MMM vs SWK vs NDSN Stock Comparison

3M, Stanley Black & Decker and Nordson Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MMM 3M Co
$194.02 +18.9% 1M +20.8% 1Y
Market cap
$100.26B
P/E
28.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
1.58%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
NDSN Nordson Corp
$330.70 -1.1% 1M +43.6% 1Y
Market cap
$18.42B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
1.03%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

3M leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (3M 5, Stanley Black & Decker 4, Nordson 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMMMSWKNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $100.26B $17.86B $18.42B MMM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.5x 28.6x 33.2x MMM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.8x 20.4x 29.7x SWK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.7% +0.6% +7.0% NDSN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.0% 4.1% 18.6% NDSN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.0% 6.6% 13.1% MMM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 2.3x 1.7x MMM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.58% 2.82% 1.03% SWK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.8% +77.5% +43.6% SWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.0%/yr -8.5%/yr +4.8%/yr MMM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.2% 38.6% 22.3% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 58/100 57/100 SWK

Percentile Scorecard

MMMSWKNDSN

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

AxisMMMSWKNDSN
Valuation 29 #145 of 204 86 #30 of 204 25 #153 of 204
Growth 63 #72 of 191 80 #39 of 191 58 #80 of 191
Profitability 87 #25 of 189 52 #92 of 189 96 #8 of 189
Financial Health 19 #179 of 221 28 #159 of 221 55 #101 of 221
Shareholder Returns 40 #96 of 159 42 #92 of 159 52 #77 of 159
Overall 48 58 57
  • MMM ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • SWK ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMMMSWKNDSNSPY
1 month +18.9%+31.8%-1.1% -1.0%
3 months +6.6%+14.5%+6.4% -0.4%
6 months +32.4%+45.9%+15.3% +4.5%
Year to date +21.2%+59.2%+37.5% +12.4%
1 year +20.8%+77.5%+43.6% +13.6%
3 years +147.2%+33.0%+49.3% +76.4%
3 years, per year +35.2%+10.0%+14.3% +20.8%
5 years +27.6%-35.7%+26.6% +63.7%
5 years, per year +5.0%-8.5%+4.8% +10.4%
10 years +39.4%+3.2%+242.9% +267.7%
10 years, per year +3.4%+0.3%+13.1% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureMMMSWKNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.2%38.6%22.3% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%32.3%21.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.771.480.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.762.011.95 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -53.4%-71.6%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%0.0%-1.2% -1.6%
52-week high $194.02$118.24$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $141.20$62.12$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.

MultipleMMMSWKNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 28.5xmedian 25.5x 28.6xmedian 25.5x 33.2xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 1.9x 1.2xmedian 1.9x 6.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 14.4x 12.1xmedian 14.4x 21.6xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.5xmedian 23.3x 13.9xmedian 23.3x 25.4xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 24.0xmedian 2.2x 2.0xmedian 2.2x 5.6xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.79median 1.16 -5.44median 1.16 7.54median 1.16

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 monthsMMMSWKNDSN
Revenue $25.25B $15.25B $2.98B
Gross profit $9.98B $4.86B $1.65B
Operating income $4.74B $1.32B $800.96M
Net income $3.58B $620.50M $555.18M
Free cash flow $2.68B $1.29B $724.01M
R&D $1.21B – –
EPS (diluted) $6.77 $4.12 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $4.84B $592.40M $113.43M
Total debt $15.00B $4.76B $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 522.60M 150.65M 56.03M
Enterprise value $82.67B $16.38B $17.98B

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
MetricMMMSWKNDSN
P/E 28.5x 28.6x 33.2x
P/FCF 37.5x 13.9x 25.4x
P/Operating cash flow 27.6x 11.5x 23.8x
P/S 4.0x 1.2x 6.2x
P/B 24.0x 2.0x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 47.4x 3.0x 7.0x
EV/EBITDA 17.9x 12.1x 21.6x
EV/EBIT 23.3x 16.7x 25.0x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 1.4x 6.7x
EV/FCF 41.1x 17.1x 27.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.3x 14.2x 25.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.79 -5.44 7.54

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMMMSWKNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.7% 0.6% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% -2.0% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.8% 9.3% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.0% 11.2% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -3.7% 51.4% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.4% 149.6% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.8% 29.7% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 35.4% -7.7% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.1% 30.7% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 35.8% -5.3% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 42.8% 104.3% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.1% 96.8% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.6% 211.7% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.0% 110.2% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMMMSWKNDSN
Gross margin 39.5% 31.9% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 24.4% 11.9% 31.2%
Operating margin 18.8% 8.6% 26.9%
Pretax margin 17.5% 5.6% 22.6%
Net margin 14.0% 4.1% 18.6%
FCF margin 10.6% 8.5% 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 14.4% 10.2% 26.0%
Return on equity 101.3% 6.9% 17.2%
Return on assets 9.8% 3.0% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 22.0% 6.6% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 18.7% 8.0% 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 2.5x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMMMSWKNDSN
Debt / assets 37.9% 23.7% 29.1%
Debt / equity 3.6x 0.5x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 2.3x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 5.6x 3.7x 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 89.5% 55.4% 45.0%
Equity / assets 10.5% 44.6% 55.0%
Interest coverage – 2.8x 8.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.4x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.5x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.28 2.64 6.34

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMMMSWKNDSN
Dividend yield 1.6% 2.8% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 2.7% 1.5% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 4.3% 4.3% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 44.8% 81.0% 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 59.9% 39.0% 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.2% 1.3% 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -21.4% 1.9% 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.

ConsensusMMMSWKNDSN
Forward P/E 21.8xFY2026 20.4xFY2026 29.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.88FY2026 $5.81FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.2%FY2026 +24.4%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +5.2% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.87BFY2026 $16.13BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.8%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.6% +0.4% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMMMSWKNDSN
Held by institutions 74.5% 95.7% 76.0%
Institutions holding 2,212 773 757
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +5.3% +3.1%
Institutions buying 916 418 390
Institutions selling 839 244 241
Buyers to sellers 1.09 1.71 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.

MMMSWKNDSN
MMM 1.00 0.58 0.44
SWK 0.58 1.00 0.55
NDSN 0.44 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MMM, SWK and NDSN?

3M (MMM) is the largest by market capitalisation: 3M (MMM) $100.26B, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) $17.86B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.42B.

Which stock is cheaper, MMM, SWK and NDSN?

3M (MMM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (3M (MMM) 28.5x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 28.6x, Nordson (NDSN) 33.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) is cheapest (3M (MMM) 21.8x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 20.4x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.7x). 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%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +0.6%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest net margin (3M (MMM) 14.0%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 4.1%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, 3M (MMM) leads (3M (MMM) 22.0%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 6.6%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) returned the most: 3M (MMM) +20.8%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +77.5%, Nordson (NDSN) +43.6%. Over five years, 3M (MMM) compounded fastest (3M (MMM) +5.0%/yr, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) -8.5%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +4.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) has the highest dividend yield: 3M (MMM) 1.58%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 2.82%, Nordson (NDSN) 1.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (3M (MMM) 27.2%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 38.6%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MMM, SWK 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, 3M (MMM) 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.