NDSN vs ITW vs RBC Stock Comparison

Nordson, Illinois Tool Works and RBC Bearings Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NDSN Nordson Corp
$327.58 -1.8% 1M +41.2% 1Y
Market cap
$18.25B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
1.04%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins
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
7 wins
RBC RBC Bearings INC
$473.38 -8.2% 1M +10.5% 1Y
Market cap
$15.51B
P/E
42.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.02B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 7, RBC Bearings 3, Nordson 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNDSNITWRBCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.25B $82.45B $15.51B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.9x 25.6x 42.2x ITW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.4x 27.2x 33.9x ITW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +4.8% +17.4% RBC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.6% 19.4% 17.5% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.1% 27.1% 9.1% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.8x 1.0x RBC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.04% 2.26% 0.00% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +41.2% +18.9% +10.5% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.8%/yr +4.8%/yr +15.8%/yr RBC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.4% 21.7% 29.0% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 48/100 54/100 NDSN

Percentile Scorecard

NDSNITWRBC

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

AxisNDSNITWRBC
Valuation 27 #149 of 203 25 #152 of 203 15 #173 of 203
Growth 57 #82 of 189 32 #128 of 189 90 #20 of 189
Profitability 96 #8 of 187 100 #2 of 187 77 #43 of 187
Financial Health 53 #105 of 221 27 #162 of 221 74 #59 of 221
Shareholder Returns 52 #73 of 152 58 #64 of 152 15 #129 of 152
Overall 57 48 54
  • NDSN ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • RBC ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNDSNITWRBCSPY
1 month -1.8%+10.3%-8.2% -2.3%
3 months +8.2%+0.6%-17.0% -0.7%
6 months +16.8%+15.3%-20.2% +4.8%
Year to date +36.2%+17.8%+5.6% +10.3%
1 year +41.2%+18.9%+10.5% +10.3%
3 years +47.9%+24.5%+114.7% +73.0%
3 years, per year +13.9%+7.6%+29.0% +20.1%
5 years +26.1%+26.5%+107.8% +61.9%
5 years, per year +4.8%+4.8%+15.8% +10.1%
10 years +238.1%+155.8%+593.7% +258.6%
10 years, per year +13.0%+9.8%+21.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNDSNITWRBCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.4%21.7%29.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.6%20.8%31.2% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.880.471.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.840.870.36 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.9%-28.9%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.1%-3.2%-27.0% -3.5%
52-week high $334.70$299.60$648.89 $779.14
52-week low $226.69$241.07$423.39 $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.

MultipleNDSNITWRBC
P/E now vs peer median 32.9xmedian 25.6x 25.6xmedian 25.6x 42.2xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 1.9x 5.0xmedian 1.9x 7.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.4xmedian 14.4x 18.8xmedian 14.4x 25.5xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 22.5x 28.7xmedian 22.5x 38.9xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 2.2x 26.2xmedian 2.2x 4.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 7.47median 1.36 8.84median 1.36 1.64median 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 monthsNDSNITWRBC
Revenue $2.98B $16.65B $2.02B
Gross profit $1.65B $7.38B $921.20M
Operating income $800.96M $4.43B $494.50M
Net income $555.18M $3.23B $354.40M
Free cash flow $724.01M $2.87B $399.20M
EPS (diluted) $9.91 $11.31 $11.17
Cash & equivalents $113.43M $809.00M $89.30M
Total debt $1.73B $9.37B $710.50M
Shares (diluted) 56.03M 285.30M 31.71M
Enterprise value $17.80B $79.12B $15.13B

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
MetricNDSNITWRBC
P/E 32.9x 25.6x 42.2x
P/FCF 25.2x 28.7x 38.9x
P/Operating cash flow 23.6x 25.3x 31.9x
P/S 6.1x 5.0x 7.7x
P/B 5.6x 26.2x 4.4x
P/Tangible book 6.9x 31.7x 7.0x
EV/EBITDA 21.4x 18.8x 25.5x
EV/EBIT 24.8x 20.5x 32.6x
EV/Revenue 6.7x 5.5x 8.0x
EV/FCF 27.4x 31.7x 40.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.7x 27.9x 33.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 7.47 8.84 1.64

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNDSNITWRBC
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 4.8% 17.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.7% 1.1% 10.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.4% 5.7% 20.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 2.8% 12.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.4% 6.4% 28.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 3.1% 14.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 22.0% 6.7% 36.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 0.9% 23.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.5% 9.1% 36.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 2.9% 25.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.2% -0.5% 34.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.9% -0.5% 25.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 33.3% 0.8% 31.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 0.4% 23.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNDSNITWRBC
Gross margin 55.3% 44.3% 45.5%
EBITDA margin 31.2% 29.0% 31.2%
Operating margin 26.9% 26.6% 24.4%
Pretax margin 22.6% 25.2% 22.3%
Net margin 18.6% 19.4% 17.5%
FCF margin 24.3% 17.2% 19.7%
Operating cash flow margin 26.0% 19.6% 24.0%
Return on equity 17.2% 106.9% 10.1%
Return on assets 9.3% 19.6% 6.8%
Return on invested capital 13.1% 27.1% 9.1%
Return on capital employed 15.3% 38.9% 10.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.0x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.5% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNDSNITWRBC
Debt / assets 29.1% 56.8% 13.7%
Debt / equity 0.5x 3.0x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.8x 1.0x
Debt / FCF 2.4x 3.3x 1.8x
Liabilities / assets 45.0% 81.0% 31.4%
Equity / assets 55.0% 19.0% 68.6%
Interest coverage 8.8x 14.3x 4.1x
Current ratio 1.8x 1.3x 3.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.8x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 6.30 8.35 7.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNDSNITWRBC
Dividend yield 1.0% 2.3% –
Net buyback yield 1.1% 2.0% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 4.2% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 33.0% 57.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 25.3% 64.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.3% 5.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 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.

ConsensusNDSNITWRBC
Forward P/E 29.4xFY2026 27.2xFY2026 33.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.14FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $13.97FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.8%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.5% +19.3% +13.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.19BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $2.00BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.7% +11.4% +24.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNDSNITWRBC
Held by institutions 76.0% 84.9% 95.3%
Institutions holding 757 1,971 687
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.1% +0.8% +1.5%
Institutions buying 390 847 362
Institutions selling 241 751 240
Buyers to sellers 1.62 1.13 1.51

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.

NDSNITWRBC
NDSN 1.00 0.56 0.48
ITW 0.56 1.00 0.40
RBC 0.48 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NDSN, ITW and RBC?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nordson (NDSN) $18.25B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $82.45B, RBC Bearings (RBC) $15.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, NDSN, ITW and RBC?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nordson (NDSN) 32.9x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.6x, RBC Bearings (RBC) 42.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is cheapest (Nordson (NDSN) 29.4x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.2x, RBC Bearings (RBC) 33.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

RBC Bearings (RBC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%, RBC Bearings (RBC) +17.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 17.5%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 9.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Nordson (NDSN) +41.2%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +18.9%, RBC Bearings (RBC) +10.5%. Over five years, RBC Bearings (RBC) compounded fastest (Nordson (NDSN) +4.8%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%/yr, RBC Bearings (RBC) +15.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: Nordson (NDSN) 1.04%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 2.26%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 0.00%. RBC Bearings (RBC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Nordson (NDSN) 22.4%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.7%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 29.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NDSN, ITW and RBC?

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 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.