ITW vs MSA vs AME Stock Comparison

Illinois Tool Works, MSA Safety and Ametek Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$275.93 +0.7% 1M +11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.89B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$179.23 -1.8% 1M +7.5% 1Y
Market cap
$6.90B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
4 wins
AME Ametek Inc/
$246.27 -1.9% 1M +31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$57.07B
P/E
36.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.86B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ametek leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ametek 5, MSA Safety 4, Illinois Tool Works 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionITWMSAAMELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $78.89B $6.90B $57.07B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.0x 22.0x 36.2x MSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.9x 19.2x 30.0x MSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +6.5% +12.7% AME
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 16.1% 20.0% AME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 15.9% 12.8% MSA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x 0.6x AME
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.3% +7.5% +31.9% AME
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.0%/yr +3.2%/yr +13.3%/yr AME
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.3% 25.5% 23.9% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 78/100 62/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

ITWMSAAME

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

AxisITWMSAAME
Valuation 24 #154 of 203 58 #86 of 203 18 #167 of 203
Growth 35 #123 of 188 86 #27 of 188 60 #76 of 188
Profitability – 97 #6 of 183 93 #14 of 183
Financial Health – 76 #54 of 217 69 #69 of 217
Shareholder Returns 87 #21 of 153 74 #40 of 153 68 #49 of 153
Overall 49 78 62
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • AME ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodITWMSAAMESPY
1 month +0.7%-1.8%-1.9% -0.2%
3 months -6.5%-0.3%+2.0% +3.9%
6 months +2.8%+7.2%+7.6% +8.2%
Year to date +12.0%+11.9%+20.0% +12.9%
1 year +11.3%+7.5%+31.9% +12.3%
3 years +23.6%+13.7%+76.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.3%+4.4%+21.0% +23.3%
5 years +21.8%+16.9%+86.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +4.0%+3.2%+13.3% +10.9%
10 years +143.5%+224.9%+457.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.3%+12.5%+18.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureITWMSAAMESPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.3%25.5%23.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.7%24.1%22.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.470.810.98 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.530.291.34 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.9%-34.9%-27.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.9%-11.7%-4.7% -1.2%
52-week high $299.60$203.08$258.54 $779.14
52-week low $241.07$152.94$184.19 $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.

MultipleITWMSAAME
P/E now vs peer median 24.0xmedian 25.2x 22.0xmedian 25.2x 35.8xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x 7.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 15.0xmedian 14.0x 23.6xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.0xmedian 21.7x 19.5xmedian 21.7x 30.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 25.0xmedian 2.3x 4.9xmedian 2.3x 5.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.32 0.12median 1.32 4.11median 1.32

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 monthsITWMSAAME
Revenue – $1.95B $7.86B
Gross profit – $925.88M $2.86B
Operating income – $413.17M $2.04B
Net income $3.23B $314.01M $1.58B
Free cash flow – $354.30M $1.82B
R&D – $68.19M –
EPS (diluted) – $8.11 $6.86
Cash & equivalents $809.00M $200.06M $495.45M
Total debt – $599.74M $2.04B
Shares (diluted) 287.00M 38.70M 229.86M
Enterprise value $78.89B $6.18B $55.20B

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
MetricITWMSAAME
P/E 24.0x 22.0x 35.8x
P/FCF 26.0x 19.5x 30.9x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x 17.0x 28.8x
P/S 4.6x 3.6x 7.2x
P/B 25.0x 4.9x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 30.2x 6.2x 8.0x
EV/EBITDA – 15.0x 23.6x
EV/EBIT – 17.7x 28.5x
EV/Revenue – 3.8x 7.4x
EV/FCF – 20.7x 31.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.1x 18.0x 29.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.12 4.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricITWMSAAME
Revenue growth (1Y) – 6.5% 12.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 5.2% 7.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 8.2% 13.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.7% 7.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 10.8% 11.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 34.5% 8.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.7% 13.4% 9.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 186.8% 8.5%
EPS growth (1Y) – 15.3% 10.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 188.5% 8.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.5% 26.3% 8.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.5% 96.0% 11.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 40.3% 8.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 72.1% 12.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricITWMSAAME
Gross margin – 47.6% 36.4%
EBITDA margin – 25.1% 31.2%
Operating margin – 21.2% 25.9%
Pretax margin – 21.1% 24.3%
Net margin – 16.1% 20.0%
FCF margin – 18.2% 23.2%
Operating cash flow margin – 20.9% 24.9%
Return on equity 106.9% 22.8% 14.2%
Return on assets – 12.2% 9.6%
Return on invested capital – 15.9% 12.8%
Return on capital employed – 18.0% 14.8%
Asset turnover – 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricITWMSAAME
Debt / assets – 23.1% 12.3%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x 0.6x
Debt / FCF – 1.7x 1.1x
Liabilities / assets – 46.1% 32.1%
Equity / assets – 53.9% 67.9%
Interest coverage – 12.7x 21.1x
Current ratio 1.3x 3.2x 1.2x
Quick ratio – 1.9x 0.6x
Cash ratio – 0.7x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 5.92 8.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricITWMSAAME
Dividend yield 2.4% 1.2% 0.5%
Net buyback yield – 1.8% 0.7%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 3.0% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 18.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 16.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 9.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 11.3%

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.

ConsensusITWMSAAME
Forward P/E 25.9xFY2026 19.2xFY2026 30.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.67FY2026 $9.33FY2026 $8.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.3% +3.4% +8.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.46BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026 $7.96BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026 +7.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% +19.6% +18.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersITWMSAAME
Held by institutions 84.9% 91.0% 89.6%
Institutions holding 1,969 457 1,195
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +3.0% +2.3%
Institutions buying 846 236 615
Institutions selling 750 147 399
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.61 1.54

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.

ITWMSAAME
ITW 1.00 0.55 0.49
MSA 0.55 1.00 0.37
AME 0.49 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ITW, MSA and AME?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.89B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.90B, Ametek (AME) $57.07B.

Which stock is cheaper, ITW, MSA and AME?

MSA Safety (MSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.0x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.0x, Ametek (AME) 36.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, MSA Safety (MSA) is cheapest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.2x, Ametek (AME) 30.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ametek (AME) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Ametek (AME) +12.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ametek (AME) has the highest net margin (MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Ametek (AME) 20.0%). On return on invested capital, MSA Safety (MSA) leads (MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Ametek (AME) 12.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ametek (AME) returned the most: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +11.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) +7.5%, Ametek (AME) +31.9%. Over five years, Ametek (AME) compounded fastest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.0%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.2%/yr, Ametek (AME) +13.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.00%, MSA Safety (MSA) 0.00%, Ametek (AME) 0.01%. Illinois Tool Works (ITW) and MSA Safety (MSA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%, Ametek (AME) 23.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ITW, MSA and AME?

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