LASR vs AME vs ITW Stock Comparison

Nlight, Ametek and Illinois Tool Works Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LASR Nlight, Inc.
$38.07 -5.6% 1M +13.5% 1Y
Market cap
$2.19B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$310.70M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
AME Ametek Inc/
$246.27 -1.9% 1M +31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$56.78B
P/E
36.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.86B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$275.93 +0.7% 1M +11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.50B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Ametek leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ametek 5, Illinois Tool Works 4, Nlight 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLASRAMEITWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.19B $56.78B $78.50B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -175.5x 36.0x 24.0x ITW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 71.8x 30.0x 25.9x ITW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +43.2% +12.7% — LASR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% 20.0% — AME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -3.8% 12.8% — AME
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.6x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.5% +31.9% +11.3% AME
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.3%/yr +13.3%/yr +4.0%/yr AME
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 87.3% 23.9% 21.3% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 62/100 49/100 AME

Percentile Scorecard

LASRAMEITW

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

AxisLASRAMEITW
Valuation 12 #179 of 203 18 #167 of 203 24 #154 of 203
Growth 98 #5 of 188 60 #76 of 188 35 #123 of 188
Profitability 26 #136 of 183 93 #14 of 183 –
Financial Health 89 #25 of 217 69 #69 of 217 –
Shareholder Returns 7 #143 of 153 68 #49 of 153 87 #21 of 153
Overall 46 62 49
  • LASR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • AME ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLASRAMEITWSPY
1 month -5.6%-1.9%+0.7% -0.2%
3 months -39.9%+2.0%-6.5% +3.9%
6 months -42.1%+7.6%+2.8% +8.2%
Year to date +1.5%+20.0%+12.0% +12.9%
1 year +13.5%+31.9%+11.3% +12.3%
3 years +360.3%+76.9%+23.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +66.4%+21.0%+7.3% +23.3%
5 years +35.7%+86.6%+21.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +6.3%+13.3%+4.0% +10.9%
10 years —+457.3%+143.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+18.7%+9.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLASRAMEITWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 87.3%23.9%21.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 88.7%22.8%20.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.190.980.47 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.161.340.53 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -80.5%-27.3%-28.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -55.2%-4.7%-7.9% -1.2%
52-week high $84.95$258.54$299.60 $779.14
52-week low $28.60$184.19$241.07 $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.

MultipleLASRAMEITW
P/E now vs peer median -173.9xmedian 25.2x 35.8xmedian 25.2x 24.0xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 1.9x 7.2xmedian 1.9x 4.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -598.8xmedian 14.0x 23.6xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 52.5xmedian 21.7x 30.9xmedian 21.7x 26.0xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 2.3x 5.0xmedian 2.3x 25.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -4.11median 1.32 4.11median 1.32 —median 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 monthsLASRAMEITW
Revenue $310.70M $7.86B –
Gross profit $97.95M $2.86B –
Operating income -$16.99M $2.04B –
Net income -$12.48M $1.58B $3.23B
Free cash flow $41.83M $1.82B –
R&D $50.56M – –
EPS (diluted) $-0.22 $6.86 –
Cash & equivalents $295.76M $495.45M $809.00M
Total debt $60.00M $2.04B –
Shares (diluted) 56.98M 229.86M 287.00M
Enterprise value $1.28B $54.91B $78.50B

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
MetricLASRAMEITW
P/E -173.9x 35.8x 24.0x
P/FCF 52.5x 30.9x 26.0x
P/Operating cash flow 41.3x 28.8x 24.1x
P/S 7.1x 7.2x 4.6x
P/B 5.0x 5.0x 25.0x
P/Tangible book 5.0x 8.0x 30.2x
EV/EBITDA -598.8x 23.6x –
EV/EBIT -109.7x 28.5x –
EV/Revenue 6.0x 7.4x –
EV/FCF 44.6x 31.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 35.1x 29.6x 24.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.11 4.11 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLASRAMEITW
Revenue growth (1Y) 43.2% 12.7% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.5% 7.0% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 113.2% 13.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 29.0% 7.9% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 67.4% 11.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.0% 8.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) 73.4% 9.6% 6.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 37.9% 8.5% 0.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 76.9% 10.4% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 42.3% 8.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 587.2% 8.1% -0.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 119.1% 11.0% -0.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 311.1% 8.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 65.8% 12.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLASRAMEITW
Gross margin 31.5% 36.4% –
EBITDA margin -1.0% 31.2% –
Operating margin -5.5% 25.9% –
Pretax margin -3.8% 24.3% –
Net margin -4.0% 20.0% –
FCF margin 13.5% 23.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 17.1% 24.9% –
Return on equity -2.9% 14.2% 106.9%
Return on assets -2.4% 9.6% –
Return on invested capital -3.8% 12.8% –
Return on capital employed -3.7% 14.8% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.3x 1.2x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 13.8% 0.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLASRAMEITW
Debt / assets – 12.3% –
Debt / equity – 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.6x –
Debt / FCF – 1.1x –
Liabilities / assets 15.0% 32.1% –
Equity / assets 85.0% 67.9% –
Interest coverage -14.7x 21.1x –
Current ratio 8.2x 1.2x 1.3x
Quick ratio 6.9x 0.6x –
Cash ratio 6.0x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score 17.41 8.36 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLASRAMEITW
Dividend yield – 0.5% 2.4%
Net buyback yield -8.9% 0.7% –
Shareholder yield -8.9% 1.2% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 18.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 16.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.4% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 11.3% –

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.

ConsensusLASRAMEITW
Forward P/E 71.8xFY2026 30.0xFY2026 25.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.53FY2026 $8.20FY2026 $10.67FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +120.8%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.2% +8.4% +19.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $313.28MFY2026 $7.96BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +7.5%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.9% +18.3% +11.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLASRAMEITW
Held by institutions 89.4% 89.6% 84.9%
Institutions holding 357 1,195 1,969
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +2.3% +0.8%
Institutions buying 220 615 846
Institutions selling 112 399 750
Buyers to sellers 1.96 1.54 1.13

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.

LASRAMEITW
LASR 1.00 0.36 0.10
AME 0.36 1.00 0.49
ITW 0.10 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LASR, AME and ITW?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nlight (LASR) $2.19B, Ametek (AME) $56.78B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.50B.

Which stock is cheaper, LASR, AME and ITW?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nlight (LASR) -175.5x, Ametek (AME) 36.0x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is cheapest (Nlight (LASR) 71.8x, Ametek (AME) 30.0x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nlight (LASR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nlight (LASR) +43.2%, Ametek (AME) +12.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ametek (AME) has the highest net margin (Nlight (LASR) -4.0%, Ametek (AME) 20.0%). On return on invested capital, Ametek (AME) leads (Nlight (LASR) -3.8%, Ametek (AME) 12.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ametek (AME) returned the most: Nlight (LASR) +13.5%, Ametek (AME) +31.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +11.3%. Over five years, Ametek (AME) compounded fastest (Nlight (LASR) +6.3%/yr, Ametek (AME) +13.3%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nlight (LASR) 0.00%, Ametek (AME) 0.01%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.00%. Nlight (LASR) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Nlight (LASR) 87.3%, Ametek (AME) 23.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LASR, AME and ITW?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ametek (AME) 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.