IESC vs STRL vs FIX Stock Comparison

IES Holdings, Sterling Infrastructure and Comfort Systems Usa Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (PRIM) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
IESC IES Holdings, Inc.
$225.53 -30.0% 1M -45.1% 1Y
Market cap
$8.99B
P/E
19.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.99B
Div. yield
–
Utility Construction Industrials
1 win
FIX Comfort Systems Usa Inc
$1,347.77 -18.8% 1M +37.4% 1Y
Market cap
$47.16B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.27B
Div. yield
0.22%
HVAC Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Comfort Systems Usa leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Comfort Systems Usa 5, Sterling Infrastructure 3, IES Holdings 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIESCSTRLFIXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.99B $11.94B $47.16B FIX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.7x 21.5x 29.0x IESC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.8x 20.8x 29.5x STRL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +22.7% +93.1% -36.6% STRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% — 30.9% FIX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 16.0% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -2.0x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.22% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -45.1% +2.4% +37.4% FIX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +35.3%/yr +74.6%/yr +71.3%/yr STRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 105.3% 85.8% 57.1% FIX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 67/100 71/100 FIX

Percentile Scorecard

IESCSTRLFIX

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

AxisIESCSTRLFIX
Valuation 49 #27 of 52 37 #33 of 52 26 #41 of 55
Growth 83 #7 of 37 92 #4 of 37 88 #7 of 51
Profitability 94 #3 of 37 81 #8 of 37 83 #9 of 48
Financial Health 88 #8 of 57 57 #25 of 57 79 #12 of 54
Shareholder Returns 32 #18 of 26 – 78 #10 of 41
Overall 69 67 71
  • IESC ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • STRL ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • FIX ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIESCSTRLFIXSPY
1 month -30.0%-22.0%-18.8% +0.9%
3 months -54.6%-21.3%-11.2% +5.9%
6 months -60.6%-17.2%-21.8% +8.5%
Year to date -42.0%+27.0%+44.4% +13.3%
1 year -45.1%+2.4%+37.4% +12.4%
3 years +268.9%+448.6%+666.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year +54.6%+76.4%+97.2% +23.5%
5 years +352.4%+1,517.6%+1,373.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year +35.3%+74.6%+71.3% +11.0%
10 years +1,444.7%+4,989.9%+4,587.9% +263.4%
10 years, per year +31.5%+48.1%+46.9% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureIESCSTRLFIXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 105.3%85.8%57.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 130.3%81.7%62.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.983.402.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.430.030.65 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.1%-64.2%-46.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -71.6%-60.9%-34.8% -0.9%
52-week high $793.96$993.74$2,066.51 $779.14
52-week low $213.54$283.57$876.19 $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.

MultipleIESCSTRLFIX
P/E now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 27.7x 21.5xmedian 27.7x 29.0xmedian 20.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 0.8x 2.8xmedian 0.8x 8.9xmedian 1.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 12.4x —median 12.4x 42.9xmedian 11.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 39.3xmedian 23.7x 32.2xmedian 23.7x 19.3xmedian 15.3x
P/B now vs peer median 7.3xmedian 2.5x 7.9xmedian 2.5x 14.1xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median 0.26median 0.57 0.16median 0.57 0.36median 0.99

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 monthsIESCSTRLFIX
Revenue $3.99B $4.31B $5.27B
Gross profit $1.05B $1.03B $1.42B
Operating income $492.85M $783.88M $989.51M
Net income $457.91M $593.79M $1.63B
Free cash flow $228.40M – $2.44B
EPS (diluted) $11.29 $17.80 $46.42
Cash & equivalents $77.28M $216.94M $2.16B
Total debt – – $49.56M
Shares (diluted) 40.40M 31.14M 35.15M
Enterprise value $7.85B $11.98B $41.12B

