MTD vs FTV vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Mettler Toledo International, Fortive and Nordson Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
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
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 7, Mettler Toledo International 4, Fortive 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMTDFTVNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.28B $19.41B $18.09B MTD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.9x 36.3x 32.6x NDSN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.5x 19.3x 29.1x FTV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +5.6% +7.0% NDSN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.9% 12.4% 18.6% MTD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 47.1% 7.4% 13.1% MTD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 2.5x 1.7x MTD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% NDSN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.8% +24.6% +36.1% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.7%/yr -3.8%/yr +5.3%/yr NDSN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.0% 26.7% 22.2% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 47/100 57/100 NDSN

Percentile Scorecard

MTDFTVNDSN

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

AxisMTDFTVNDSN
Valuation 12 #178 of 203 45 #112 of 203 30 #142 of 203
Growth 38 #117 of 188 19 #153 of 188 55 #85 of 188
Profitability 100 #1 of 183 73 #50 of 183 96 #8 of 183
Financial Health 24 #166 of 217 39 #133 of 217 54 #101 of 217
Shareholder Returns 80 #32 of 153 61 #61 of 153 51 #76 of 153
Overall 51 47 57
  • MTD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • FTV ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMTDFTVNDSNSPY
1 month +11.5%+9.8%-0.5% -0.2%
3 months +21.3%-4.0%+7.2% +3.9%
6 months +33.5%-0.2%+15.1% +8.2%
Year to date +20.9%+11.6%+34.9% +12.9%
1 year +18.8%+24.6%+36.1% +12.3%
3 years +72.7%-5.2%+52.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +20.0%-1.8%+15.2% +23.3%
5 years +14.0%-17.8%+29.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.7%-3.8%+5.3% +10.9%
10 years +323.9%+29.8%+225.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +15.5%+2.6%+12.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMTDFTVNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.0%26.7%22.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.9%26.0%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.820.600.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.570.921.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.5%-46.1%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-4.0%-3.1% -1.2%
52-week high $1,685.92$64.16$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $1,025.53$49.16$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.

MultipleMTDFTVNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 37.5xmedian 25.2x 35.1xmedian 25.2x 32.5xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 1.9x 4.3xmedian 1.9x 6.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.4xmedian 14.0x 17.6xmedian 14.0x 21.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.3xmedian 21.7x 19.9xmedian 21.7x 24.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2,851xmedian 2.3x 3.1xmedian 2.3x 5.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 5.42median 1.32 -4.25median 1.32 7.39median 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 monthsMTDFTVNDSN
Revenue $4.13B $4.32B $2.98B
Gross profit $2.49B $2.73B $1.65B
Operating income $1.23B $786.70M $800.96M
Net income $905.61M $534.40M $555.18M
Free cash flow $863.97M $937.60M $724.01M
R&D $208.01M $262.00M –
EPS (diluted) $44.91 $1.74 $9.91
Cash & equivalents $51.40M $374.20M $113.43M
Total debt $2.11B $3.51B $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 20.17M 307.60M 56.03M
Enterprise value $34.04B $17.87B $17.64B

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
MetricMTDFTVNDSN
P/E 37.5x 35.1x 32.5x
P/FCF 42.3x 19.9x 24.9x
P/Operating cash flow 37.5x 17.7x 23.4x
P/S 8.8x 4.3x 6.1x
P/B 2,851x 3.1x 5.5x
P/Tangible book -144.2x 4.6x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 28.4x 17.6x 21.2x
EV/EBIT 31.4x 27.7x 24.6x
EV/Revenue 9.3x 5.0x 6.6x
EV/FCF 44.7x 23.2x 27.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 39.6x 20.7x 25.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.42 -4.25 7.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMTDFTVNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 5.6% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.5% -10.3% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.5% 4.2% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.0% -7.9% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.3% 9.4% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.2% -9.9% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.1% -30.5% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.7% -12.6% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.2% -22.8% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 6.9% -8.3% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.5% -30.6% 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.2% -6.6% 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.9% -34.8% 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.2% -7.5% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMTDFTVNDSN
Gross margin 60.3% 63.2% 55.3%
EBITDA margin 32.9% 28.6% 31.2%
Operating margin 29.7% 18.2% 26.9%
Pretax margin 26.5% 15.6% 22.6%
Net margin 21.9% 12.4% 18.6%
FCF margin 20.9% 21.7% 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 23.6% 24.4% 26.0%
Return on equity – 8.8% 17.2%
Return on assets 24.7% 4.6% 9.3%
Return on invested capital 47.1% 7.4% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 49.8% 7.6% 15.3%
Asset turnover 1.1x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 2.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 2.7% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMTDFTVNDSN
Debt / assets 57.5% 30.2% 29.1%
Debt / equity 164.7x 0.6x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 2.5x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 2.4x 3.7x 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 99.7% 47.7% 45.0%
Equity / assets 0.3% 52.3% 55.0%
Interest coverage 17.7x 12.8x 8.8x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.2x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.9x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 11.95 3.33 6.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMTDFTVNDSN
Dividend yield – 0.4% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 2.1% 10.6% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 11.0% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 10.6% 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 6.0% 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -48.4% 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -17.0% 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.

ConsensusMTDFTVNDSN
Forward P/E 33.5xFY2026 19.3xFY2026 29.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $50.31FY2026 $3.20FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.0% -3.1% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.52BFY2026 $4.63BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.2%FY2026 +11.4%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.8% -6.7% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMTDFTVNDSN
Held by institutions 94.4% 100.0% 76.0%
Institutions holding 804 803 755
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.1% +2.8% +3.1%
Institutions buying 331 350 389
Institutions selling 324 301 240
Buyers to sellers 1.02 1.16 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.

MTDFTVNDSN
MTD 1.00 0.28 0.38
FTV 0.28 1.00 0.43
NDSN 0.38 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MTD, FTV and NDSN?

Mettler Toledo International (MTD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mettler Toledo International (MTD) $34.28B, Fortive (FTV) $19.41B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, MTD, FTV and NDSN?

Nordson (NDSN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 37.9x, Fortive (FTV) 36.3x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fortive (FTV) is cheapest (Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 33.5x, Fortive (FTV) 19.3x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.1x). 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: Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +6.9%, Fortive (FTV) +5.6%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mettler Toledo International (MTD) has the highest net margin (Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 21.9%, Fortive (FTV) 12.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) leads (Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 47.1%, Fortive (FTV) 7.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +18.8%, Fortive (FTV) +24.6%, Nordson (NDSN) +36.1%. Over five years, Nordson (NDSN) compounded fastest (Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +2.7%/yr, Fortive (FTV) -3.8%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest dividend yield: Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 0.00%, Fortive (FTV) 0.00%, Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%. Mettler Toledo International (MTD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 33.0%, Fortive (FTV) 26.7%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MTD, FTV 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, Nordson (NDSN) 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.