MIDD vs AME vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Middleby, Ametek and Nordson Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MIDD MIDDLEBY Corp
$115.00 +6.8% 1M -12.5% 1Y
Market cap
$5.16B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.35B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
AME Ametek Inc/
$246.27 -1.9% 1M +31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$56.92B
P/E
36.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.86B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
6 wins
NDSN Nordson Corp
$324.30 -0.5% 1M +36.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.09B
P/E
32.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Ametek leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ametek 6, Nordson 5, Middleby 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMIDDAMENDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.16B $56.92B $18.09B AME
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -16.4x 36.1x 32.6x NDSN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.2x 30.0x 29.1x MIDD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +12.7% +7.0% AME
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -9.4% 20.0% 18.6% AME
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.2% 12.8% 13.1% NDSN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.8x 0.6x 1.7x AME
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% NDSN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.5% +31.9% +36.1% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.6%/yr +13.3%/yr +5.3%/yr AME
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.6% 23.9% 22.2% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 37/100 62/100 57/100 AME

Percentile Scorecard

MIDDAMENDSN

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

AxisMIDDAMENDSN
Valuation 57 #87 of 203 18 #167 of 203 30 #142 of 203
Growth 12 #166 of 188 60 #76 of 188 55 #85 of 188
Profitability 52 #89 of 183 93 #14 of 183 96 #8 of 183
Financial Health 28 #156 of 217 69 #69 of 217 54 #101 of 217
Shareholder Returns – 68 #49 of 153 51 #76 of 153
Overall 37 62 57
  • MIDD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • AME ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMIDDAMENDSNSPY
1 month +6.8%-1.9%-0.5% -0.2%
3 months -14.9%+2.0%+7.2% +3.9%
6 months -18.9%+7.6%+15.1% +8.2%
Year to date -22.6%+20.0%+34.9% +12.9%
1 year -12.5%+31.9%+36.1% +12.3%
3 years +2.6%+76.9%+52.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +0.9%+21.0%+15.2% +23.3%
5 years -36.2%+86.6%+29.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year -8.6%+13.3%+5.3% +10.9%
10 years +3.9%+457.3%+225.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +0.4%+18.7%+12.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMIDDAMENDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.6%23.9%22.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.7%22.8%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.190.980.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.291.341.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.6%-27.3%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.8%-4.7%-3.1% -1.2%
52-week high $179.20$258.54$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $102.69$184.19$226.69 $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.

MultipleMIDDAMENDSN
P/E now vs peer median -16.5xmedian 25.2x 35.8xmedian 25.2x 32.5xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 1.9x 7.2xmedian 1.9x 6.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 14.0x 23.6xmedian 14.0x 21.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 21.7x 30.9xmedian 21.7x 24.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 2.3x 5.0xmedian 2.3x 5.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.40median 1.32 4.11median 1.32 7.39median 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 monthsMIDDAMENDSN
Revenue $3.35B $7.86B $2.98B
Gross profit $1.29B $2.86B $1.65B
Operating income $574.47M $2.04B $800.96M
Net income -$315.27M $1.58B $555.18M
Free cash flow – $1.82B $724.01M
EPS (diluted) $-6.95 $6.86 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $159.18M $495.45M $113.43M
Total debt $8.60B $2.04B $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 45.34M 229.86M 56.03M
Enterprise value $4.10B $55.04B $17.64B

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
MetricMIDDAMENDSN
P/E -16.5x 35.8x 32.5x
P/FCF – 30.9x 24.9x
P/Operating cash flow – 28.8x 23.4x
P/S 1.6x 7.2x 6.1x
P/B 2.4x 5.0x 5.5x
P/Tangible book 4.4x 8.0x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 10.6x 23.6x 21.2x
EV/EBIT 12.2x 28.5x 24.6x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 7.4x 6.6x
EV/FCF – 31.8x 27.2x
EV/Operating cash flow – 29.6x 25.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.40 4.11 7.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMIDDAMENDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 12.7% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -6.3% 7.0% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.2% 13.4% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.4% 7.9% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -7.3% 11.2% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -6.2% 8.2% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -174.2% 9.6% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -39.2% 8.5% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -187.0% 10.4% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -41.4% 8.7% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 8.1% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 11.0% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 8.4% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 12.0% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMIDDAMENDSN
Gross margin 38.7% 36.4% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 19.7% 31.2% 31.2%
Operating margin 17.2% 25.9% 26.9%
Pretax margin 14.4% 24.3% 22.6%
Net margin -9.4% 20.0% 18.6%
FCF margin – 23.2% 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin – 24.9% 26.0%
Return on equity -12.6% 14.2% 17.2%
Return on assets -5.4% 9.6% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 9.2% 12.8% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 11.5% 14.8% 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.6% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMIDDAMENDSN
Debt / assets 36.9% 12.3% 29.1%
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.2x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.8x 0.6x 1.7x
Debt / FCF – 1.1x 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 58.8% 32.1% 45.0%
Equity / assets 41.2% 67.9% 55.0%
Interest coverage 5.6x 21.1x 8.8x
Current ratio 2.0x 1.2x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.6x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.21 8.36 6.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMIDDAMENDSN
Dividend yield – 0.5% 1.0%
Net buyback yield – 0.7% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 1.2% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 18.9% 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 16.3% 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.4% 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 11.3% 7.2%

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.

ConsensusMIDDAMENDSN
Forward P/E 16.2xFY2026 30.0xFY2026 29.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.12FY2026 $8.20FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.5%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.7% +8.4% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.66BFY2026 $7.96BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -16.9%FY2026 +7.5%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.8% +18.3% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMIDDAMENDSN
Held by institutions 91.7% 89.6% 76.0%
Institutions holding 452 1,195 755
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.4% +2.3% +3.1%
Institutions buying 205 615 389
Institutions selling 172 399 240
Buyers to sellers 1.19 1.54 1.62

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.

MIDDAMENDSN
MIDD 1.00 0.35 0.42
AME 0.35 1.00 0.59
NDSN 0.42 0.59 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MIDD, AME and NDSN?

Ametek (AME) is the largest by market capitalisation: Middleby (MIDD) $5.16B, Ametek (AME) $56.92B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, MIDD, AME and NDSN?

Nordson (NDSN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Middleby (MIDD) -16.4x, Ametek (AME) 36.1x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Middleby (MIDD) is cheapest (Middleby (MIDD) 16.2x, Ametek (AME) 30.0x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ametek (AME) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Middleby (MIDD) +7.0%, Ametek (AME) +12.7%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ametek (AME) has the highest net margin (Middleby (MIDD) -9.4%, Ametek (AME) 20.0%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Nordson (NDSN) leads (Middleby (MIDD) 9.2%, Ametek (AME) 12.8%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Middleby (MIDD) -12.5%, Ametek (AME) +31.9%, Nordson (NDSN) +36.1%. Over five years, Ametek (AME) compounded fastest (Middleby (MIDD) -8.6%/yr, Ametek (AME) +13.3%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest dividend yield: Middleby (MIDD) 0.00%, Ametek (AME) 0.01%, Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%. Middleby (MIDD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Middleby (MIDD) 42.6%, Ametek (AME) 23.9%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MIDD, AME and NDSN?

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 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.