NDSN vs MTD vs ROK Stock Comparison

Nordson, Mettler Toledo International and Rockwell Automation Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NDSN Nordson Corp
$326.02 -1.6% 1M +38.5% 1Y
Market cap
$18.35B
P/E
33.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
ROK Rockwell Automation, Inc
$444.02 +3.0% 1M +22.7% 1Y
Market cap
$49.90B
P/E
41.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.97B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 5, Rockwell Automation 4, Mettler Toledo International 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNDSNMTDROKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.35B $34.52B $49.90B ROK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.0x 38.1x 41.5x NDSN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.3x 33.8x 35.5x NDSN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +6.9% +11.3% ROK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.6% 21.9% 13.4% MTD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.1% 47.1% 21.0% MTD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.5x 1.3x ROK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +38.5% +21.0% +22.7% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.1%/yr +2.8%/yr +6.8%/yr ROK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.2% 33.0% 31.3% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 51/100 54/100 NDSN

Percentile Scorecard

NDSNMTDROK

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

AxisNDSNMTDROK
Valuation 30 #143 of 203 13 #177 of 203 16 #170 of 203
Growth 57 #82 of 188 37 #118 of 188 51 #93 of 188
Profitability 97 #6 of 184 100 #1 of 184 96 #9 of 184
Financial Health 56 #97 of 217 24 #165 of 217 34 #143 of 217
Shareholder Returns 54 #71 of 153 82 #28 of 153 74 #41 of 153
Overall 59 51 54
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MTD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ROK ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNDSNMTDROKSPY
1 month -1.6%+10.0%+3.0% +0.9%
3 months +10.5%+22.3%-3.3% +5.9%
6 months +16.3%+37.0%+10.9% +8.5%
Year to date +35.6%+21.9%+14.1% +13.3%
1 year +38.5%+21.0%+22.7% +12.4%
3 years +53.7%+74.0%+69.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +15.4%+20.3%+19.2% +23.5%
5 years +28.2%+14.7%+39.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year +5.1%+2.8%+6.8% +11.0%
10 years +229.6%+324.1%+273.8% +263.4%
10 years, per year +12.7%+15.5%+14.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureNDSNMTDROKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.2%33.0%31.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.3%34.0%31.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.880.821.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.740.640.72 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.9%-43.5%-45.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.6%0.0%-10.3% -0.9%
52-week high $334.70$1,699.16$495.08 $779.14
52-week low $226.69$1,025.53$348.51 $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.

MultipleNDSNMTDROK
P/E now vs peer median 32.7xmedian 25.4x 37.8xmedian 25.4x 41.1xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 1.9x 8.9xmedian 1.9x 5.5xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.3xmedian 14.3x 28.6xmedian 14.3x 24.9xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.1xmedian 21.8x 42.6xmedian 21.8x 32.8xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 2.2x 2,873xmedian 2.2x 14.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 7.43median 1.41 5.46median 1.41 -9.36median 1.41

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 monthsNDSNMTDROK
Revenue $2.98B $4.13B $8.97B
Gross profit $1.65B $2.49B $4.41B
Operating income $800.96M $1.23B $1.77B
Net income $555.18M $905.61M $1.20B
Free cash flow $724.01M $863.97M $1.50B
R&D – $208.01M $716.00M
EPS (diluted) $9.91 $44.91 $10.76
Cash & equivalents $113.43M $51.40M $479.00M
Total debt $1.73B $2.11B $13.81B
Shares (diluted) 56.03M 20.17M 111.60M
Enterprise value $17.90B $34.28B $48.08B

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
MetricNDSNMTDROK
P/E 32.7x 37.8x 41.1x
P/FCF 25.1x 42.6x 32.8x
P/Operating cash flow 23.5x 37.8x 28.5x
P/S 6.1x 8.9x 5.5x
P/B 5.6x 2,873x 14.1x
P/Tangible book 6.9x -145.4x 17.7x
EV/EBITDA 21.3x 28.6x 24.9x
EV/EBIT 24.7x 31.6x 29.4x
EV/Revenue 6.6x 9.4x 5.8x
EV/FCF 27.3x 45.0x 34.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.6x 39.9x 30.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 7.43 5.46 -9.36

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNDSNMTDROK
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 6.9% 11.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.7% 1.5% 1.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.4% 7.5% 1.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 2.0% 7.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.4% 6.3% -7.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 0.2% 2.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 22.0% 9.1% 23.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 3.7% -5.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.5% 12.2% 25.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 6.9% -4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.2% 2.5% 13.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 0.2% 22.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 33.3% 1.9% 13.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 0.2% 23.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNDSNMTDROK
Gross margin 55.3% 60.3% 49.1%
EBITDA margin 31.2% 32.9% 23.3%
Operating margin 26.9% 29.7% 19.7%
Pretax margin 22.6% 26.5% 14.7%
Net margin 18.6% 21.9% 13.4%
FCF margin 24.3% 20.9% 16.8%
Operating cash flow margin 26.0% 23.6% 19.3%
Return on equity 17.2% – 30.9%
Return on assets 9.3% 24.7% 9.8%
Return on invested capital 13.1% 47.1% 21.0%
Return on capital employed 15.3% 49.8% 23.6%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.1x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.6% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNDSNMTDROK
Debt / assets 29.1% 57.5% 29.4%
Debt / equity 0.5x 164.7x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.5x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 2.4x 2.4x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 45.0% 99.7% 68.5%
Equity / assets 55.0% 0.3% 31.5%
Interest coverage 8.8x 17.7x 12.8x
Current ratio 1.8x 1.1x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.7x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 6.28 12.00 6.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNDSNMTDROK
Dividend yield 1.0% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 1.1% 2.0% 1.4%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 2.0% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 33.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 25.3% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.3% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusNDSNMTDROK
Forward P/E 29.3xFY2026 33.8xFY2026 35.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.14FY2026 $50.31FY2026 $12.50FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.8%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +18.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.5% +5.0% +12.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.19BFY2026 $4.52BFY2026 $8.50BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +12.2%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.7% +3.8% +19.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNDSNMTDROK
Held by institutions 76.0% 94.4% 89.2%
Institutions holding 755 804 1,541
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.1% +3.1% +3.5%
Institutions buying 389 331 806
Institutions selling 240 324 437
Buyers to sellers 1.62 1.02 1.84

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.

NDSNMTDROK
NDSN 1.00 0.38 0.53
MTD 0.38 1.00 0.31
ROK 0.53 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NDSN, MTD and ROK?

Rockwell Automation (ROK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nordson (NDSN) $18.35B, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) $34.52B, Rockwell Automation (ROK) $49.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, NDSN, MTD and ROK?

Nordson (NDSN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nordson (NDSN) 33.0x, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 38.1x, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 41.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nordson (NDSN) is cheapest (Nordson (NDSN) 29.3x, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 33.8x, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 35.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Rockwell Automation (ROK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +6.9%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) +11.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mettler Toledo International (MTD) has the highest net margin (Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 21.9%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 13.4%). On return on invested capital, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) leads (Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 47.1%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 21.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Nordson (NDSN) +38.5%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +21.0%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) +22.7%. Over five years, Rockwell Automation (ROK) compounded fastest (Nordson (NDSN) +5.1%/yr, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) +2.8%/yr, Rockwell Automation (ROK) +6.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 0.00%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 0.00%. Mettler Toledo International (MTD) and Rockwell Automation (ROK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%, Mettler Toledo International (MTD) 33.0%, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 31.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NDSN, MTD and ROK?

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 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.