MEC vs WS vs IIIN Stock Comparison

Mayville Engineering Company, Worthington Steel and Insteel Industries Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$42.40 +15.2% 1M +33.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.13B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
0.02%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
6 wins
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.31 -3.3% 1M -8.3% 1Y
Market cap
$560.61M
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Worthington Steel leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Worthington Steel 6, Mayville Engineering Company 2, Insteel Industries 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMECWSIIINLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $343.80M $2.13B $560.61M WS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -19.9x -55.5x 19.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 61.5x 11.1x 13.8x WS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +69.1% +14.2% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.0% -0.7% — WS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.8% 0.2% — WS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 19.9x — MEC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.5% +33.0% -8.3% WS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.6%/yr — -7.0%/yr MEC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 55.2% 47.2% 41.4% IIIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 28/100 34/100 68/100 IIIN

Percentile Scorecard

MECWSIIIN

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

AxisMECWSIIIN
Valuation 47 #108 of 203 61 #80 of 203 85 #32 of 203
Growth 11 #167 of 188 33 #126 of 188 32 #128 of 188
Profitability 23 #142 of 184 29 #131 of 184 62 #70 of 184
Financial Health 32 #148 of 217 11 #194 of 217 –
Shareholder Returns – 36 #99 of 153 95 #9 of 153
Overall 28 34 68
  • MEC ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WS 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

PeriodMECWSIIINSPY
1 month -12.2%+15.2%-3.3% +0.9%
3 months -41.7%+18.8%-7.3% +5.9%
6 months -32.3%+16.5%+10.4% +8.5%
Year to date -21.1%+22.5%-10.6% +13.3%
1 year -11.5%+33.0%-8.3% +12.4%
3 years +37.7%—+4.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +11.2%—+1.6% +23.5%
5 years -16.8%—-30.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year -3.6%—-7.0% +11.0%
10 years ——+7.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year ——+0.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureMECWSIIINSPY
Volatility, 1Y 55.2%47.2%41.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.1%49.6%51.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.581.640.98 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.210.70-0.20 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -66.7%-51.5%-49.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -60.7%-12.9%-25.7% -0.9%
52-week high $37.54$48.69$38.11 $779.14
52-week low $12.73$28.10$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.

MultipleMECWSIIIN
P/E now vs peer median -19.4xmedian 25.4x -55.4xmedian 25.4x 18.6xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x 0.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.8xmedian 14.3x 42.0xmedian 14.3x —median 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -82.4xmedian 21.8x 46.5xmedian 21.8x -58.5xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.2x 1.3xmedian 2.2x 1.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.41median 1.41 1.70median 1.41 -6.38median 1.41

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 monthsMECWSIIIN
Revenue $586.34M $5.30B $739.51M
Gross profit $53.52M $549.30M $75.68M
Operating income -$12.80M $6.30M –
Net income -$17.30M -$56.50M $29.55M
Free cash flow -$4.57M $46.70M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.76 $-0.77 $1.52
Cash & equivalents $2.20M $248.20M $37.48M
Total debt $752.49M $2.20B –
Shares (diluted) 22.77M 50.00M 19.49M
Enterprise value $336.81M $1.61B $560.61M

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
MetricMECWSIIIN
P/E -19.4x -55.4x 18.6x
P/FCF -82.4x 46.5x -58.5x
P/Operating cash flow 27.0x 10.8x 15.1x
P/S 0.6x 0.4x 0.7x
P/B 1.2x 1.3x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 1.7x 1.4x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA 15.8x 42.0x –
EV/EBIT -39.1x 653.9x –
EV/Revenue 0.9x 0.8x 0.7x
EV/FCF -109.4x 88.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 35.9x 20.4x 15.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.41 1.70 -6.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMECWSIIIN
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.8% 69.1% 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 15.5% 4.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -5.8% 36.2% -19.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -4.2% 13.4% 5.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -142.1% -95.9% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.8% -65.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) -196.8% -144.9% -28.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -49.1% -34.5% -3.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -188.0% -132.7% -27.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -47.4% -32.5% -2.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -82.4% 18.9% 33.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -23.3% -10.4% -36.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -106.7% 50.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.0% -41.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMECWSIIIN
Gross margin 9.1% 10.4% –
EBITDA margin 5.4% 1.8% –
Operating margin -2.2% 0.1% –
Pretax margin -4.7% -0.2% –
Net margin -3.0% -0.7% –
FCF margin -0.8% 0.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 2.4% 3.8% 4.9%
Return on equity -6.2% -4.0% 7.9%
Return on assets -3.0% -1.4% 6.2%
Return on invested capital -1.8% 0.2% –
Return on capital employed -2.6% 0.3% –
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.3x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.8x -3.6x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.2% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMECWSIIIN
Debt / assets 21.4% 36.5% –
Debt / equity 0.4x 1.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 19.9x –
Debt / FCF -27.5x 47.0x –
Liabilities / assets 44.7% 72.8% –
Equity / assets 55.3% 27.2% 79.0%
Interest coverage -0.9x 0.5x –
Current ratio 1.7x 1.8x 3.7x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.8x –
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 2.02 1.55 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMECWSIIIN
Dividend yield – 1.5% 4.0%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – 1.5% 4.0%
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.

ConsensusMECWSIIIN
Forward P/E 61.5xFY2026 11.1xFY2026 13.8xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $0.24FY2026 $3.82FY2026 $2.05FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -22.6%FY2026 +71.3%FY2026 +35.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +354.2% +30.4% +7.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $666.72MFY2026 $10.90BFY2026 $759.46MFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +22.0%FY2026 +217.0%FY2026 +2.7%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +4.5% +2.4% +4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMECWSIIIN
Held by institutions 83.1% 56.3% 82.1%
Institutions holding 156 238 187
Change in shares held, QoQ +47.1% +1.2% +0.9%
Institutions buying 98 112 122
Institutions selling 40 68 48
Buyers to sellers 2.45 1.65 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.

MECWSIIIN
MEC 1.00 0.33 0.25
WS 0.33 1.00 0.34
IIIN 0.25 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MEC, WS and IIIN?

Worthington Steel (WS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) $343.80M, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.13B, Insteel Industries (IIIN) $560.61M.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) +11.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Worthington Steel (WS) has the highest net margin (Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -3.0%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%). On return on invested capital, Worthington Steel (WS) leads (Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -1.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Worthington Steel (WS) returned the most: Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -11.5%, Worthington Steel (WS) +33.0%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -8.3%. Over five years, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) compounded fastest (Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -3.6%/yr, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -7.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) 0.00%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.02%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 0.00%. Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) and Insteel Industries (IIIN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Insteel Industries (IIIN) has been the steadiest (Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) 55.2%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.2%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MEC, WS 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, Worthington Steel (WS) 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.