LXFR vs OPTX vs WS Stock Comparison

Luxfer Holdings, Syntec Optics Holdings and Worthington Steel Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LXFR Luxfer Holdings Plc
$17.26 0.0% 1M +27.1% 1Y
Market cap
$462.39M
P/E
57.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$363.20M
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
4 wins
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$42.25 +16.7% 1M +34.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.14B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
0.02%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Luxfer Holdings leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Luxfer Holdings 4, Worthington Steel 3, Syntec Optics Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLXFROPTXWSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $462.39M $277.48M $2.14B WS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.8x -114.9x -55.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.4x — 11.1x WS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -10.6% +1.5% +69.1% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% -8.3% -0.7% LXFR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.6% — 0.2% LXFR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x -11.7x 19.9x OPTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +27.1% +131.8% +34.3% OPTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.4%/yr — — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.3% 136.6% 47.3% LXFR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 31/100 33/100 LXFR

Percentile Scorecard

LXFROPTXWS

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

AxisLXFROPTXWS
Valuation 58 #85 of 203 5 #193 of 203 59 #83 of 203
Growth 17 #156 of 187 7 #175 of 187 32 #127 of 187
Profitability 39 #113 of 185 18 #152 of 185 29 #131 of 185
Financial Health 60 #89 of 219 95 #12 of 219 10 #197 of 219
Shareholder Returns 82 #29 of 153 – 34 #102 of 153
Overall 51 31 33
  • LXFR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • OPTX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLXFROPTXWSSPY
1 month 0.0%-11.4%+16.7% -0.8%
3 months +0.8%-8.1%+15.1% +3.5%
6 months +31.0%-30.2%+12.0% +7.0%
Year to date +27.6%+129.4%+22.0% +12.2%
1 year +27.1%+131.8%+34.3% +13.0%
3 years +101.9%-37.5%— +86.3%
3 years, per year +26.4%-14.5%— +23.1%
5 years -15.7%—— +68.6%
5 years, per year -3.4%—— +11.0%

Risk

MeasureLXFROPTXWSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.3%136.6%47.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.2%114.0%49.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.963.571.64 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.810.960.72 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.3%-93.0%-51.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.5%-53.5%-13.2% -1.8%
52-week high $19.08$14.11$48.69 $779.14
52-week low $11.51$1.25$28.10 $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.

MultipleLXFROPTXWS
P/E now vs peer median 57.7xmedian 26.0x -106.5xmedian 26.0x -55.2xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.9x 9.0xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.5xmedian 14.0x 261.7xmedian 14.0x 42.0xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.5xmedian 21.4x -647.6xmedian 21.4x 46.3xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.2x 8.7xmedian 2.2x 1.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -2.97median 1.26 2.11median 1.26 1.70median 1.26

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 monthsLXFROPTXWS
Revenue $363.20M $29.24M $5.30B
Gross profit $90.20M $5.73M $549.30M
Operating income $22.70M -$1.35M $6.30M
Net income $8.00M -$2.41M -$56.50M
Free cash flow $16.80M -$407.99K $46.70M
R&D $5.10M – –
EPS (diluted) $0.29 $-0.06 $-0.77
Cash & equivalents $11.50M $14.05M $248.20M
Total debt – $29.94M $2.20B
Shares (diluted) 27.22M 39.19M 50.00M
Enterprise value $421.79M $261.88M $1.63B

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
MetricLXFROPTXWS
P/E 57.7x -106.5x -55.2x
P/FCF 27.5x -647.6x 46.3x
P/Operating cash flow 17.8x 376.4x 10.7x
P/S 1.3x 9.0x 0.4x
P/B 2.1x 8.7x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 8.7x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 15.5x 261.7x 42.0x
EV/EBIT 22.4x -186.8x 652.7x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 8.6x 0.8x
EV/FCF 30.3x -620.0x 88.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.6x 360.3x 20.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.97 2.11 1.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLXFROPTXWS
Revenue growth (1Y) -10.6% 1.5% 69.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.4% – 15.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.3% -14.9% 36.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.1% – 13.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -33.6% -43.2% -95.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -14.7% -56.0% -65.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -67.1% -53.5% -144.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.3% -52.3% -34.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -67.2% -44.6% -132.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -19.4% -50.5% -32.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -42.4% -40.6% 18.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.7% -37.2% -10.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -52.8% -0.1% 50.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.8% -30.1% -41.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLXFROPTXWS
Gross margin 24.8% 19.6% 10.4%
EBITDA margin 9.0% 3.3% 1.8%
Operating margin 6.3% -4.6% 0.1%
Pretax margin 5.4% -6.8% -0.2%
Net margin 2.2% -8.3% -0.7%
FCF margin 4.6% -1.4% 0.9%
Operating cash flow margin 7.2% 2.4% 3.8%
Return on equity 3.6% -12.3% -4.0%
Return on assets 2.0% -7.7% -1.4%
Return on invested capital 4.6% – 0.2%
Return on capital employed 7.3% -5.2% 0.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.9x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.3x -0.3x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% – 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLXFROPTXWS
Debt / assets 15.0% 7.1% 36.5%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.1x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x -11.7x 19.9x
Debt / FCF 3.5x -6.8x 47.0x
Liabilities / assets 42.8% 21.5% 72.8%
Equity / assets 57.2% 78.5% 27.2%
Interest coverage 7.3x – 0.5x
Current ratio 2.3x 6.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 4.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 2.8x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.49 20.58 1.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLXFROPTXWS
Dividend yield 2.3% – 1.5%
Net buyback yield 0.7% – –
Shareholder yield 3.0% – 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -57.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 70.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 2.2%
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.

ConsensusLXFROPTXWS
Forward P/E 17.4xFY2026 – 11.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.99FY2026 – $3.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.8%FY2026 – +71.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +41.4% – +30.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $386.72MFY2026 – $10.90BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.2%FY2026 – +217.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.6% – +2.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLXFROPTXWS
Held by institutions 91.6% 12.3% 56.3%
Institutions holding 136 62 238
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.6% +244.7% +1.2%
Institutions buying 76 51 112
Institutions selling 41 8 68
Buyers to sellers 1.85 6.38 1.65

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.

LXFROPTXWS
LXFR 1.00 0.19 0.35
OPTX 0.19 1.00 0.18
WS 0.35 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LXFR, OPTX and WS?

Worthington Steel (WS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) $462.39M, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) $277.48M, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.14B.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) -10.6%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +1.5%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) has the highest net margin (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 2.2%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -8.3%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%). On return on invested capital, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) leads (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 4.6%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) returned the most: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) +27.1%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +131.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) +34.3%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 0.00%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 0.00%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.02%. Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) and Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) has been the steadiest (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 33.3%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 136.6%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LXFR, OPTX and WS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) leads on 4. 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.