MMM vs NDSN vs FTV Stock Comparison

3M, Nordson and Fortive Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MMM 3M Co
$171.62 +1.2% 1M +1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$89.54B
P/E
25.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 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
6 wins
FTV Fortive Corp
$61.62 +9.8% 1M +24.6% 1Y
Market cap
$19.41B
P/E
36.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.32B
Div. yield
0.00%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 6, 3M 5, Fortive 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMMMNDSNFTVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $89.54B $18.09B $19.41B MMM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.3x 32.6x 36.3x MMM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.3x 29.1x 19.3x FTV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.7% +7.0% +5.6% NDSN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.0% 18.6% 12.4% NDSN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.0% 13.1% 7.4% MMM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 1.7x 2.5x MMM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.01% 0.00% MMM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.9% +36.1% +24.6% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.7%/yr +5.3%/yr -3.8%/yr NDSN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 22.2% 26.7% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 57/100 47/100 NDSN

Percentile Scorecard

MMMNDSNFTV

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

AxisMMMNDSNFTV
Valuation 37 #128 of 203 30 #142 of 203 45 #112 of 203
Growth 59 #77 of 188 55 #85 of 188 19 #153 of 188
Profitability 89 #21 of 183 96 #8 of 183 73 #50 of 183
Financial Health 19 #177 of 217 54 #101 of 217 39 #133 of 217
Shareholder Returns 42 #89 of 153 51 #76 of 153 61 #61 of 153
Overall 49 57 47
  • MMM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • FTV ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMMMNDSNFTVSPY
1 month +1.2%-0.5%+9.8% -0.2%
3 months -5.9%+7.2%-4.0% +3.9%
6 months +17.5%+15.1%-0.2% +8.2%
Year to date +7.2%+34.9%+11.6% +12.9%
1 year +1.9%+36.1%+24.6% +12.3%
3 years +134.5%+52.9%-5.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +32.9%+15.2%-1.8% +23.3%
5 years +14.1%+29.2%-17.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.7%+5.3%-3.8% +10.9%
10 years +23.8%+225.5%+29.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +2.2%+12.5%+2.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMMMNDSNFTVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%22.2%26.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.6%21.2%26.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.690.880.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.071.620.92 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -53.4%-39.9%-46.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.6%-3.1%-4.0% -1.2%
52-week high $183.81$334.70$64.16 $779.14
52-week low $141.20$226.69$49.16 $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.

MultipleMMMNDSNFTV
P/E now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 25.2x 32.5xmedian 25.2x 35.1xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 1.9x 6.1xmedian 1.9x 4.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.0xmedian 14.0x 21.2xmedian 14.0x 17.6xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 33.1xmedian 21.7x 24.9xmedian 21.7x 19.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 21.3xmedian 2.3x 5.5xmedian 2.3x 3.1xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.70median 1.32 7.39median 1.32 -4.25median 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 monthsMMMNDSNFTV
Revenue $25.25B $2.98B $4.32B
Gross profit $9.98B $1.65B $2.73B
Operating income $4.74B $800.96M $786.70M
Net income $3.58B $555.18M $534.40M
Free cash flow $2.68B $724.01M $937.60M
R&D $1.21B – $262.00M
EPS (diluted) $6.77 $9.91 $1.74
Cash & equivalents $4.84B $113.43M $374.20M
Total debt $15.00B $1.73B $3.51B
Shares (diluted) 522.60M 56.03M 307.60M
Enterprise value $70.99B $17.64B $17.87B

