JHX vs SMID vs URI Stock Comparison

James Hardie Industries, Smith Midland and United Rentals Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SMID Smith Midland Corp
$22.34 -4.9% 1M -40.6% 1Y
Market cap
$118.56M
P/E
15.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$89.50M
Div. yield
–
Building Products Industrials
3 wins
URI United Rentals, Inc.
$1,198.19 +18.1% 1M +37.6% 1Y
Market cap
$74.28B
P/E
26.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.50B
Div. yield
0.64%
Equipment Rental Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

United Rentals leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (United Rentals 6, Smith Midland 3, James Hardie Industries 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionJHXSMIDURILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.62B $118.56M $74.28B URI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 107.2x 15.3x 26.1x SMID
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.1x — 21.7x JHX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.9% -1.6% +9.4% JHX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.7% 8.6% 16.3% URI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.6% 12.8% 14.0% URI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.5x -0.5x 2.3x SMID
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.64% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +26.0% -40.6% +37.6% URI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.3%/yr +2.2%/yr +25.9%/yr URI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.9% 51.1% 42.2% URI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 80/100 54/100 SMID

Percentile Scorecard

JHXSMIDURI

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

AxisJHXSMIDURI
Valuation 24 #42 of 55 82 #11 of 55 22 #36 of 46
Growth 50 #26 of 51 82 #10 of 51 87 #6 of 39
Profitability 46 #27 of 49 65 #18 of 49 92 #4 of 39
Financial Health 33 #37 of 55 93 #5 of 55 20 #38 of 47
Shareholder Returns 26 #30 of 40 – 50 #16 of 31
Overall 36 80 54
  • JHX ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • SMID ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • URI ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodJHXSMIDURISPY
1 month +7.3%-4.9%+18.1% +0.7%
3 months +1.7%-21.5%+12.1% +3.7%
6 months +28.3%-33.9%+24.8% +7.1%
Year to date +29.7%-38.5%+48.0% +12.8%
1 year +26.0%-40.6%+37.6% +11.9%
3 years +8.4%+10.9%+191.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year +2.7%+3.5%+42.9% +22.8%
5 years -31.6%+11.7%+216.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year -7.3%+2.2%+25.9% +10.9%
10 years +80.4%+522.3%+1,489.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +6.1%+20.1%+31.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureJHXSMIDURISPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.9%51.1%42.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%51.7%39.2% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.700.971.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.58-0.800.89 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -60.3%-72.4%-40.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.4%-43.9%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $31.09$39.82$1,198.19 $779.14
52-week low $16.69$21.20$710.47 $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.

MultipleJHXSMIDURI
P/E now vs peer median 107.2xmedian 20.3x 15.3xmedian 20.3x 26.1xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 1.6x 1.3xmedian 1.6x 4.2xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 12.6x 7.8xmedian 12.6x 14.1xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 43.8xmedian 16.9x 28.4xmedian 16.9x 83.3xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 3.0x 2.1xmedian 3.0x 7.7xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median -2.70median 1.13 0.11median 1.13 2.74median 2.55

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 monthsJHXSMIDURI
Revenue $5.41B $89.50M $17.50B
Gross profit $1.94B $21.00M $6.84B
Operating income $526.70M $10.80M $4.47B
Net income $145.70M $7.73M $2.86B
Free cash flow $356.40M $4.17M $892.00M
R&D $64.00M – –
EPS (diluted) $0.25 $1.46 $45.89
Cash & equivalents $289.90M $10.66M $153.00M
Total debt $4.28B $17.45M $14.67B
Shares (diluted) 584.30M 5.31M 62.26M
Enterprise value $14.69B $69.42M $73.40B

