MMM vs MSA vs SWK Stock Comparison

3M, MSA Safety and Stanley Black & Decker Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MMM 3M Co
$171.62 +1.2% 1M +1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$88.68B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
1.79%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$179.23 -1.8% 1M +7.5% 1Y
Market cap
$6.92B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
1.19%
Power Tools Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

MSA Safety leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (MSA Safety 7, Stanley Black & Decker 3, 3M 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMMMMSASWKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $88.68B $6.92B $15.01B MMM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.2x 22.0x 24.0x MSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.3x 19.2x 17.1x SWK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.7% +6.5% +0.6% MSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.0% 16.1% 4.1% MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.0% 15.9% 6.6% MMM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 0.8x 2.3x MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.79% 1.19% 3.35% SWK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.9% +7.5% +37.9% SWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.7%/yr +3.2%/yr -11.7%/yr MSA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 25.5% 36.5% MSA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 78/100 59/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

MMMMSASWK

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

AxisMMMMSASWK
Valuation 37 #128 of 203 58 #86 of 203 90 #22 of 203
Growth 59 #77 of 188 86 #27 of 188 81 #36 of 188
Profitability 89 #21 of 183 97 #6 of 183 51 #91 of 183
Financial Health 19 #177 of 217 76 #54 of 217 28 #157 of 217
Shareholder Returns 42 #89 of 153 74 #40 of 153 46 #83 of 153
Overall 49 78 59
  • MMM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SWK ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMMMMSASWKSPY
1 month +1.2%-1.8%+8.8% -0.2%
3 months -5.9%-0.3%+5.5% +3.9%
6 months +17.5%+7.2%+26.9% +8.2%
Year to date +7.2%+11.9%+33.8% +12.9%
1 year +1.9%+7.5%+37.9% +12.3%
3 years +134.5%+13.7%+21.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +32.9%+4.4%+6.6% +23.3%
5 years +14.1%+16.9%-46.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.7%+3.2%-11.7% +10.9%
10 years +23.8%+224.9%-13.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +2.2%+12.5%-1.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMMMMSASWKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%25.5%36.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.6%24.1%32.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.690.811.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.070.291.04 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -53.4%-34.9%-71.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.6%-11.7%-4.5% -1.2%
52-week high $183.81$203.08$104.00 $779.14
52-week low $141.20$152.94$62.12 $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.

MultipleMMMMSASWK
P/E now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 25.2x 22.0xmedian 25.2x 24.0xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x 1.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.0xmedian 14.0x 15.0xmedian 14.0x 10.6xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 33.1xmedian 21.7x 19.5xmedian 21.7x 11.6xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 21.3xmedian 2.3x 4.9xmedian 2.3x 1.7xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.70median 1.32 0.12median 1.32 -4.57median 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 monthsMMMMSASWK
Revenue $25.25B $1.95B $15.25B
Gross profit $9.98B $925.88M $4.86B
Operating income $4.74B $413.17M $1.32B
Net income $3.58B $314.01M $620.50M
Free cash flow $2.68B $354.30M $1.29B
R&D $1.21B $68.19M –
EPS (diluted) $6.77 $8.11 $4.12
Cash & equivalents $4.84B $200.06M $592.40M
Total debt $15.00B $599.74M $4.76B
Shares (diluted) 522.60M 38.70M 150.65M
Enterprise value $71.10B $6.20B $13.53B

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
MetricMMMMSASWK
P/E 25.2x 22.0x 24.0x
P/FCF 33.1x 19.5x 11.6x
P/Operating cash flow 24.4x 17.0x 9.7x
P/S 3.5x 3.6x 1.0x
P/B 21.3x 4.9x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 41.9x 6.2x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 16.0x 15.0x 10.6x
EV/EBIT 20.8x 17.7x 14.5x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 3.8x 1.3x
EV/FCF 36.8x 20.7x 14.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.2x 18.0x 12.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.70 0.12 -4.57

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMMMMSASWK
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.7% 6.5% 0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 5.2% -2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.8% 8.2% 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.0% 6.7% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -3.7% 10.8% 51.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.4% 34.5% 149.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.8% 13.4% 29.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 35.4% 186.8% -7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.1% 15.3% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 35.8% 188.5% -5.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 42.8% 26.3% 104.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.1% 96.0% 96.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.6% 40.3% 211.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.0% 72.1% 110.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMMMMSASWK
Gross margin 39.5% 47.6% 31.9%
EBITDA margin 24.4% 25.1% 11.9%
Operating margin 18.8% 21.2% 8.6%
Pretax margin 17.5% 21.1% 5.6%
Net margin 14.0% 16.1% 4.1%
FCF margin 10.6% 18.2% 8.5%
Operating cash flow margin 14.4% 20.9% 10.2%
Return on equity 101.3% 22.8% 6.9%
Return on assets 9.8% 12.2% 3.0%
Return on invested capital 22.0% 15.9% 6.6%
Return on capital employed 18.7% 18.0% 8.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.3x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 1.0% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMMMMSASWK
Debt / assets 37.9% 23.1% 23.7%
Debt / equity 3.6x 0.4x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 0.8x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 5.6x 1.7x 3.7x
Liabilities / assets 89.5% 46.1% 55.4%
Equity / assets 10.5% 53.9% 44.6%
Interest coverage – 12.7x 2.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 3.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.9x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.7x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.09 5.92 2.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMMMMSASWK
Dividend yield 1.8% 1.2% 3.4%
Net buyback yield 3.1% 1.8% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 4.9% 3.0% 5.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 44.8% – 81.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 59.9% – 39.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.2% – 1.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -21.4% – 1.9%

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.

ConsensusMMMMSASWK
Forward P/E 19.3xFY2026 19.2xFY2026 17.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.88FY2026 $9.33FY2026 $5.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.2%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +24.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +3.4% +5.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.87BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026 $16.13BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.8%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.6% +19.6% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMMMMSASWK
Held by institutions 74.5% 91.0% 95.7%
Institutions holding 2,209 457 771
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +3.0% +5.3%
Institutions buying 915 236 417
Institutions selling 837 147 243
Buyers to sellers 1.09 1.61 1.72

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.

MMMMSASWK
MMM 1.00 0.39 0.52
MSA 0.39 1.00 0.52
SWK 0.52 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MMM, MSA and SWK?

3M (MMM) is the largest by market capitalisation: 3M (MMM) $88.68B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.92B, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) $15.01B.

Which stock is cheaper, MMM, MSA and SWK?

MSA Safety (MSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (3M (MMM) 25.2x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.0x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 24.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) is cheapest (3M (MMM) 19.3x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.2x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 17.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

MSA Safety (MSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: 3M (MMM) +1.7%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (3M (MMM) 14.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 4.1%). On return on invested capital, 3M (MMM) leads (3M (MMM) 22.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 6.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) returned the most: 3M (MMM) +1.9%, MSA Safety (MSA) +7.5%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +37.9%. Over five years, MSA Safety (MSA) compounded fastest (3M (MMM) +2.7%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.2%/yr, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) -11.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) has the highest dividend yield: 3M (MMM) 1.79%, MSA Safety (MSA) 1.19%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 3.35%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, MSA Safety (MSA) has been the steadiest (3M (MMM) 25.6%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 36.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.