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
MetricMMMNDSNFTV
P/E 25.2x 32.5x 35.1x
P/FCF 33.1x 24.9x 19.9x
P/Operating cash flow 24.4x 23.4x 17.7x
P/S 3.5x 6.1x 4.3x
P/B 21.3x 5.5x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 41.9x 6.8x 4.6x
EV/EBITDA 16.0x 21.2x 17.6x
EV/EBIT 20.8x 24.6x 27.7x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 6.6x 5.0x
EV/FCF 36.8x 27.2x 23.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.2x 25.4x 20.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.70 7.39 -4.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMMMNDSNFTV
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.7% 7.0% 5.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 4.7% -10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.8% 8.4% 4.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.0% 5.5% -7.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) -3.7% 18.4% 9.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.4% 6.4% -9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.8% 22.0% -30.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 35.4% 3.5% -12.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.1% 23.5% -22.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 35.8% 4.4% -8.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 42.8% 26.2% -30.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.1% 5.9% -6.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.6% 33.3% -34.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.0% 5.6% -7.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMMMNDSNFTV
Gross margin 39.5% 55.3% 63.2%
EBITDA margin 24.4% 31.2% 28.6%
Operating margin 18.8% 26.9% 18.2%
Pretax margin 17.5% 22.6% 15.6%
Net margin 14.0% 18.6% 12.4%
FCF margin 10.6% 24.3% 21.7%
Operating cash flow margin 14.4% 26.0% 24.4%
Return on equity 101.3% 17.2% 8.8%
Return on assets 9.8% 9.3% 4.6%
Return on invested capital 22.0% 13.1% 7.4%
Return on capital employed 18.7% 15.3% 7.6%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.4x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.8% 2.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMMMNDSNFTV
Debt / assets 37.9% 29.1% 30.2%
Debt / equity 3.6x 0.5x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 1.7x 2.5x
Debt / FCF 5.6x 2.4x 3.7x
Liabilities / assets 89.5% 45.0% 47.7%
Equity / assets 10.5% 55.0% 52.3%
Interest coverage – 8.8x 12.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.8x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.0x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 4.09 6.26 3.33

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMMMNDSNFTV
Dividend yield 1.8% 1.0% 0.4%
Net buyback yield 3.1% 1.1% 10.6%
Shareholder yield 4.9% 2.1% 11.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 44.8% 33.0% 10.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 59.9% 25.3% 6.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.2% 3.3% -48.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -21.4% 7.2% -17.0%

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.

ConsensusMMMNDSNFTV
Forward P/E 19.3xFY2026 29.1xFY2026 19.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.88FY2026 $11.14FY2026 $3.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.2%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +21.5% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.87BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026 $4.63BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.8%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +11.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.6% +5.7% -6.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMMMNDSNFTV
Held by institutions 74.5% 76.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 2,209 755 803
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +3.1% +2.8%
Institutions buying 915 389 350
Institutions selling 837 240 301
Buyers to sellers 1.09 1.62 1.16

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.

MMMNDSNFTV
MMM 1.00 0.47 0.38
NDSN 0.47 1.00 0.43
FTV 0.38 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MMM, NDSN and FTV?

3M (MMM) is the largest by market capitalisation: 3M (MMM) $89.54B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.09B, Fortive (FTV) $19.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, MMM, NDSN and FTV?

3M (MMM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (3M (MMM) 25.3x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.6x, Fortive (FTV) 36.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fortive (FTV) is cheapest (3M (MMM) 19.3x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.1x, Fortive (FTV) 19.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nordson (NDSN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: 3M (MMM) +1.7%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%, Fortive (FTV) +5.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest net margin (3M (MMM) 14.0%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%, Fortive (FTV) 12.4%). On return on invested capital, 3M (MMM) leads (3M (MMM) 22.0%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%, Fortive (FTV) 7.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: 3M (MMM) +1.9%, Nordson (NDSN) +36.1%, Fortive (FTV) +24.6%. Over five years, Nordson (NDSN) compounded fastest (3M (MMM) +2.7%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr, Fortive (FTV) -3.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

3M (MMM) has the highest dividend yield: 3M (MMM) 0.02%, Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%, Fortive (FTV) 0.00%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (3M (MMM) 25.6%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%, Fortive (FTV) 26.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MMM, NDSN and FTV?

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