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
MetricIESCSTRLFIX
P/E 19.7x 21.5x 29.0x
P/FCF 39.3x 32.2x 19.3x
P/Operating cash flow 24.2x 19.5x 15.7x
P/S 2.3x 2.8x 8.9x
P/B 7.3x 7.9x 14.1x
P/Tangible book 7.6x 14.1x 16.9x
EV/EBITDA 15.6x – 42.9x
EV/EBIT 17.4x – 45.5x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 2.8x 8.5x
EV/FCF 37.7x – 18.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.2x 19.5x 15.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.26 0.16 0.36

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIESCSTRLFIX
Revenue growth (1Y) 22.7% 93.1% -36.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 30.6% 2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 29.0% 99.2% -27.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 37.7% 48.2% 15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 39.1% 125.1% -11.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 55.3% 61.2% 37.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 66.5% 77.1% 94.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.8% 64.8% 78.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 69.8% 74.5% 96.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 74.5% 137.0% 79.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 50.4% 43.2% 223.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.6% 14.2% 71.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.2% – 205.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.1% – 67.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIESCSTRLFIX
Gross margin 26.3% – 26.8%
EBITDA margin 13.8% – 19.9%
Operating margin 12.4% – 18.8%
Pretax margin 14.5% – 19.3%
Net margin 11.4% – 30.9%
FCF margin 5.7% – 46.3%
Operating cash flow margin 9.3% 14.2% 57.0%
Return on equity 39.8% 41.0% 16.7%
Return on assets 21.4% 17.8% 6.0%
Return on invested capital – – 16.0%
Return on capital employed 41.3% – 30.6%
Asset turnover 1.9x 1.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 1.0x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.8% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIESCSTRLFIX
Debt / assets – – 0.5%
Debt / equity – – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -2.0x
Debt / FCF – – 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 46.0% 55.3% 66.0%
Equity / assets 54.0% 43.3% 34.0%
Interest coverage 140.8x – 125.1x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.2x – 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.4x
Altman Z-score 8.64 – 5.89

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIESCSTRLFIX
Dividend yield – – 0.2%
Net buyback yield 0.2% – 0.9%
Shareholder yield 0.2% – 1.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 6.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 4.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 75.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 57.9%

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.

ConsensusIESCSTRLFIX
Forward P/E 20.8xFY2026 20.8xFY2026 29.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.85FY2026 $18.73FY2026 $45.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +58.9%FY2026 +72.2%FY2026 +58.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.0% +43.6% +25.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.10BFY2026 $4.20BFY2026 $12.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +21.7%FY2026 +68.8%FY2026 +34.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +60.7% +12.4% +33.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIESCSTRLFIX
Held by institutions 96.8% 85.7% 93.1%
Institutions holding 412 888 1,353
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% -6.1% +0.8%
Institutions buying 224 456 742
Institutions selling 144 366 486
Buyers to sellers 1.56 1.25 1.53

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.

IESCSTRLFIX
IESC 1.00 0.49 0.54
STRL 0.49 1.00 0.75
FIX 0.54 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IESC, STRL and FIX?

Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) is the largest by market capitalisation: IES Holdings (IESC) $8.99B, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) $11.94B, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) $47.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, IESC, STRL and FIX?

IES Holdings (IESC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (IES Holdings (IESC) 19.7x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 21.5x, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) 29.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is cheapest (IES Holdings (IESC) 20.8x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 20.8x, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) 29.5x). 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: IES Holdings (IESC) +22.7%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +93.1%, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) -36.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) has the highest net margin (IES Holdings (IESC) 11.4%, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) 30.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) returned the most: IES Holdings (IESC) -45.1%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +2.4%, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) +37.4%. Over five years, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) compounded fastest (IES Holdings (IESC) +35.3%/yr, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +74.6%/yr, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) +71.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) 0.22%. IES Holdings (IESC) and Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) has been the steadiest (IES Holdings (IESC) 105.3%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 85.8%, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) 57.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IESC, STRL and FIX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Comfort Systems Usa (FIX) 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.