IEX vs MSA vs FLS Stock Comparison

Idex, MSA Safety and Flowserve Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IEX Idex Corp /De/
$239.06 +3.4% 1M +43.2% 1Y
Market cap
$17.56B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.66B
Div. yield
1.21%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
5 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$177.34 -2.8% 1M +9.0% 1Y
Market cap
$6.85B
P/E
21.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
1.21%
Power Tools Industrials
5 wins
FLS Flowserve Corp
$71.79 -3.1% 1M +36.3% 1Y
Market cap
$9.10B
P/E
35.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.70B
Div. yield
1.21%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Idex leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Idex 5, MSA Safety 5, Flowserve 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIEXMSAFLSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.56B $6.85B $9.10B IEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.9x 21.8x 35.8x MSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.2x 19.0x 16.5x FLS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +6.5% +0.2% IEX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.6% 16.1% 5.4% MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% 15.9% 8.1% MSA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 0.8x 2.3x MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.21% 1.21% 1.21% IEX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +43.2% +9.0% +36.3% IEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.4%/yr +3.0%/yr +16.4%/yr FLS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.3% 25.4% 48.9% IEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 79/100 42/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

IEXMSAFLS

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

AxisIEXMSAFLS
Valuation 37 #128 of 203 60 #81 of 203 31 #141 of 203
Growth 42 #110 of 188 86 #27 of 188 31 #130 of 188
Profitability 90 #19 of 184 97 #7 of 184 43 #106 of 184
Financial Health 74 #58 of 217 77 #50 of 217 33 #146 of 217
Shareholder Returns 45 #84 of 153 76 #38 of 153 72 #44 of 153
Overall 58 79 42
  • IEX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • FLS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIEXMSAFLSSPY
1 month +3.4%-2.8%-3.1% +0.9%
3 months +4.1%+0.7%+2.7% +5.9%
6 months +10.0%+8.0%-14.8% +8.5%
Year to date +34.3%+10.7%+3.5% +13.3%
1 year +43.2%+9.0%+36.3% +12.4%
3 years +25.2%+12.5%+100.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year +7.8%+4.0%+26.1% +23.5%
5 years +7.4%+15.9%+113.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year +1.4%+3.0%+16.4% +11.0%
10 years +177.3%+221.0%+70.1% +263.4%
10 years, per year +10.7%+12.4%+5.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureIEXMSAFLSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.3%25.4%48.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.9%23.9%42.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.690.821.77 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.940.350.74 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.9%-34.9%-39.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.6%-12.7%-22.0% -0.9%
52-week high $240.52$203.08$92.04 $779.14
52-week low $161.68$152.94$52.66 $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.

MultipleIEXMSAFLS
P/E now vs peer median 32.9xmedian 25.4x 21.8xmedian 25.4x 35.8xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 1.9x 3.5xmedian 1.9x 1.9xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 14.3x 14.8xmedian 14.3x 18.1xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 21.8x 19.3xmedian 21.8x 59.2xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 2.2x 4.9xmedian 2.2x 3.8xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -8.63median 1.41 0.12median 1.41 15.56median 1.41

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 monthsIEXMSAFLS
Revenue $3.66B $1.95B $4.70B
Gross profit $1.64B $925.88M $1.60B
Operating income $763.90M $413.17M $467.63M
Net income $535.80M $314.01M $273.27M
Free cash flow $667.10M $354.30M $153.66M
R&D – $68.19M –
EPS (diluted) $7.24 $8.11 $1.99
Cash & equivalents $602.10M $200.06M $742.15M
Total debt $1.75B $599.74M $2.06B
Shares (diluted) 74.00M 38.70M 127.96M
Enterprise value $15.17B $6.13B $6.15B

