ITW vs MSA vs SNA Stock Comparison

Illinois Tool Works, MSA Safety and Snap-on Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$276.01 +0.7% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.27B
P/E
24.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.47B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$182.59 +0.1% 1M +8.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.91B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
3 wins
SNA Snap-on Inc
$358.00 -3.0% 1M +4.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.45B
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 4, Snap-on 4, MSA Safety 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionITWMSASNALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $78.27B $6.91B $18.45B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.5x 22.0x 18.2x SNA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.9x 19.6x 19.5x SNA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.3% +6.5% — MSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.4% 16.1% — ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 27.1% 15.9% — ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 0.8x — MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.3% +8.6% +4.1% ITW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.4%/yr +3.7%/yr +12.1%/yr SNA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.3% 25.5% 19.1% SNA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 77/100 65/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

ITWMSASNA

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

AxisITWMSASNA
Valuation 26 #150 of 203 55 #91 of 203 52 #98 of 203
Growth 33 #125 of 187 86 #27 of 187 33 #126 of 187
Profitability 100 #2 of 185 97 #7 of 185 68 #60 of 185
Financial Health 23 #170 of 219 76 #53 of 219 86 #32 of 219
Shareholder Returns 59 #63 of 153 73 #42 of 153 88 #19 of 153
Overall 48 77 65
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SNA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodITWMSASNASPY
1 month +0.7%+0.1%-3.0% -0.8%
3 months -3.0%+4.0%-12.1% +3.5%
6 months +2.3%+6.8%-6.9% +7.0%
Year to date +12.1%+14.0%+3.9% +12.2%
1 year +12.3%+8.6%+4.1% +13.0%
3 years +23.6%+15.9%+41.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +7.3%+5.0%+12.4% +23.1%
5 years +24.2%+20.0%+77.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year +4.4%+3.7%+12.1% +11.0%
10 years +143.4%+228.8%+131.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.3%+12.6%+8.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureITWMSASNASPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.3%25.5%19.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.8%24.1%19.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.470.820.58 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.580.340.21 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.9%-34.9%-21.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.9%-10.1%-14.6% -1.8%
52-week high $299.60$203.08$419.26 $779.14
52-week low $241.07$152.94$328.69 $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.

MultipleITWMSASNA
P/E now vs peer median 24.7xmedian 26.0x 22.5xmedian 26.0x 18.3xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.4xmedian 14.0x 15.3xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.9xmedian 21.4x 19.9xmedian 21.4x 17.2xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 27.2xmedian 2.2x 5.0xmedian 2.2x 3.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 8.37median 1.26 0.12median 1.26 12.84median 1.26

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 monthsITWMSASNA
Revenue $16.47B $1.95B –
Gross profit $7.27B $925.88M –
Operating income $4.36B $413.17M $1.31B
Net income $3.19B $314.01M $1.04B
Free cash flow $2.92B $354.30M –
R&D – $68.19M –
EPS (diluted) $11.13 $8.11 $19.25
Cash & equivalents $839.00M $200.06M $1.67B
Total debt $9.69B $599.74M –
Shares (diluted) 287.00M 38.70M 52.52M
Enterprise value $74.83B $6.20B $18.45B

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
MetricITWMSASNA
P/E 24.7x 22.5x 18.3x
P/FCF 26.9x 19.9x 17.2x
P/Operating cash flow 23.6x 17.4x 16.0x
P/S 4.8x 3.6x 3.6x
P/B 27.2x 5.0x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 33.6x 6.3x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 18.4x 15.3x –
EV/EBIT 20.0x 18.0x –
EV/Revenue 5.3x 3.8x –
EV/FCF 29.9x 21.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 26.3x 18.4x 16.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 8.37 0.12 12.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricITWMSASNA
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.3% 6.5% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.8% 5.2% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.3% 8.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 6.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.4% 10.8% -0.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 34.5% 0.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -5.1% 13.4% -0.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 186.8% 0.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -3.1% 15.3% 0.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.0% 188.5% 1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.8% 26.3% 4.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 96.0% 2.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.2% 40.3% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 72.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricITWMSASNA
Gross margin 44.2% 47.6% –
EBITDA margin 28.9% 25.1% –
Operating margin 26.5% 21.2% –
Pretax margin 25.0% 21.1% –
Net margin 19.4% 16.1% –
FCF margin 17.7% 18.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 20.2% 20.9% –
Return on equity 104.3% 22.8% 17.0%
Return on assets 19.5% 12.2% 12.0%
Return on invested capital 27.1% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed 41.9% 18.0% –
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.8x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.3x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 1.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricITWMSASNA
Debt / assets 58.8% 23.1% –
Debt / equity 3.3x 0.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 3.3x 1.7x –
Liabilities / assets 82.4% 46.1% 29.3%
Equity / assets 17.6% 53.9% 70.7%
Interest coverage 14.5x 12.7x –
Current ratio 1.1x 3.2x 3.5x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.9x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.7x –
Altman Z-score 8.00 5.99 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricITWMSASNA
Dividend yield 2.4% 1.2% 2.7%
Net buyback yield 2.3% 1.8% –
Shareholder yield 4.7% 2.9% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 57.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 62.8% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 5.5% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 5.1% – –

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.

ConsensusITWMSASNA
Forward P/E 25.9xFY2026 19.6xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.67FY2026 $9.33FY2026 $18.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 -4.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.3% +3.4% +17.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.46BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026 $4.58BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% +19.6% +14.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersITWMSASNA
Held by institutions 84.9% 91.0% 96.3%
Institutions holding 1,969 457 1,069
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +3.0% +2.8%
Institutions buying 846 236 497
Institutions selling 750 147 370
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.61 1.34

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.

ITWMSASNA
ITW 1.00 0.55 0.69
MSA 0.55 1.00 0.48
SNA 0.69 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ITW, MSA and SNA?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.27B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.91B, Snap-on (SNA) $18.45B.

Which stock is cheaper, ITW, MSA and SNA?

Snap-on (SNA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.5x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.0x, Snap-on (SNA) 18.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Snap-on (SNA) is cheapest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.6x, Snap-on (SNA) 19.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

MSA Safety (MSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illinois Tool Works (ITW) returned the most: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +12.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) +8.6%, Snap-on (SNA) +4.1%. Over five years, Snap-on (SNA) compounded fastest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.4%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.7%/yr, Snap-on (SNA) +12.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.02%, MSA Safety (MSA) 0.00%, Snap-on (SNA) 0.00%. MSA Safety (MSA) and Snap-on (SNA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Snap-on (SNA) has been the steadiest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%, Snap-on (SNA) 19.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads on 4. 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.