MSA vs SMWB vs ITW Stock Comparison

MSA Safety, Similarweb and Illinois Tool Works Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MSA MSA Safety Inc
$187.05 +3.2% 1M +19.1% 1Y
Market cap
$7.22B
P/E
23.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
1.14%
Power Tools Industrials
5 wins
SMWB Similarweb Ltd.
$8.71 +9.4% 1M +1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$757.44M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$295.61M
Div. yield
–
Analytics and BI Technology
1 win
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$290.11 +10.3% 1M +18.9% 1Y
Market cap
$82.45B
P/E
25.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.65B
Div. yield
2.26%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 6, MSA Safety 5, Similarweb 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMSASMWBITWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.22B $757.44M $82.45B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.0x -33.9x 25.6x MSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.0x 39.6x 27.2x MSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +10.2% +4.8% SMWB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.1% -7.4% 19.4% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% — 27.1% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x — 1.8x MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.14% — 2.26% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.1% +1.9% +18.9% MSA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.2%/yr -15.4%/yr +4.8%/yr ITW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.4% 81.0% 21.7% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 37/100 48/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

MSASMWBITW

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

AxisMSASMWBITW
Valuation 58 #85 of 203 29 #71 of 100 25 #152 of 203
Growth 88 #24 of 189 64 #36 of 97 32 #128 of 189
Profitability 96 #9 of 187 42 #55 of 94 100 #2 of 187
Financial Health 76 #54 of 221 26 #82 of 111 27 #162 of 221
Shareholder Returns 72 #43 of 152 22 #50 of 64 58 #64 of 152
Overall 78 37 48
  • MSA ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • SMWB ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • ITW ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMSASMWBITWSPY
1 month +3.2%+9.4%+10.3% -2.3%
3 months -2.8%+18.8%+0.6% -0.7%
6 months +13.2%+188.4%+15.3% +4.8%
Year to date +16.8%+16.3%+17.8% +10.3%
1 year +19.1%+1.9%+18.9% +10.3%
3 years +16.5%+71.1%+24.5% +73.0%
3 years, per year +5.2%+19.6%+7.6% +20.1%
5 years +22.6%-56.6%+26.5% +61.9%
5 years, per year +4.2%-15.4%+4.8% +10.1%
10 years +232.6%—+155.8% +258.6%
10 years, per year +12.8%—+9.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMSASMWBITWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.4%81.0%21.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.6%88.9%20.8% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.741.780.47 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.780.020.87 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.9%-88.4%-28.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.9%-6.0%-3.2% -3.5%
52-week high $203.08$9.27$299.60 $779.14
52-week low $152.94$2.33$241.07 $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.

MultipleMSASMWBITW
P/E now vs peer median 23.0xmedian 25.6x -33.9xmedian 28.5x 25.6xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 1.9x 2.6xmedian 2.8x 5.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 14.4x -297.3xmedian 16.8x 18.8xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.4xmedian 22.5x 49.0xmedian 16.2x 28.7xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 2.2x 33.3xmedian 2.9x 26.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.12median 1.36 -1.12median 0.90 8.84median 1.36

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 monthsMSASMWBITW
Revenue $1.95B $295.61M $16.65B
Gross profit $925.88M $235.99M $7.38B
Operating income $413.17M -$11.06M $4.43B
Net income $314.01M -$21.78M $3.23B
Free cash flow $354.30M $15.44M $2.87B
R&D $68.19M $73.83M –
EPS (diluted) $8.11 $-0.26 $11.31
Cash & equivalents $200.06M $73.90M $809.00M
Total debt $599.74M – $9.37B
Shares (diluted) 38.70M 84.82M 285.30M
Enterprise value $6.51B $480.39M $79.12B

