LUD vs ACA vs IIIN Stock Comparison

Luda Technology, Arcosa and Insteel Industries Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ACA Arcosa, Inc.
$149.18 +1.7% 1M +61.6% 1Y
Market cap
$7.33B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.74B
Div. yield
0.13%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
7 wins
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.99 -0.4% 1M -6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$552.69M
P/E
18.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
0.04%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Arcosa leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Arcosa 7, Insteel Industries 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLUDACAIIINLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $80.63M $7.33B $552.69M ACA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 155.8x 14.9x 18.7x ACA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 33.6x 14.1x IIIN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +9.7% +14.2% IIIN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 17.9% 4.0% ACA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 6.5% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.13% 0.04% ACA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -55.4% +61.6% -6.9% ACA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +23.0%/yr -6.6%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 144.1% 31.7% 41.5% ACA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 56/100 57/100 IIIN

Percentile Scorecard

LUDACAIIIN

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

AxisLUDACAIIIN
Valuation 20 #163 of 203 50 #103 of 203 90 #22 of 203
Growth – 83 #33 of 188 33 #127 of 188
Profitability – 51 #91 of 183 46 #99 of 183
Financial Health 39 #133 of 216 58 #92 of 216 87 #29 of 216
Shareholder Returns – 42 #89 of 152 29 #108 of 152
Overall – 56 57
  • LUD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ACA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IIIN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLUDACAIIINSPY
1 month -1.3%+1.7%-0.4% +0.7%
3 months -5.3%+2.9%-5.3% +3.7%
6 months -37.1%+24.1%+10.7% +7.1%
Year to date -39.3%+40.3%-8.5% +12.8%
1 year -55.4%+61.6%-6.9% +11.9%
3 years —+117.4%+6.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year —+29.6%+2.0% +22.8%
5 years —+181.9%-28.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year —+23.0%-6.6% +10.9%
10 years ——+10.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year ——+1.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLUDACAIIINSPY
Volatility, 1Y 144.1%31.7%41.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 142.0%32.9%51.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.210.950.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.381.94-0.17 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -83.8%-36.7%-49.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -67.1%0.0%-23.9% -1.2%
52-week high $11.85$149.18$38.11 $779.14
52-week low $3.20$92.25$24.48 $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.

MultipleLUDACAIIIN
P/E now vs peer median 155.8xmedian 25.8x 14.9xmedian 25.8x 19.1xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 1.9x 2.7xmedian 1.9x 0.8xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.6x 15.2xmedian 14.6x 9.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -40.8xmedian 22.2x 54.9xmedian 22.2x 22.6xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 2.2x 2.5xmedian 2.2x 1.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.45 0.75median 1.45 -6.43median 1.45

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 monthsLUDACAIIIN
Revenue – $2.74B $739.51M
Gross profit – $632.30M $75.68M
Operating income – $322.70M $37.57M
Net income – $491.40M $29.55M
Free cash flow – $133.40M $24.84M
EPS (diluted) – $9.99 $1.51
Cash & equivalents $4.77M $432.10M $37.48M
Total debt $49.69M $1.44B –
Shares (diluted) 22.24M 49.20M 19.52M
Enterprise value $34.98M $6.31B $461.58M

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
MetricLUDACAIIIN
P/E 155.8x 14.9x 19.1x
P/FCF -40.8x 54.9x 22.6x
P/Operating cash flow – 21.5x 15.3x
P/S 2.6x 2.7x 0.8x
P/B 4.0x 2.5x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 4.1x 2.7x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA – 15.2x 9.5x
EV/EBIT – 25.8x 13.9x
EV/Revenue – 3.0x 0.7x
EV/FCF – 62.4x 21.1x
EV/Operating cash flow – 24.4x 14.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.75 -6.43

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLUDACAIIIN
Revenue growth (1Y) – 9.7% 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 7.0% 4.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 20.7% -19.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 14.2% 5.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 61.3% -27.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -5.6% 2.7%
Net income growth (1Y) – 433.0% -28.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 20.2% -3.0%
EPS growth (1Y) – 430.8% -27.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 19.8% -3.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -23.1% 34.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 16.1% -36.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -54.9% 31.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 54.7% -39.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLUDACAIIIN
Gross margin – 23.0% 10.2%
EBITDA margin – 19.9% 7.5%
Operating margin – 11.8% 5.1%
Pretax margin – 8.4% 5.2%
Net margin – 17.9% 4.0%
FCF margin – 4.9% 3.4%
Operating cash flow margin – 12.4% 5.0%
Return on equity – 17.4% 7.9%
Return on assets – 9.5% 6.2%
Return on invested capital – 6.5% –
Return on capital employed – 6.9% 9.4%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.7x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.9% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLUDACAIIIN
Debt / assets 25.8% 27.1% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.8x –
Debt / FCF – 10.8x –
Liabilities / assets 54.8% 43.7% 21.0%
Equity / assets 45.2% 56.3% 79.0%
Interest coverage – 3.3x 596.3x
Current ratio 1.6x 3.1x 3.7x
Quick ratio 1.0x 2.2x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 1.0x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 3.18 6.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLUDACAIIIN
Dividend yield – 0.1% 3.9%
Net buyback yield – 0.2% 0.6%
Shareholder yield – 0.4% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 2.0% 73.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 7.4% 87.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.0% -0.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.0% -19.2%

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.

ConsensusLUDACAIIIN
Forward P/E – 33.6xFY2026 14.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year – $4.44FY2026 $2.05FY2027
EPS growth, next FY – -0.7%FY2026 +35.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after – +7.0% +7.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $2.45BFY2026 $759.46MFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY – -14.9%FY2026 +2.7%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after – +12.5% +4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLUDACAIIIN
Held by institutions – 91.8% 82.1%
Institutions holding – 427 187
Change in shares held, QoQ – -1.1% +0.9%
Institutions buying – 230 122
Institutions selling – 114 48
Buyers to sellers – 2.02 2.54

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.

LUDACAIIIN
LUD 1.00 0.06 0.14
ACA 0.06 1.00 0.29
IIIN 0.14 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LUD, ACA and IIIN?

Arcosa (ACA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Luda Technology (LUD) $80.63M, Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B, Insteel Industries (IIIN) $552.69M.

Which stock is cheaper, LUD, ACA and IIIN?

Arcosa (ACA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Luda Technology (LUD) 155.8x, Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 18.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Insteel Industries (IIIN) is cheapest (Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 14.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Insteel Industries (IIIN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest net margin (Arcosa (ACA) 17.9%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 4.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcosa (ACA) returned the most: Luda Technology (LUD) -55.4%, Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -6.9%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -6.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest dividend yield: Luda Technology (LUD) 0.00%, Arcosa (ACA) 0.13%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 0.04%. Luda Technology (LUD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Arcosa (ACA) has been the steadiest (Luda Technology (LUD) 144.1%, Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LUD, ACA and IIIN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Arcosa (ACA) leads on 7. 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.