IEX vs WTS vs EMR Stock Comparison

Idex, Watts Water Technologies and Emerson Electric 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.

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

Percentile Scorecard

IEXWTSEMR

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

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

Price Performance

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

Returns

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

Risk

MeasureIEXWTSEMRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.0%27.8%31.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.9%26.3%33.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.690.891.53 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.731.020.79 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.9%-44.4%-29.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.4%-10.5%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $240.52$392.27$170.76 $779.14
52-week low $161.68$263.55$123.30 $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.

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

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

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

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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

IEXWTSEMR
IEX 1.00 0.42 0.63
WTS 0.42 1.00 0.38
EMR 0.63 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IEX, WTS and EMR?

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

Which stock is cheaper, IEX, WTS and EMR?

Watts Water Technologies (WTS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Idex (IEX) 32.2x, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 30.3x, Emerson Electric (EMR) 35.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Emerson Electric (EMR) is cheapest (Idex (IEX) 26.2x, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 26.5x, Emerson Electric (EMR) 25.3x). 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%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) +17.1%, Emerson Electric (EMR) +4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

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

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

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

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

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.