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
MetricMSASMWBITW
P/E 23.0x -33.9x 25.6x
P/FCF 20.4x 49.0x 28.7x
P/Operating cash flow 17.8x 53.5x 25.3x
P/S 3.7x 2.6x 5.0x
P/B 5.2x 33.3x 26.2x
P/Tangible book 6.5x 33.3x 31.7x
EV/EBITDA 15.6x -297.3x 18.8x
EV/EBIT 18.4x -61.8x 20.5x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 2.3x 5.5x
EV/FCF 21.5x 44.3x 31.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.8x 48.2x 27.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.12 -1.12 8.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMSASMWBITW
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 10.2% 4.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 12.5% 1.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.2% 12.1% 5.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 14.6% 2.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.8% 50.2% 6.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.5% 42.5% 3.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.4% 25.1% 6.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 186.8% 27.5% 0.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.3% 28.7% 9.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 188.5% 30.2% 2.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.3% -30.9% -0.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 96.0% 33.8% -0.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% -29.0% 0.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 72.1% 32.7% 0.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMSASMWBITW
Gross margin 47.6% 79.8% 44.3%
EBITDA margin 25.1% -0.8% 29.0%
Operating margin 21.2% -3.7% 26.6%
Pretax margin 21.1% -5.9% 25.2%
Net margin 16.1% -7.4% 19.4%
FCF margin 18.2% 5.2% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 20.9% 4.8% 19.6%
Return on equity 22.8% -108.3% 106.9%
Return on assets 12.2% -8.8% 19.6%
Return on invested capital 15.9% – 27.1%
Return on capital employed 18.0% -19.5% 38.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.1x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x -0.7x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 6.2% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMSASMWBITW
Debt / assets 23.1% – 56.8%
Debt / equity 0.4x – 3.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x – 1.8x
Debt / FCF 1.7x – 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 46.1% 91.9% 81.0%
Equity / assets 53.9% 8.1% 19.0%
Interest coverage 12.7x – 14.3x
Current ratio 3.2x 0.8x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.6x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 6.08 0.43 8.35

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMSASMWBITW
Dividend yield 1.1% – 2.3%
Net buyback yield 1.7% -0.3% 2.0%
Shareholder yield 2.9% -0.3% 4.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 57.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 64.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 5.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 5.1%

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.

ConsensusMSASMWBITW
Forward P/E 20.0xFY2026 39.6xFY2026 27.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.33FY2026 $0.22FY2026 $10.67FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +266.7%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.4% +36.4% +19.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.98BFY2026 $332.14MFY2026 $16.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +17.5%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.6% +0.8% +11.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMSASMWBITW
Held by institutions 91.0% 45.9% 84.9%
Institutions holding 457 68 1,971
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.0% -7.8% +0.8%
Institutions buying 236 36 847
Institutions selling 147 18 751
Buyers to sellers 1.61 2.00 1.13

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.

MSASMWBITW
MSA 1.00 0.02 0.62
SMWB 0.02 1.00 -0.01
ITW 0.62 -0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MSA, SMWB and ITW?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: MSA Safety (MSA) $7.22B, Similarweb (SMWB) $757.44M, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $82.45B.

Which stock is cheaper, MSA, SMWB and ITW?

MSA Safety (MSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (MSA Safety (MSA) 23.0x, Similarweb (SMWB) -33.9x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, MSA Safety (MSA) is cheapest (MSA Safety (MSA) 20.0x, Similarweb (SMWB) 39.6x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Similarweb (SMWB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Similarweb (SMWB) +10.2%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Similarweb (SMWB) -7.4%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year MSA Safety (MSA) returned the most: MSA Safety (MSA) +19.1%, Similarweb (SMWB) +1.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +18.9%. Over five years, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) compounded fastest (MSA Safety (MSA) +4.2%/yr, Similarweb (SMWB) -15.4%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: MSA Safety (MSA) 1.14%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 2.26%. Similarweb (SMWB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (MSA Safety (MSA) 24.4%, Similarweb (SMWB) 81.0%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MSA, SMWB and ITW?

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