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
MetricIEXMSAFLS
P/E 32.9x 21.8x 35.8x
P/FCF 26.3x 19.3x 59.2x
P/Operating cash flow 23.3x 16.9x 39.6x
P/S 4.8x 3.5x 1.9x
P/B 4.4x 4.9x 3.8x
P/Tangible book 6.1x 6.1x 4.5x
EV/EBITDA 19.1x 14.8x 18.1x
EV/EBIT 24.5x 17.5x 22.3x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 3.7x 2.2x
EV/FCF 28.0x 20.5x 67.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.9x 17.9x 45.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -8.63 0.12 15.56

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIEXMSAFLS
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 6.5% 0.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 5.2% 3.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.1% 8.2% 5.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 6.7% 9.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.2% 10.8% -3.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 34.5% 12.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.1% 13.4% -42.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.6% 186.8% 1.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.9% 15.3% -42.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.8% 188.5% 2.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.0% 26.3% -67.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 96.0% 4.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.2% 40.3% -75.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.9% 72.1% 7.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIEXMSAFLS
Gross margin 44.9% 47.6% 34.2%
EBITDA margin 26.7% 25.1% 12.3%
Operating margin 20.9% 21.2% 10.0%
Pretax margin 19.2% 21.1% 7.6%
Net margin 14.6% 16.1% 5.4%
FCF margin 18.2% 18.2% 3.3%
Operating cash flow margin 20.6% 20.9% 4.9%
Return on equity 13.4% 22.8% 11.6%
Return on assets 7.8% 12.2% 4.3%
Return on invested capital 10.0% 15.9% 8.1%
Return on capital employed 12.2% 18.0% 9.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.3x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 1.0% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIEXMSAFLS
Debt / assets 25.5% 23.1% 32.4%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.4x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 0.8x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 2.6x 1.7x 13.4x
Liabilities / assets 41.6% 46.1% 62.4%
Equity / assets 58.4% 53.9% 37.6%
Interest coverage – 12.7x 5.1x
Current ratio 2.8x 3.2x 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.8x 1.9x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.7x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 5.74 5.89 3.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIEXMSAFLS
Dividend yield 1.2% 1.2% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 1.8% 1.4%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 3.0% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 39.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 32.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.0% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.5% – –

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.

ConsensusIEXMSAFLS
Forward P/E 26.2xFY2026 19.0xFY2026 16.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.14FY2026 $9.33FY2026 $4.34FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.0%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +19.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.0% +3.4% +12.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.93BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026 $4.72BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.7%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026 -0.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.0% +19.6% +5.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIEXMSAFLS
Held by institutions 100.0% 91.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 686 457 584
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.1% +3.0% +14.6%
Institutions buying 351 236 299
Institutions selling 201 147 201
Buyers to sellers 1.75 1.61 1.49

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.

IEXMSAFLS
IEX 1.00 0.44 0.47
MSA 0.44 1.00 0.43
FLS 0.47 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IEX, MSA and FLS?

Idex (IEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Idex (IEX) $17.56B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.85B, Flowserve (FLS) $9.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, IEX, MSA and FLS?

MSA Safety (MSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Idex (IEX) 32.9x, MSA Safety (MSA) 21.8x, Flowserve (FLS) 35.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Flowserve (FLS) is cheapest (Idex (IEX) 26.2x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.0x, Flowserve (FLS) 16.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Idex (IEX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Idex (IEX) +6.9%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Flowserve (FLS) +0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (Idex (IEX) 14.6%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Flowserve (FLS) 5.4%). On return on invested capital, MSA Safety (MSA) leads (Idex (IEX) 10.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Flowserve (FLS) 8.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Idex (IEX) returned the most: Idex (IEX) +43.2%, MSA Safety (MSA) +9.0%, Flowserve (FLS) +36.3%. Over five years, Flowserve (FLS) compounded fastest (Idex (IEX) +1.4%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.0%/yr, Flowserve (FLS) +16.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Idex (IEX) has the highest dividend yield: Idex (IEX) 1.21%, MSA Safety (MSA) 1.21%, Flowserve (FLS) 1.21%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Idex (IEX) has been the steadiest (Idex (IEX) 22.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.4%, Flowserve (FLS) 48.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IEX, MSA and FLS?

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