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
MetricJHXSMIDURI
P/E 107.2x 15.3x 26.1x
P/FCF 43.8x 28.4x 83.3x
P/Operating cash flow 21.5x 8.2x 12.0x
P/S 2.9x 1.3x 4.2x
P/B 2.4x 2.1x 7.7x
P/Tangible book 4.8x 3.7x 8.1x
EV/EBITDA 17.4x 7.8x 14.1x
EV/EBIT 37.2x 10.4x 19.9x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 1.3x 5.1x
EV/FCF 55.0x 26.9x 99.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.0x 7.7x 14.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.70 0.11 2.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricJHXSMIDURI
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.9% -1.6% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 18.4% 8.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 34.4% -18.4% 10.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 35.0% 6.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -5.8% -30.8% 11.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -11.3% 134.1% 5.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -56.0% -49.1% 12.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -34.0% 136.0% 6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -67.6% -35.9% 16.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -39.7% 135.4% 9.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -11.8% 92.5% 24.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 97.2% 10.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 110.4% 459.8% 98.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 75.0% 38.5% 83.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricJHXSMIDURI
Gross margin 35.9% 23.5% 39.1%
EBITDA margin 20.9% 16.1% 36.1%
Operating margin 9.7% 12.1% 25.5%
Pretax margin 5.1% 12.0% 21.8%
Net margin 2.7% 8.6% 16.3%
FCF margin 6.6% 4.7% 5.1%
Operating cash flow margin 13.4% 16.3% 35.4%
Return on equity 2.2% 13.7% 30.2%
Return on assets 1.0% 8.6% 8.9%
Return on invested capital 2.6% 12.8% 14.0%
Return on capital employed 4.2% 13.8% 16.5%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 5.0x 1.9x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.1% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricJHXSMIDURI
Debt / assets 31.7% 4.8% 44.7%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.1x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.5x -0.5x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 12.0x 1.0x 16.4x
Liabilities / assets 51.5% 34.2% 70.4%
Equity / assets 48.5% 65.8% 29.6%
Interest coverage 1.8x 48.9x –
Current ratio 1.6x 4.1x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 3.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.9x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.14 5.12 3.63

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricJHXSMIDURI
Dividend yield – – 0.6%
Net buyback yield 1.9% – 2.5%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 0.0% 3.1%
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.

ConsensusJHXSMIDURI
Forward P/E 19.1xFY2026 – 21.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.41FY2026 – $55.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +29.4%FY2026 – +31.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.8% – +6.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.13BFY2026 – $18.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 – +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.1% – +3.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersJHXSMIDURI
Held by institutions 49.9% 57.0% 95.9%
Institutions holding 340 56 1,588
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.1% -1.1% +4.7%
Institutions buying 190 23 804
Institutions selling 100 17 538
Buyers to sellers 1.90 1.35 1.49

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.

JHXSMIDURI
JHX 1.00 0.24 0.34
SMID 0.24 1.00 0.20
URI 0.34 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, JHX, SMID and URI?

United Rentals (URI) is the largest by market capitalisation: James Hardie Industries (JHX) $15.62B, Smith Midland (SMID) $118.56M, United Rentals (URI) $74.28B.

Which stock is cheaper, JHX, SMID and URI?

Smith Midland (SMID) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (James Hardie Industries (JHX) 107.2x, Smith Midland (SMID) 15.3x, United Rentals (URI) 26.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, James Hardie Industries (JHX) is cheapest (James Hardie Industries (JHX) 19.1x, United Rentals (URI) 21.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

James Hardie Industries (JHX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: James Hardie Industries (JHX) +42.9%, Smith Midland (SMID) -1.6%, United Rentals (URI) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Rentals (URI) has the highest net margin (James Hardie Industries (JHX) 2.7%, Smith Midland (SMID) 8.6%, United Rentals (URI) 16.3%). On return on invested capital, United Rentals (URI) leads (James Hardie Industries (JHX) 2.6%, Smith Midland (SMID) 12.8%, United Rentals (URI) 14.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Rentals (URI) returned the most: James Hardie Industries (JHX) +26.0%, Smith Midland (SMID) -40.6%, United Rentals (URI) +37.6%. Over five years, United Rentals (URI) compounded fastest (James Hardie Industries (JHX) -7.3%/yr, Smith Midland (SMID) +2.2%/yr, United Rentals (URI) +25.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: James Hardie Industries (JHX) 0.00%, Smith Midland (SMID) 0.00%, United Rentals (URI) 0.64%. James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Smith Midland (SMID) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, United Rentals (URI) has been the steadiest (James Hardie Industries (JHX) 44.9%, Smith Midland (SMID) 51.1%, United Rentals (URI) 42.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, JHX, SMID and URI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, United Rentals (URI) leads on 6. 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.