ITW vs MSA vs VNT Stock Comparison

Illinois Tool Works, MSA Safety and Vontier Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$275.93 +0.7% 1M +11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.58B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
2.37%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$179.23 -1.8% 1M +7.5% 1Y
Market cap
$6.92B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
1.19%
Power Tools Industrials
5 wins
VNT Vontier Corp
$34.74 +10.3% 1M -19.3% 1Y
Market cap
$4.74B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.07B
Div. yield
0.33%
Power Tools Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionITWMSAVNTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $78.58B $6.92B $4.74B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.0x 22.0x 13.9x VNT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.9x 19.2x 9.6x VNT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +6.5% +0.9% MSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 16.1% 11.3% MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 15.9% 14.5% MSA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x 2.3x MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.37% 1.19% 0.33% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.3% +7.5% -19.3% ITW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.0%/yr +3.2%/yr +0.7%/yr ITW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.3% 25.5% 31.5% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 78/100 58/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

ITWMSAVNT

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

AxisITWMSAVNT
Valuation 24 #154 of 203 58 #86 of 203 84 #33 of 203
Growth 35 #123 of 188 86 #27 of 188 25 #141 of 188
Profitability – 97 #6 of 183 87 #25 of 183
Financial Health – 76 #54 of 217 16 #183 of 217
Shareholder Returns 87 #21 of 153 74 #40 of 153 78 #35 of 153
Overall 49 78 58
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • VNT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodITWMSAVNTSPY
1 month +0.7%-1.8%+10.3% -0.2%
3 months -6.5%-0.3%+5.8% +3.9%
6 months +2.8%+7.2%-1.9% +8.2%
Year to date +12.0%+11.9%-6.6% +12.9%
1 year +11.3%+7.5%-19.3% +12.3%
3 years +23.6%+13.7%+19.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.3%+4.4%+6.0% +23.3%
5 years +21.8%+16.9%+3.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +4.0%+3.2%+0.7% +10.9%
10 years +143.5%+224.9%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.3%+12.5%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureITWMSAVNTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.3%25.5%31.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.7%24.1%35.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.470.811.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.530.29-0.61 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.9%-34.9%-51.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.9%-11.7%-19.3% -1.2%
52-week high $299.60$203.08$43.03 $779.14
52-week low $241.07$152.94$27.80 $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.

MultipleITWMSAVNT
P/E now vs peer median 24.0xmedian 25.2x 22.0xmedian 25.2x 13.9xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x 1.5xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 15.0xmedian 14.0x 9.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.0xmedian 21.7x 19.5xmedian 21.7x 12.3xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 25.0xmedian 2.3x 4.9xmedian 2.3x 4.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.32 0.12median 1.32 1.50median 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 monthsITWMSAVNT
Revenue – $1.95B $3.07B
Gross profit – $925.88M $1.45B
Operating income – $413.17M $576.60M
Net income $3.23B $314.01M $348.00M
Free cash flow – $354.30M $384.80M
R&D – $68.19M $164.50M
EPS (diluted) – $8.11 $2.49
Cash & equivalents $809.00M $200.06M $265.80M
Total debt – $599.74M $1.90B
Shares (diluted) 287.00M 38.70M 139.80M
Enterprise value $78.59B $6.20B $3.32B

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
MetricITWMSAVNT
P/E 24.0x 22.0x 13.9x
P/FCF 26.0x 19.5x 12.3x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x 17.0x 10.2x
P/S 4.6x 3.6x 1.5x
P/B 25.0x 4.9x 4.0x
P/Tangible book 30.2x 6.2x 5.4x
EV/EBITDA – 15.0x 9.2x
EV/EBIT – 17.7x 11.1x
EV/Revenue – 3.8x 2.1x
EV/FCF – 20.7x 16.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.1x 18.0x 13.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.12 1.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricITWMSAVNT
Revenue growth (1Y) – 6.5% 0.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 5.2% -1.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 8.2% 0.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.7% 0.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 10.8% 5.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 34.5% 0.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.7% 13.4% -11.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 186.8% 5.3%
EPS growth (1Y) – 15.3% -6.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 188.5% 9.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.5% 26.3% -7.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.5% 96.0% 2.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 40.3% -9.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 72.1% 1.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricITWMSAVNT
Gross margin – 47.6% 47.2%
EBITDA margin – 25.1% 22.7%
Operating margin – 21.2% 18.8%
Pretax margin – 21.1% 14.4%
Net margin – 16.1% 11.3%
FCF margin – 18.2% 12.5%
Operating cash flow margin – 20.9% 15.1%
Return on equity 106.9% 22.8% 28.2%
Return on assets – 12.2% 8.5%
Return on invested capital – 15.9% 14.5%
Return on capital employed – 18.0% 18.8%
Asset turnover – 0.8x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricITWMSAVNT
Debt / assets – 23.1% 47.1%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x 2.3x
Debt / FCF – 1.7x 4.9x
Liabilities / assets – 46.1% 70.2%
Equity / assets – 53.9% 29.8%
Interest coverage – 12.7x –
Current ratio 1.3x 3.2x 1.3x
Quick ratio – 1.9x 0.8x
Cash ratio – 0.7x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 5.92 3.03

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricITWMSAVNT
Dividend yield 2.4% 1.2% 0.3%
Net buyback yield – 1.8% 8.1%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 3.0% 8.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusITWMSAVNT
Forward P/E 25.9xFY2026 19.2xFY2026 9.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.67FY2026 $9.33FY2026 $3.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.3% +3.4% +7.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.46BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026 $3.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026 +1.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% +19.6% +3.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersITWMSAVNT
Held by institutions 84.9% 91.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,969 457 461
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +3.0% +4.5%
Institutions buying 846 236 181
Institutions selling 750 147 191
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.61 0.95

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.

ITWMSAVNT
ITW 1.00 0.55 0.51
MSA 0.55 1.00 0.56
VNT 0.51 0.56 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ITW, MSA and VNT?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.58B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.92B, Vontier (VNT) $4.74B.

Which stock is cheaper, ITW, MSA and VNT?

Vontier (VNT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.0x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.0x, Vontier (VNT) 13.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Vontier (VNT) is cheapest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.2x, Vontier (VNT) 9.6x). 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: MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Vontier (VNT) +0.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Vontier (VNT) 11.3%). On return on invested capital, MSA Safety (MSA) leads (MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Vontier (VNT) 14.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illinois Tool Works (ITW) returned the most: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +11.3%, MSA Safety (MSA) +7.5%, Vontier (VNT) -19.3%. Over five years, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) compounded fastest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.0%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.2%/yr, Vontier (VNT) +0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 2.37%, MSA Safety (MSA) 1.19%, Vontier (VNT) 0.33%.

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%, Vontier (VNT) 31.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.