IEX vs EMR vs WTS Stock Comparison

Idex, Emerson Electric and Watts Water Technologies Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IEX Idex Corp /De/
$239.46 +3.9% 1M +38.1% 1Y
Market cap
$17.26B
P/E
32.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.66B
Div. yield
0.01%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
3 wins
EMR Emerson Electric Co
$170.76 +8.6% 1M +25.2% 1Y
Market cap
$91.88B
P/E
35.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.64B
Div. yield
0.01%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Watts Water Technologies leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Watts Water Technologies 6, Emerson Electric 3, Idex 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIEXEMRWTSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.26B $91.88B $11.64B EMR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.2x 35.6x 30.3x WTS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.2x 25.3x 26.5x EMR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +4.8% +17.1% WTS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.6% 13.8% 14.3% IEX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% 10.9% 16.8% WTS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 1.8x -0.4x WTS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% EMR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +38.1% +25.2% +28.5% IEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.5%/yr +12.0%/yr +13.1%/yr WTS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.0% 31.8% 27.8% IEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 45/100 71/100 WTS

Percentile Scorecard

IEXEMRWTS

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

AxisIEXEMRWTS
Valuation 37 #128 of 203 33 #136 of 203 33 #137 of 203
Growth 43 #107 of 188 41 #112 of 188 79 #41 of 188
Profitability 90 #19 of 183 87 #24 of 183 92 #15 of 183
Financial Health 72 #62 of 216 30 #152 of 216 89 #25 of 216
Shareholder Returns 47 #81 of 152 35 #99 of 152 62 #59 of 152
Overall 58 45 71
  • IEX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • EMR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WTS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIEXEMRWTSSPY
1 month +3.9%+8.6%-2.0% +0.7%
3 months +2.4%+14.9%+1.9% +3.7%
6 months +9.9%+21.6%+16.9% +7.1%
Year to date +34.6%+28.7%+27.1% +12.8%
1 year +38.1%+25.2%+28.5% +11.9%
3 years +25.7%+93.1%+104.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +7.9%+24.5%+26.9% +22.8%
5 years +7.6%+76.0%+84.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year +1.5%+12.0%+13.1% +10.9%
10 years +177.8%+240.9%+485.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +10.8%+13.1%+19.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIEXEMRWTSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.0%31.8%27.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.9%33.5%26.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.691.530.89 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.730.791.02 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.9%-29.9%-44.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.4%0.0%-10.5% -1.2%
52-week high $240.52$170.76$392.27 $779.14
52-week low $161.68$123.30$263.55 $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.

MultipleIEXEMRWTS
P/E now vs peer median 32.9xmedian 25.8x 37.0xmedian 25.8x 30.6xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 1.9x 5.1xmedian 1.9x 4.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.2xmedian 14.6x 17.2xmedian 14.6x 19.2xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.4xmedian 22.2x 27.5xmedian 22.2x 33.5xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 2.2x 4.7xmedian 2.2x 5.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -8.64median 1.45 -0.89median 1.45 2.38median 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 monthsIEXEMRWTS
Revenue $3.66B $18.64B $2.68B
Gross profit $1.64B $9.91B $1.31B
Operating income $763.90M $4.68B $512.10M
Net income $535.80M $2.58B $383.80M
Free cash flow $667.10M $3.46B $349.40M
EPS (diluted) $7.24 $4.59 $11.46
Cash & equivalents $602.10M $2.18B $347.90M
Total debt $1.75B $13.11B $108.00M
Shares (diluted) 74.00M 561.10M 33.50M
Enterprise value $14.87B $84.61B $10.05B

