ITW vs NDSN vs SWK Stock Comparison

Illinois Tool Works, Nordson and Stanley Black & Decker Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$276.03 +0.8% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.45B
P/E
24.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.65B
Div. yield
2.37%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins
NDSN Nordson Corp
$326.02 -1.6% 1M +38.5% 1Y
Market cap
$18.16B
P/E
32.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
1.04%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Stanley Black & Decker leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Stanley Black & Decker 5, Illinois Tool Works 4, Nordson 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionITWNDSNSWKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $78.45B $18.16B $15.17B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.3x 32.7x 24.3x SWK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.9x 29.3x 17.3x SWK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.8% +7.0% +0.6% NDSN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.4% 18.6% 4.1% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 27.1% 13.1% 6.6% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.7x 2.3x NDSN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.37% 1.04% 3.32% SWK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.3% +38.5% +39.7% SWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.9%/yr +5.1%/yr -11.0%/yr NDSN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.2% 22.2% 36.5% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 59/100 59/100 SWK

Percentile Scorecard

ITWNDSNSWK

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

AxisITWNDSNSWK
Valuation 29 #145 of 203 30 #143 of 203 89 #23 of 203
Growth 34 #124 of 188 57 #82 of 188 81 #36 of 188
Profitability 100 #2 of 184 97 #6 of 184 51 #91 of 184
Financial Health 26 #160 of 217 56 #97 of 217 28 #157 of 217
Shareholder Returns 62 #59 of 153 54 #71 of 153 47 #81 of 153
Overall 50 59 59
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SWK ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodITWNDSNSWKSPY
1 month +0.8%-1.6%+13.2% +0.9%
3 months -5.6%+10.5%+7.9% +5.9%
6 months +3.9%+16.3%+32.3% +8.5%
Year to date +12.1%+35.6%+35.2% +13.3%
1 year +12.3%+38.5%+39.7% +12.4%
3 years +23.6%+53.7%+22.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +7.3%+15.4%+7.0% +23.5%
5 years +21.1%+28.2%-44.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +3.9%+5.1%-11.0% +11.0%
10 years +142.5%+229.6%-12.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year +9.3%+12.7%-1.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureITWNDSNSWKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.2%22.2%36.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.8%21.3%32.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.470.881.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.581.741.09 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.9%-39.9%-71.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.9%-2.6%-3.4% -0.9%
52-week high $299.60$334.70$104.00 $779.14
52-week low $241.07$226.69$62.12 $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.

MultipleITWNDSNSWK
P/E now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 25.4x 32.7xmedian 25.4x 24.3xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 1.9x 6.1xmedian 1.9x 1.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 14.3x 21.3xmedian 14.3x 10.7xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.4xmedian 21.8x 25.1xmedian 21.8x 11.8xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 25.0xmedian 2.2x 5.6xmedian 2.2x 1.7xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 8.41median 1.41 7.43median 1.41 -4.62median 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 monthsITWNDSNSWK
Revenue $16.65B $2.98B $15.25B
Gross profit $7.38B $1.65B $4.86B
Operating income $4.43B $800.96M $1.32B
Net income $3.23B $555.18M $620.50M
Free cash flow $2.87B $724.01M $1.29B
EPS (diluted) $11.31 $9.91 $4.12
Cash & equivalents $809.00M $113.43M $592.40M
Total debt $9.37B $1.73B $4.76B
Shares (diluted) 285.30M 56.03M 150.65M
Enterprise value $75.12B $17.71B $13.69B

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
MetricITWNDSNSWK
P/E 24.3x 32.7x 24.3x
P/FCF 27.4x 25.1x 11.8x
P/Operating cash flow 24.0x 23.5x 9.8x
P/S 4.7x 6.1x 1.0x
P/B 25.0x 5.6x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 30.2x 6.9x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 18.0x 21.3x 10.7x
EV/EBIT 19.6x 24.7x 14.7x
EV/Revenue 5.2x 6.6x 1.3x
EV/FCF 30.3x 27.3x 15.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.7x 25.6x 12.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 8.41 7.43 -4.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricITWNDSNSWK
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.8% 7.0% 0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.1% 4.7% -2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.7% 8.4% 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.8% 5.5% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.4% 18.4% 51.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 6.4% 149.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.7% 22.0% 29.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 3.5% -7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 9.1% 23.5% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 4.4% -5.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.5% 26.2% 104.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.5% 5.9% 96.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 0.8% 33.3% 211.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.4% 5.6% 110.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricITWNDSNSWK
Gross margin 44.3% 55.3% 31.9%
EBITDA margin 29.0% 31.2% 11.9%
Operating margin 26.6% 26.9% 8.6%
Pretax margin 25.2% 22.6% 5.6%
Net margin 19.4% 18.6% 4.1%
FCF margin 17.2% 24.3% 8.5%
Operating cash flow margin 19.6% 26.0% 10.2%
Return on equity 106.9% 17.2% 6.9%
Return on assets 19.6% 9.3% 3.0%
Return on invested capital 27.1% 13.1% 6.6%
Return on capital employed 38.9% 15.3% 8.0%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.4x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.8% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricITWNDSNSWK
Debt / assets 56.8% 29.1% 23.7%
Debt / equity 3.0x 0.5x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.7x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 3.3x 2.4x 3.7x
Liabilities / assets 81.0% 45.0% 55.4%
Equity / assets 19.0% 55.0% 44.6%
Interest coverage 14.3x 8.8x 2.8x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.8x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 8.17 6.28 2.49

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricITWNDSNSWK
Dividend yield 2.4% 1.0% 3.3%
Net buyback yield 2.1% 1.1% 1.7%
Shareholder yield 4.4% 2.1% 5.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 57.4% 33.0% 81.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 64.6% 25.3% 39.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 5.2% 3.3% 1.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 7.2% 1.9%

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.

ConsensusITWNDSNSWK
Forward P/E 25.9xFY2026 29.3xFY2026 17.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.67FY2026 $11.14FY2026 $5.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026 +24.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.3% +21.5% +5.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.46BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026 $16.13BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% +5.7% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersITWNDSNSWK
Held by institutions 84.9% 76.0% 95.7%
Institutions holding 1,969 755 771
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +3.1% +5.3%
Institutions buying 846 389 417
Institutions selling 750 240 243
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.62 1.72

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.

ITWNDSNSWK
ITW 1.00 0.55 0.62
NDSN 0.55 1.00 0.59
SWK 0.62 0.59 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ITW, NDSN and SWK?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.45B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.16B, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) $15.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, ITW, NDSN and SWK?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.3x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.7x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 24.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) is cheapest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.3x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 17.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nordson (NDSN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 4.1%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 6.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) returned the most: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +12.3%, Nordson (NDSN) +38.5%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +39.7%. Over five years, Nordson (NDSN) compounded fastest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +3.9%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.1%/yr, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) -11.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) has the highest dividend yield: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 2.37%, Nordson (NDSN) 1.04%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 3.32%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.2%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 36.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ITW, NDSN and SWK?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 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.