ITW vs ROK vs SYM Stock Comparison

Illinois Tool Works, Rockwell Automation and Symbotic 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
$78.58B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
2.37%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
ROK Rockwell Automation, Inc
$439.20 +1.1% 1M +21.5% 1Y
Market cap
$48.77B
P/E
40.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.97B
Div. yield
1.26%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins
SYM Symbotic Inc.
$38.98 -10.3% 1M -44.9% 1Y
Market cap
$23.54B
P/E
608.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.65B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 5, Rockwell Automation 3, Symbotic 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionITWROKSYMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $78.58B $48.77B $23.54B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.0x 40.6x 608.2x ITW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.9x 35.1x 205.2x ITW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +11.3% +20.6% SYM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 13.4% 0.3% ROK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 21.0% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.3x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.37% 1.26% — ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.3% +21.5% -44.9% ROK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.0%/yr +6.6%/yr +31.4%/yr SYM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.3% 31.3% 78.7% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 53/100 46/100 ROK

Percentile Scorecard

ITWROKSYM

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

AxisITWROKSYM
Valuation 24 #154 of 203 16 #170 of 203 10 #182 of 203
Growth 35 #123 of 188 50 #94 of 188 99 #3 of 188
Profitability – 96 #9 of 183 39 #112 of 183
Financial Health – 32 #147 of 217 42 #126 of 217
Shareholder Returns 87 #21 of 153 72 #44 of 153 40 #92 of 153
Overall 49 53 46
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ROK ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SYM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodITWROKSYMSPY
1 month +0.7%+1.1%-10.3% -0.2%
3 months -6.5%-6.8%-7.9% +3.9%
6 months +2.8%+9.4%-31.7% +8.2%
Year to date +12.0%+12.9%-34.5% +12.9%
1 year +11.3%+21.5%-44.9% +12.3%
3 years +23.6%+67.6%+10.3% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.3%+18.8%+3.3% +23.3%
5 years +21.8%+37.8%+291.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +4.0%+6.6%+31.4% +10.9%
10 years +143.5%+271.5%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.3%+14.0%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureITWROKSYMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.3%31.3%78.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.7%31.8%80.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.471.402.91 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.530.69-0.57 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.9%-45.6%-72.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.9%-11.3%-55.3% -1.2%
52-week high $299.60$495.08$87.30 $779.14
52-week low $241.07$348.51$37.90 $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.

MultipleITWROKSYM
P/E now vs peer median 24.0xmedian 25.2x 40.6xmedian 25.2x 608.2xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 1.9x 5.4xmedian 1.9x 8.9xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 24.6xmedian 14.0x 563.4xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.0xmedian 21.7x 32.4xmedian 21.7x 29.6xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 25.0xmedian 2.3x 14.0xmedian 2.3x 20.8xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.32 -9.25median 1.32 20.85median 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 monthsITWROKSYM
Revenue – $8.97B $2.65B
Gross profit – $4.41B $563.25M
Operating income – $1.77B -$250.00K
Net income $3.23B $1.20B $34.64M
Free cash flow – $1.50B $795.43M
R&D – $716.00M $203.12M
EPS (diluted) – $10.76 $0.06
Cash & equivalents $809.00M $479.00M $1.75B
Total debt – $13.81B –
Shares (diluted) 287.00M 111.60M 133.25M
Enterprise value $78.59B $46.96B $17.14B

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
MetricITWROKSYM
P/E 24.0x 40.6x 608.2x
P/FCF 26.0x 32.4x 29.6x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x 28.2x 26.3x
P/S 4.6x 5.4x 8.9x
P/B 25.0x 14.0x 20.8x
P/Tangible book 30.2x 17.5x 22.4x
EV/EBITDA – 24.6x 563.4x
EV/EBIT – 29.1x -87,169x
EV/Revenue – 5.7x 8.2x
EV/FCF – 34.3x 27.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.1x 29.8x 24.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -9.25 20.85

Growth

14 metrics
MetricITWROKSYM
Revenue growth (1Y) – 11.3% 20.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 1.3% 40.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 1.9% 40.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 7.5% 51.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) – -7.1% 99.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 2.9% 89.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.7% 23.8% 208.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.9% -5.5% 29.1%
EPS growth (1Y) – 25.2% 210.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -4.4% 29.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.5% 13.8% 400.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.5% 22.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 13.9% 594.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 23.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricITWROKSYM
Gross margin – 49.1% 21.3%
EBITDA margin – 23.3% 1.5%
Operating margin – 19.7% 0.0%
Pretax margin – 14.7% 2.4%
Net margin – 13.4% 0.3%
FCF margin – 16.8% 30.1%
Operating cash flow margin – 19.3% 33.8%
Return on equity 106.9% 30.9% 3.2%
Return on assets – 9.8% 1.0%
Return on invested capital – 21.0% –
Return on capital employed – 23.6% 0.0%
Asset turnover – 0.8x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.4x 25.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 8.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricITWROKSYM
Debt / assets – 29.4% –
Debt / equity – 0.9x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.3x –
Debt / FCF – 2.2x –
Liabilities / assets – 68.5% 67.8%
Equity / assets – 31.5% 32.2%
Interest coverage – 12.8x –
Current ratio 1.3x 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio – 0.7x 1.2x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.8x
Altman Z-score – 5.96 6.38

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricITWROKSYM
Dividend yield 2.4% 1.3% –
Net buyback yield – 1.4% -1.8%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 2.7% -1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 3.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 0.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -30.4%
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.

ConsensusITWROKSYM
Forward P/E 25.9xFY2026 35.1xFY2026 205.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.67FY2026 $12.50FY2026 $0.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +18.7%FY2026 -17.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.3% +12.3% +131.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.46BFY2026 $8.50BFY2026 $2.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026 +27.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% +19.4% +18.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersITWROKSYM
Held by institutions 84.9% 89.2% 90.0%
Institutions holding 1,969 1,540 412
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +3.5% +2.6%
Institutions buying 846 805 260
Institutions selling 750 437 85
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.84 3.06

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.

ITWROKSYM
ITW 1.00 0.37 0.17
ROK 0.37 1.00 0.37
SYM 0.17 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ITW, ROK and SYM?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.58B, Rockwell Automation (ROK) $48.77B, Symbotic (SYM) $23.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, ITW, ROK and SYM?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.0x, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 40.6x, Symbotic (SYM) 608.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is cheapest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 35.1x, Symbotic (SYM) 205.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Symbotic (SYM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Rockwell Automation (ROK) +11.3%, Symbotic (SYM) +20.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Rockwell Automation (ROK) has the highest net margin (Rockwell Automation (ROK) 13.4%, Symbotic (SYM) 0.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Rockwell Automation (ROK) returned the most: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +11.3%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) +21.5%, Symbotic (SYM) -44.9%. Over five years, Symbotic (SYM) compounded fastest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.0%/yr, Rockwell Automation (ROK) +6.6%/yr, Symbotic (SYM) +31.4%/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%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 1.26%. Symbotic (SYM) 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%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 31.3%, Symbotic (SYM) 78.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ITW, ROK and SYM?

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.