IESC vs STRL Stock Comparison

IES Holdings and Sterling Infrastructure Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IESC IES Holdings, Inc.
$213.54 -33.2% 1M -43.9% 1Y
Market cap
$8.65B
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.99B
Div. yield
–
Utility Construction Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Sterling Infrastructure leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Sterling Infrastructure 8, IES Holdings 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIESCSTRLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.65B $11.07B STRL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.0x 25.7x IESC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.7x 19.0x STRL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +22.7% +60.8% STRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.4% 12.5% STRL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 29.2% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.3x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -43.9% +0.4% STRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +34.3%/yr +73.3%/yr STRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 106.2% 85.9% STRL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 71/100 STRL

Percentile Scorecard

IESCSTRL

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

AxisIESCSTRL
Valuation 47 #28 of 52 49 #27 of 52
Growth 83 #7 of 37 86 #6 of 37
Profitability 92 #4 of 37 97 #2 of 37
Financial Health 89 #7 of 57 75 #15 of 57
Shareholder Returns 23 #21 of 27 50 #14 of 27
Overall 67 71
  • IESC 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

PeriodIESCSTRLSPY
1 month -33.2%-30.6% -1.0%
3 months -65.9%-46.2% +2.9%
6 months -64.4%-28.5% +6.4%
Year to date -45.1%+16.0% +11.4%
1 year -43.9%+0.4% +13.1%
3 years +244.7%+394.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +51.1%+70.4% +21.5%
5 years +336.2%+1,461.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year +34.3%+73.3% +10.9%
10 years +1,255.8%+4,443.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +29.8%+46.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureIESCSTRLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 106.2%85.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 130.1%81.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.973.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.410.00 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.1%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -73.1%-64.2% -2.5%
52-week high $793.96$993.74 $779.14
52-week low $213.54$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.

MultipleIESCSTRL
P/E now vs peer median 18.7xmedian 25.6x 25.3xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 0.8x 3.2xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 12.7x 15.5xmedian 12.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.3xmedian 22.4x 22.6xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 2.3x 7.8xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.25median 0.57 0.14median 0.57

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 monthsIESCSTRL
Revenue $3.99B $3.44B
Gross profit $1.05B $818.59M
Operating income $492.85M $602.35M
Net income $457.91M $460.44M
Free cash flow $228.40M $482.00M
EPS (diluted) $11.29 $13.85
Cash & equivalents $77.28M $464.45M
Total debt – $1.16B
Shares (diluted) 40.40M 31.14M
Enterprise value $7.50B $9.40B

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
MetricIESCSTRL
P/E 18.7x 25.3x
P/FCF 37.3x 22.6x
P/Operating cash flow 22.9x 18.2x
P/S 2.1x 3.2x
P/B 6.9x 7.8x
P/Tangible book 7.2x 14.9x
EV/EBITDA 14.7x 15.5x
EV/EBIT 16.5x 17.8x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 3.1x
EV/FCF 35.6x 22.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.9x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.25 0.14

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIESCSTRL
Revenue growth (1Y) 22.7% 60.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 22.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 29.0% 72.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 37.7% 39.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 39.1% 94.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 55.3% 49.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 66.5% 51.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.8% 55.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 69.8% 49.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 74.5% 183.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 50.4% 20.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.6% 18.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.2% 10.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.1% 18.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIESCSTRL
Gross margin 26.3% 23.8%
EBITDA margin 13.8% 20.2%
Operating margin 12.4% 17.5%
Pretax margin 14.5% 17.5%
Net margin 11.4% 12.5%
FCF margin 5.7% 14.0%
Operating cash flow margin 9.3% 17.4%
Return on equity 39.8% 35.6%
Return on assets 21.4% 15.4%
Return on invested capital – 29.2%
Return on capital employed 41.3% 35.5%
Asset turnover 1.9x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIESCSTRL
Debt / assets – 8.9%
Debt / equity – 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.3x
Debt / FCF – 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 46.0% 56.5%
Equity / assets 54.0% 43.5%
Interest coverage 140.8x 36.1x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.2x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 8.37 5.87

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIESCSTRL
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 0.2% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 0.2% 0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

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.

ConsensusIESCSTRL
Forward P/E 19.7xFY2026 19.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.85FY2026 $18.73FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +58.9%FY2026 +72.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.0% +43.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.10BFY2026 $4.20BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +21.7%FY2026 +68.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +60.7% +12.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIESCSTRL
Held by institutions 96.8% 85.7%
Institutions holding 412 888
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% -6.1%
Institutions buying 224 456
Institutions selling 144 366
Buyers to sellers 1.56 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.

IESCSTRL
IESC 1.00 0.49
STRL 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IESC and STRL?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is the largest by market capitalisation: IES Holdings (IESC) $8.65B, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) $11.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, IESC and STRL?

IES Holdings (IESC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (IES Holdings (IESC) 19.0x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 25.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is cheapest (IES Holdings (IESC) 19.7x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 19.0x). 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) +60.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) has the highest net margin (IES Holdings (IESC) 11.4%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 12.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) returned the most: IES Holdings (IESC) -43.9%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +0.4%. Over five years, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) compounded fastest (IES Holdings (IESC) +34.3%/yr, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +73.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) has been the steadiest (IES Holdings (IESC) 106.2%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 85.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do IESC and STRL move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.49, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, IESC 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 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.