MMM vs MSA vs MTD Stock Comparison

3M, MSA Safety and Mettler Toledo International Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MMM 3M Co
$177.38 +5.3% 1M +7.7% 1Y
Market cap
$92.39B
P/E
26.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$179.16 -0.7% 1M +5.7% 1Y
Market cap
$6.92B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
1.19%
Power Tools Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

MSA Safety leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (MSA Safety 6, Mettler Toledo International 4, 3M 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMMMMSAMTDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $92.39B $6.92B $34.34B MMM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.1x 22.0x 37.9x MSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.0x 19.2x 34.2x MSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.7% +6.5% +6.9% MTD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.0% 16.1% 21.9% MTD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.0% 15.9% 47.1% MTD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 0.8x 1.5x MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 1.19% 0.00% MSA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.7% +5.7% +23.3% MTD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.5%/yr +3.2%/yr +3.0%/yr MMM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 25.1% 33.0% MSA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 80/100 52/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

MMMMSAMTD

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

AxisMMMMSAMTD
Valuation 36 #130 of 203 59 #83 of 203 13 #177 of 203
Growth 60 #75 of 188 86 #27 of 188 39 #115 of 188
Profitability 89 #22 of 183 97 #7 of 183 100 #1 of 183
Financial Health 19 #176 of 216 75 #55 of 216 24 #165 of 216
Shareholder Returns 46 #82 of 152 82 #29 of 152 85 #23 of 152
Overall 50 80 52
  • MMM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MTD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMMMMSAMTDSPY
1 month +5.3%-0.7%+11.7% +0.7%
3 months +0.7%+2.8%+24.2% +3.7%
6 months +21.1%+7.7%+34.6% +7.1%
Year to date +10.8%+11.9%+23.3% +12.8%
1 year +7.7%+5.7%+23.3% +11.9%
3 years +137.0%+13.3%+78.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year +33.3%+4.2%+21.3% +22.8%
5 years +18.7%+17.1%+16.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year +3.5%+3.2%+3.0% +10.9%
10 years +28.0%+224.3%+328.9% +262.0%
10 years, per year +2.5%+12.5%+15.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMMMMSAMTDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%25.1%33.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.7%23.9%34.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.680.810.82 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.300.230.71 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -53.4%-34.9%-43.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.5%-11.8%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $183.81$203.08$1,718.48 $779.14
52-week low $141.20$152.94$1,025.53 $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.

MultipleMMMMSAMTD
P/E now vs peer median 26.0xmedian 25.8x 22.0xmedian 25.8x 38.2xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x 9.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.5xmedian 14.6x 15.0xmedian 14.6x 28.9xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.2xmedian 22.2x 19.5xmedian 22.2x 43.1xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 22.0xmedian 2.2x 4.9xmedian 2.2x 2,906xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.73median 1.45 0.12median 1.45 5.52median 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 monthsMMMMSAMTD
Revenue $25.25B $1.95B $4.13B
Gross profit $9.98B $925.88M $2.49B
Operating income $4.74B $413.17M $1.23B
Net income $3.58B $314.01M $905.61M
Free cash flow $2.68B $354.30M $863.97M
R&D $1.21B $68.19M $208.01M
EPS (diluted) $6.77 $8.11 $44.91
Cash & equivalents $4.84B $200.06M $51.40M
Total debt $15.00B $599.74M $2.11B
Shares (diluted) 522.60M 38.70M 20.17M
Enterprise value $73.83B $6.20B $34.09B

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
MetricMMMMSAMTD
P/E 26.0x 22.0x 38.2x
P/FCF 34.2x 19.5x 43.1x
P/Operating cash flow 25.3x 17.0x 38.2x
P/S 3.6x 3.6x 9.0x
P/B 22.0x 4.9x 2,906x
P/Tangible book 43.3x 6.2x -147.0x
EV/EBITDA 16.5x 15.0x 28.9x
EV/EBIT 21.4x 17.7x 32.0x
EV/Revenue 4.0x 3.8x 9.5x
EV/FCF 37.9x 20.6x 45.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.0x 18.0x 40.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.73 0.12 5.52

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMMMMSAMTD
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.7% 6.5% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 5.2% 1.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.8% 8.2% 7.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.0% 6.7% 2.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -3.7% 10.8% 6.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.4% 34.5% 0.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.8% 13.4% 9.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 35.4% 186.8% 3.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.1% 15.3% 12.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 35.8% 188.5% 6.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 42.8% 26.3% 2.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.1% 96.0% 0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.6% 40.3% 1.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.0% 72.1% 0.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMMMMSAMTD
Gross margin 39.5% 47.6% 60.3%
EBITDA margin 24.4% 25.1% 32.9%
Operating margin 18.8% 21.2% 29.7%
Pretax margin 17.5% 21.1% 26.5%
Net margin 14.0% 16.1% 21.9%
FCF margin 10.6% 18.2% 20.9%
Operating cash flow margin 14.4% 20.9% 23.6%
Return on equity 101.3% 22.8% –
Return on assets 9.8% 12.2% 24.7%
Return on invested capital 22.0% 15.9% 47.1%
Return on capital employed 18.7% 18.0% 49.8%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.8x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.3x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.0% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMMMMSAMTD
Debt / assets 37.9% 23.1% 57.5%
Debt / equity 3.6x 0.4x 164.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 0.8x 1.5x
Debt / FCF 5.6x 1.7x 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 89.5% 46.1% 99.7%
Equity / assets 10.5% 53.9% 0.3%
Interest coverage – 12.7x 17.7x
Current ratio 1.4x 3.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.9x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.7x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 4.14 5.92 12.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMMMMSAMTD
Dividend yield 1.7% 1.2% –
Net buyback yield 3.0% 1.8% 2.0%
Shareholder yield 4.7% 3.0% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 44.8% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 59.9% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.2% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -21.4% – –

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.

ConsensusMMMMSAMTD
Forward P/E 20.0xFY2026 19.2xFY2026 34.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.88FY2026 $9.33FY2026 $50.31FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.2%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +3.4% +5.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.87BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026 $4.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.8%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026 +12.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.6% +19.6% +3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMMMMSAMTD
Held by institutions 74.5% 91.0% 94.4%
Institutions holding 2,211 457 805
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +3.0% +3.1%
Institutions buying 916 236 331
Institutions selling 838 147 324
Buyers to sellers 1.09 1.61 1.02

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.

MMMMSAMTD
MMM 1.00 0.44 0.35
MSA 0.44 1.00 0.34
MTD 0.35 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MMM, MSA and MTD?

3M (MMM) is the largest by market capitalisation: 3M (MMM) $92.39B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.92B, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) $34.34B.

Which stock is cheaper, MMM, MSA and MTD?

MSA Safety (MSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (3M (MMM) 26.1x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.0x, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 37.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, MSA Safety (MSA) is cheapest (3M (MMM) 20.0x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.2x, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 34.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mettler Toledo International (MTD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: 3M (MMM) +1.7%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mettler Toledo International (MTD) has the highest net margin (3M (MMM) 14.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 21.9%). On return on invested capital, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) leads (3M (MMM) 22.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 47.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mettler Toledo International (MTD) returned the most: 3M (MMM) +7.7%, MSA Safety (MSA) +5.7%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +23.3%. Over five years, 3M (MMM) compounded fastest (3M (MMM) +3.5%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.2%/yr, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +3.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest dividend yield: 3M (MMM) 0.02%, MSA Safety (MSA) 1.19%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 0.00%. Mettler Toledo International (MTD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, MSA Safety (MSA) has been the steadiest (3M (MMM) 25.6%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.1%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 33.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MMM, MSA and MTD?

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