MLI vs WS vs ACA Stock Comparison

Mueller Industries, Worthington Steel and Arcosa Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MLI Mueller Industries Inc
$55.30 -9.3% 1M -47.0% 1Y
Market cap
$12.06B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.00B
Div. yield
0.84%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
5 wins
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$42.40 +15.2% 1M +33.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.17B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
1.51%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins
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
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mueller Industries leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Mueller Industries 5, Arcosa 4, Worthington Steel 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMLIWSACALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.06B $2.17B $7.33B MLI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.9x -55.4x 14.9x MLI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.7x 11.1x 33.6x WS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.8% +69.1% +9.7% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.3% -0.7% 17.9% ACA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.7% 0.2% 6.5% MLI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.3x 19.9x 1.8x MLI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.84% 1.51% 0.13% WS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -47.0% +33.0% +61.6% ACA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.0%/yr — +23.0%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 131.8% 47.2% 31.7% ACA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 86/100 34/100 57/100 MLI

Percentile Scorecard

MLIWSACA

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

AxisMLIWSACA
Valuation 83 #35 of 203 61 #80 of 203 51 #100 of 203
Growth 68 #61 of 188 33 #126 of 188 83 #33 of 188
Profitability 96 #8 of 184 29 #131 of 184 50 #92 of 184
Financial Health 97 #7 of 217 11 #194 of 217 59 #90 of 217
Shareholder Returns 84 #25 of 153 36 #99 of 153 41 #91 of 153
Overall 86 34 57
  • MLI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ACA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMLIWSACASPY
1 month -9.3%+15.2%+1.7% +0.9%
3 months -15.4%+18.8%+2.9% +5.9%
6 months -58.4%+16.5%+24.1% +8.5%
Year to date -51.8%+22.5%+40.3% +13.3%
1 year -47.0%+33.0%+61.6% +12.4%
3 years +46.2%—+117.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +13.5%—+29.6% +23.5%
5 years +110.1%—+181.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year +16.0%—+23.0% +11.0%
10 years +268.9%—— +263.4%
10 years, per year +13.9%—— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureMLIWSACASPY
Volatility, 1Y 131.8%47.2%31.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 165.1%49.6%32.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.701.640.95 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.360.701.94 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -61.6%-51.5%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -60.7%-12.9%0.0% -0.9%
52-week high $140.83$48.69$149.18 $779.14
52-week low $54.11$28.10$92.25 $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.

MultipleMLIWSACA
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 25.4x -55.4xmedian 25.4x 14.9xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x 2.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 14.3x 42.0xmedian 14.3x 15.2xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.5xmedian 21.8x 46.5xmedian 21.8x 54.9xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.2x 1.3xmedian 2.2x 2.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.09median 1.41 1.70median 1.41 0.75median 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 monthsMLIWSACA
Revenue $5.00B $5.30B $2.74B
Gross profit $1.36B $549.30M $632.30M
Operating income $1.08B $6.30M $322.70M
Net income $871.57M -$56.50M $491.40M
Free cash flow $689.59M $46.70M $133.40M
EPS (diluted) $3.92 $-0.77 $9.99
Cash & equivalents $1.45B $248.20M $432.10M
Total debt $5.24M $2.20B $1.44B
Shares (diluted) 220.12M 50.00M 49.20M
Enterprise value $6.40B $2.26B $6.31B

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
MetricMLIWSACA
P/E 13.9x -55.4x 14.9x
P/FCF 17.5x 46.5x 54.9x
P/Operating cash flow 15.7x 10.8x 21.5x
P/S 2.4x 0.4x 2.7x
P/B 3.4x 1.3x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 1.4x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 9.4x 42.0x 15.2x
EV/EBIT 9.8x 653.9x 25.8x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 0.8x 3.0x
EV/FCF 15.3x 88.2x 62.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.7x 20.4x 24.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.09 1.70 0.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMLIWSACA
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.8% 69.1% 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 15.5% 7.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 36.2% 20.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.2% 13.4% 14.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.4% -95.9% 61.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.9% -65.2% -5.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% -144.9% 433.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 11.4% -34.5% 20.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 16.2% -132.7% 430.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.8% -32.5% 19.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.1% 18.9% -23.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.0% -10.4% 16.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.9% 50.2% -54.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.6% -41.1% 54.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMLIWSACA
Gross margin 27.3% 10.4% 23.0%
EBITDA margin 22.5% 1.8% 19.9%
Operating margin 21.5% 0.1% 11.8%
Pretax margin 22.8% -0.2% 8.4%
Net margin 17.3% -0.7% 17.9%
FCF margin 13.8% 0.9% 4.9%
Operating cash flow margin 15.4% 3.8% 12.4%
Return on equity 24.5% -4.0% 17.4%
Return on assets 20.4% -1.4% 9.5%
Return on invested capital 22.7% 0.2% 6.5%
Return on capital employed 29.7% 0.3% 6.9%
Asset turnover 1.2x 1.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x -3.6x 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.2% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMLIWSACA
Debt / assets 0.1% 36.5% 27.1%
Debt / equity 0.0x 1.3x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.3x 19.9x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 0.0x 47.0x 10.8x
Liabilities / assets 17.6% 72.8% 43.7%
Equity / assets 82.4% 27.2% 56.3%
Interest coverage 3,260x 0.5x 3.3x
Current ratio 4.4x 1.8x 3.1x
Quick ratio 3.4x 0.8x 2.2x
Cash ratio 2.3x 0.1x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 13.61 1.55 3.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMLIWSACA
Dividend yield 0.8% 1.5% 0.1%
Net buyback yield 2.3% – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 1.5% 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 16.2% -57.9% 2.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 20.5% 70.0% 7.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) 35.7% 2.2% 1.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 30.2% – 1.0%

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.

ConsensusMLIWSACA
Forward P/E 13.7xFY2026 11.1xFY2026 33.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.03FY2026 $3.82FY2026 $4.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.5%FY2026 +71.3%FY2026 -0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.2% +30.4% +7.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.04BFY2026 $10.90BFY2026 $2.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.5%FY2026 +217.0%FY2026 -14.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.9% +2.4% +12.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMLIWSACA
Held by institutions 95.3% 56.3% 91.8%
Institutions holding 738 238 426
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.5% +1.2% -1.1%
Institutions buying 419 112 230
Institutions selling 226 68 114
Buyers to sellers 1.85 1.65 2.02

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.

MLIWSACA
MLI 1.00 0.19 0.10
WS 0.19 1.00 0.38
ACA 0.10 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MLI, WS and ACA?

Mueller Industries (MLI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mueller Industries (MLI) $12.06B, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.17B, Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, MLI, WS and ACA?

Mueller Industries (MLI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.9x, Worthington Steel (WS) -55.4x, Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Worthington Steel (WS) is cheapest (Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.7x, Worthington Steel (WS) 11.1x, Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mueller Industries (MLI) +20.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%, Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest net margin (Mueller Industries (MLI) 17.3%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%, Arcosa (ACA) 17.9%). On return on invested capital, Mueller Industries (MLI) leads (Mueller Industries (MLI) 22.7%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.2%, Arcosa (ACA) 6.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcosa (ACA) returned the most: Mueller Industries (MLI) -47.0%, Worthington Steel (WS) +33.0%, Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Mueller Industries (MLI) +16.0%/yr, Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Worthington Steel (WS) has the highest dividend yield: Mueller Industries (MLI) 0.84%, Worthington Steel (WS) 1.51%, Arcosa (ACA) 0.13%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Arcosa (ACA) has been the steadiest (Mueller Industries (MLI) 131.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.2%, Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MLI, WS and ACA?

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