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
MetricIEXEMRWTS
P/E 32.9x 37.0x 30.6x
P/FCF 26.4x 27.5x 33.5x
P/Operating cash flow 23.4x 24.3x 29.4x
P/S 4.8x 5.1x 4.4x
P/B 4.4x 4.7x 5.4x
P/Tangible book 6.1x 8.1x 6.1x
EV/EBITDA 19.2x 17.2x 19.2x
EV/EBIT 24.5x 22.7x 22.4x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 5.7x 4.3x
EV/FCF 28.1x 30.7x 32.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.9x 27.1x 28.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -8.64 -0.89 2.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIEXEMRWTS
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 4.8% 17.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 7.6% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.1% 5.7% 18.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 11.0% 13.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.2% 9.2% 26.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 13.6% 15.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.1% -3.0% 23.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.6% -42.0% 12.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.9% -2.2% 23.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.8% -41.6% 12.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.0% 4.4% 12.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 10.1% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.2% 4.4% 10.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.9% 9.4% 11.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIEXEMRWTS
Gross margin 44.9% 53.2% 48.9%
EBITDA margin 26.7% 33.1% 22.3%
Operating margin 20.9% 25.1% 19.1%
Pretax margin 19.2% 17.6% 19.0%
Net margin 14.6% 13.8% 14.3%
FCF margin 18.2% 18.6% 13.1%
Operating cash flow margin 20.6% 21.0% 14.9%
Return on equity 13.4% 12.7% 17.9%
Return on assets 7.8% 6.1% 13.0%
Return on invested capital 10.0% 10.9% 16.8%
Return on capital employed 12.2% 14.9% 21.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.5x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 1.3% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIEXEMRWTS
Debt / assets 25.5% 31.1% 3.7%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.6x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 1.8x -0.4x
Debt / FCF 2.6x 3.8x 0.3x
Liabilities / assets 41.6% 51.7% 25.8%
Equity / assets 58.4% 48.3% 74.2%
Interest coverage – – 50.2x
Current ratio 2.8x 0.9x 2.7x
Quick ratio 1.8x 0.5x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.2x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 5.75 4.77 11.80

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIEXEMRWTS
Dividend yield 1.2% 1.3% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 1.0% 0.1%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 2.3% 0.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 39.9% 47.8% 19.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) 32.1% 35.6% 21.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.0% 3.1% 21.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 0.7% 20.1%

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.

ConsensusIEXEMRWTS
Forward P/E 26.2xFY2026 25.3xFY2026 26.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.14FY2026 $6.75FY2026 $13.22FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.0%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026 +25.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.0% +15.3% +13.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.93BFY2026 $18.13BFY2026 $3.02BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.7%FY2026 +0.6%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.0% +15.3% -5.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIEXEMRWTS
Held by institutions 100.0% 82.1% 80.9%
Institutions holding 687 2,292 580
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.1% +0.9% +1.9%
Institutions buying 351 1,081 295
Institutions selling 202 799 187
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.35 1.58

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.

IEXEMRWTS
IEX 1.00 0.63 0.42
EMR 0.63 1.00 0.38
WTS 0.42 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IEX, EMR and WTS?

Emerson Electric (EMR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Idex (IEX) $17.26B, Emerson Electric (EMR) $91.88B, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) $11.64B.

Which stock is cheaper, IEX, EMR and WTS?

Watts Water Technologies (WTS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Idex (IEX) 32.2x, Emerson Electric (EMR) 35.6x, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 30.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Emerson Electric (EMR) is cheapest (Idex (IEX) 26.2x, Emerson Electric (EMR) 25.3x, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 26.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Watts Water Technologies (WTS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Idex (IEX) +6.9%, Emerson Electric (EMR) +4.8%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) +17.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Idex (IEX) has the highest net margin (Idex (IEX) 14.6%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 13.8%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 14.3%). On return on invested capital, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) leads (Idex (IEX) 10.0%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 10.9%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 16.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Idex (IEX) returned the most: Idex (IEX) +38.1%, Emerson Electric (EMR) +25.2%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) +28.5%. Over five years, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) compounded fastest (Idex (IEX) +1.5%/yr, Emerson Electric (EMR) +12.0%/yr, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) +13.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Emerson Electric (EMR) has the highest dividend yield: Idex (IEX) 0.01%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 0.01%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Idex (IEX) has been the steadiest (Idex (IEX) 22.0%, Emerson Electric (EMR) 31.8%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 27.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IEX, EMR and WTS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 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.