MSA vs ESAB vs SNA Stock Comparison

MSA Safety, Esab and Snap-on Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$182.59 +0.1% 1M +8.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.94B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
5 wins
ESAB ESAB Corp
$67.38 -6.2% 1M -43.9% 1Y
Market cap
$4.23B
P/E
24.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.00B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
2 wins
SNA Snap-on Inc
$358.00 -3.0% 1M +4.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.49B
P/E
18.3x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

MSA Safety leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (MSA Safety 5, Snap-on 4, Esab 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMSAESABSNALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.94B $4.23B $18.49B SNA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.1x 24.7x 18.3x SNA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.6x 13.1x 19.5x ESAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +9.7% — ESAB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.1% 5.7% — MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 6.2% — MSA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 4.7x — MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.6% -43.9% +4.1% MSA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.7%/yr — +12.1%/yr SNA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.5% 46.2% 19.1% SNA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 77/100 36/100 65/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

MSAESABSNA

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

AxisMSAESABSNA
Valuation 55 #91 of 203 62 #77 of 203 52 #98 of 203
Growth 86 #27 of 187 25 #140 of 187 33 #126 of 187
Profitability 97 #7 of 185 48 #97 of 185 68 #60 of 185
Financial Health 76 #53 of 219 21 #173 of 219 86 #32 of 219
Shareholder Returns 73 #42 of 153 23 #118 of 153 88 #19 of 153
Overall 77 36 65
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ESAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SNA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMSAESABSNASPY
1 month +0.1%-6.2%-3.0% -0.8%
3 months +4.0%-23.7%-12.1% +3.5%
6 months +6.8%-34.7%-6.9% +7.0%
Year to date +14.0%-39.7%+3.9% +12.2%
1 year +8.6%-43.9%+4.1% +13.0%
3 years +15.9%+6.8%+41.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +5.0%+2.2%+12.4% +23.1%
5 years +20.0%—+77.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.7%—+12.1% +11.0%
10 years +228.8%—+131.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +12.6%—+8.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMSAESABSNASPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.5%46.2%19.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.1%46.1%19.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.821.810.58 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.34-0.950.21 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.9%-52.3%-21.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.1%-50.0%-14.6% -1.8%
52-week high $203.08$134.82$419.26 $779.14
52-week low $152.94$64.45$328.69 $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.

MultipleMSAESABSNA
P/E now vs peer median 22.5xmedian 26.0x 24.1xmedian 26.0x 18.3xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.9x 1.4xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 14.0x 13.8xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 21.4x 21.3xmedian 21.4x 17.2xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 2.2x 1.6xmedian 2.2x 3.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.12median 1.26 -3.35median 1.26 12.84median 1.26

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 monthsMSAESABSNA
Revenue $1.95B $3.00B –
Gross profit $925.88M $1.11B –
Operating income $413.17M $362.44M $1.31B
Net income $314.01M $178.52M $1.04B
Free cash flow $354.30M $196.61M –
R&D $68.19M – –
EPS (diluted) $8.11 $2.78 $19.25
Cash & equivalents $200.06M $217.49M $1.67B
Total debt $599.74M $2.40B –
Shares (diluted) 38.70M 61.63M 52.52M
Enterprise value $6.22B $2.61B $18.49B

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
MetricMSAESABSNA
P/E 22.5x 24.1x 18.3x
P/FCF 19.9x 21.3x 17.2x
P/Operating cash flow 17.4x 16.2x 16.0x
P/S 3.6x 1.4x 3.6x
P/B 5.0x 1.6x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 6.3x 3.5x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 15.3x 13.8x –
EV/EBIT 18.0x 17.6x –
EV/Revenue 3.8x 2.1x –
EV/FCF 21.0x 32.4x –
EV/Operating cash flow 18.4x 24.6x 16.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.12 -3.35 12.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMSAESABSNA
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 9.7% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 3.7% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.2% 7.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 5.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.8% -16.9% -0.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.5% 0.3% 0.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.4% -32.0% -0.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 186.8% -6.2% 0.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.3% -33.6% 0.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 188.5% -7.2% 1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.3% -16.5% 4.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 96.0% -1.6% 2.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% -23.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 72.1% -4.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMSAESABSNA
Gross margin 47.6% 37.0% –
EBITDA margin 25.1% 15.4% –
Operating margin 21.2% 12.1% –
Pretax margin 21.1% 8.7% –
Net margin 16.1% 5.7% –
FCF margin 18.2% 6.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 20.9% 8.6% –
Return on equity 22.8% 7.4% 17.0%
Return on assets 12.2% 2.9% 12.0%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 6.2% –
Return on capital employed 18.0% 6.8% –
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.5x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMSAESABSNA
Debt / assets 23.1% 36.5% –
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.9x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 4.7x –
Debt / FCF 1.7x 12.2x –
Liabilities / assets 46.1% 60.6% 29.3%
Equity / assets 53.9% 39.4% 70.7%
Interest coverage 12.7x 3.5x –
Current ratio 3.2x 2.0x 3.5x
Quick ratio 1.9x 1.3x –
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 5.99 1.59 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMSAESABSNA
Dividend yield 1.2% 0.7% 2.7%
Net buyback yield 1.8% – –
Shareholder yield 2.9% 0.7% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusMSAESABSNA
Forward P/E 19.6xFY2026 13.1xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.33FY2026 $5.13FY2026 $18.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 -2.8%FY2026 -4.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.4% +27.7% +17.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.98BFY2026 $2.86BFY2026 $4.58BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.6% +19.3% +14.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMSAESABSNA
Held by institutions 91.0% 100.0% 96.3%
Institutions holding 457 347 1,069
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.0% +11.0% +2.8%
Institutions buying 236 187 497
Institutions selling 147 111 370
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.68 1.34

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.

MSAESABSNA
MSA 1.00 0.47 0.48
ESAB 0.47 1.00 0.50
SNA 0.48 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MSA, ESAB and SNA?

Snap-on (SNA) is the largest by market capitalisation: MSA Safety (MSA) $6.94B, Esab (ESAB) $4.23B, Snap-on (SNA) $18.49B.

Which stock is cheaper, MSA, ESAB and SNA?

Snap-on (SNA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (MSA Safety (MSA) 22.1x, Esab (ESAB) 24.7x, Snap-on (SNA) 18.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Esab (ESAB) is cheapest (MSA Safety (MSA) 19.6x, Esab (ESAB) 13.1x, Snap-on (SNA) 19.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Esab (ESAB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Esab (ESAB) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Esab (ESAB) 5.7%). On return on invested capital, MSA Safety (MSA) leads (MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Esab (ESAB) 6.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year MSA Safety (MSA) returned the most: MSA Safety (MSA) +8.6%, Esab (ESAB) -43.9%, Snap-on (SNA) +4.1%. Over five years, Snap-on (SNA) compounded fastest (MSA Safety (MSA) +3.7%/yr, Snap-on (SNA) +12.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Snap-on (SNA) has been the steadiest (MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%, Esab (ESAB) 46.2%, Snap-on (SNA) 19.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MSA, ESAB and SNA?

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 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.