.0x 32.2xmedian 25.0x
P/B now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 2.5x 5.5xmedian 2.5x 7.6xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 6.78median 0.60 -2.50median 0.60 0.15median 0.60

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 monthsIBPJSTRL
Revenue $2.96B $14.22B $4.31B
Gross profit $996.90M $3.14B $1.03B
Operating income $367.80M $649.64M $783.88M
Net income $250.70M $301.35M $593.79M
Free cash flow $291.70M $644.54M –
EPS (diluted) $9.39 $2.85 $17.80
Cash & equivalents $394.50M $1.17B $216.94M
Total debt $1.06B $3.58B –
Shares (diluted) 26.71M 118.90M 31.14M
Enterprise value $4.14B $12.82B $10.57B

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
MetricIBPJSTRL
P/E 22.5x 53.1x 20.7x
P/FCF 19.3x 27.8x 32.2x
P/Operating cash flow 15.7x 24.3x 18.7x
P/S 1.9x 1.3x 2.7x
P/B 8.8x 5.5x 7.6x
P/Tangible book 15.2x 6.7x 13.5x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 23.0x –
EV/EBIT 17.1x 31.2x –
EV/Revenue 2.1x 1.4x 2.7x
EV/FCF 21.6x 31.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow 17.5x 27.6x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 6.78 -2.50 0.15

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIBPJSTRL
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.3% 20.1% 93.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 28.1% 30.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.5% 6.3% 99.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 5.8% 48.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.8% -23.4% 125.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 14.0% 61.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 0.3% -40.0% 77.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.4% -26.5% 64.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 2.9% -30.4% 74.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.3% -21.3% 137.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.4% 47.1% 43.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.4% -10.7% 14.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.3% 56.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.0% -10.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIBPJSTRL
Gross margin 33.6% 22.1% –
EBITDA margin 16.2% 6.2% –
Operating margin 12.4% 4.6% –
Pretax margin 11.3% 3.6% –
Net margin 8.5% 2.4% –
FCF margin 9.8% 4.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 5.2% 14.2%
Return on equity 38.4% 9.2% 41.0%
Return on assets 11.2% 2.5% 17.8%
Return on invested capital 16.0% 5.8% –
Return on capital employed 19.8% 8.2% –
Asset turnover 1.3x 1.2x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.4x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIBPJSTRL
Debt / assets 47.2% 30.5% –
Debt / equity 1.7x 1.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 2.7x –
Debt / FCF 3.6x 5.6x –
Liabilities / assets 71.6% 72.2% 55.3%
Equity / assets 28.4% 27.8% 43.3%
Interest coverage 10.2x 3.9x –
Current ratio 3.0x 1.3x 1.0x
Quick ratio 2.2x 1.6x –
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 5.03 2.89 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIBPJSTRL
Dividend yield 1.4% 0.9% –
Net buyback yield 3.4% 3.8% –
Shareholder yield 4.8% 4.7% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – 53.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 25.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 6.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.9% –

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.

ConsensusIBPJSTRL
Forward P/E 21.1xFY2026 22.5xFY2026 19.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.04FY2026 $6.78FY2026 $18.73FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -12.2%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026 +72.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.6% +27.6% +43.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.10BFY2026 $9.78BFY2026 $4.20BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.3%FY2026 -18.7%FY2026 +68.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.8% -0.5% +12.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIBPJSTRL
Held by institutions 97.9% 92.2% 85.7%
Institutions holding 424 873 889
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.2% +3.0% -6.1%
Institutions buying 229 377 457
Institutions selling 146 360 366
Buyers to sellers 1.57 1.05 1.25

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.

IBPJSTRL
IBP 1.00 0.32 0.19
J 0.32 1.00 0.07
STRL 0.19 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IBP, J and STRL?

Jacobs Solutions (J) is the largest by market capitalisation: Installed Building Products (IBP) $5.67B, Jacobs Solutions (J) $18.15B, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) $10.57B.

Which stock is cheaper, IBP, J and STRL?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Installed Building Products (IBP) 22.6x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 53.6x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 19.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is cheapest (Installed Building Products (IBP) 21.1x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 22.5x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 19.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Installed Building Products (IBP) +0.3%, Jacobs Solutions (J) +20.1%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +93.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Installed Building Products (IBP) has the highest net margin (Installed Building Products (IBP) 8.5%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 2.4%). On return on invested capital, Installed Building Products (IBP) leads (Installed Building Products (IBP) 16.0%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 5.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Jacobs Solutions (J) returned the most: Installed Building Products (IBP) -19.3%, Jacobs Solutions (J) -3.5%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) -7.4%. Over five years, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) compounded fastest (Installed Building Products (IBP) +10.8%/yr, Jacobs Solutions (J) +5.6%/yr, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +73.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Installed Building Products (IBP) 0.00%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 0.01%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 0.00%. Installed Building Products (IBP) and Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Jacobs Solutions (J) has been the steadiest (Installed Building Products (IBP) 55.3%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 33.1%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 85.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IBP, J and STRL?

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