OPTX vs ACA vs MLI Stock Comparison

Syntec Optics Holdings, Arcosa and Mueller Industries Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ACA Arcosa, Inc.
$149.18 +1.7% 1M +61.6% 1Y
Market cap
$7.33B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.74B
Div. yield
0.13%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins
MLI Mueller Industries Inc
$55.79 -8.2% 1M -46.7% 1Y
Market cap
$12.16B
P/E
14.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.00B
Div. yield
0.83%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mueller Industries leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Mueller Industries 7, Arcosa 3, Syntec Optics Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionOPTXACAMLILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $294.04M $7.33B $12.16B MLI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -118.5x 14.9x 14.0x MLI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 33.6x 13.8x MLI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.5% +9.7% +20.8% MLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -8.3% 17.9% 17.3% ACA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 6.5% 22.7% MLI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -11.7x 1.8x -1.3x OPTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.13% 0.83% MLI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +179.7% +61.6% -46.7% OPTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +23.0%/yr +16.2%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 136.2% 31.7% 131.8% ACA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 31/100 56/100 86/100 MLI

Percentile Scorecard

OPTXACAMLI

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

AxisOPTXACAMLI
Valuation 5 #192 of 203 50 #103 of 203 82 #37 of 203
Growth 8 #174 of 188 83 #33 of 188 68 #60 of 188
Profitability 18 #151 of 183 51 #91 of 183 96 #8 of 183
Financial Health 95 #12 of 216 58 #92 of 216 97 #7 of 216
Shareholder Returns – 42 #89 of 152 86 #22 of 152
Overall 31 56 86
  • OPTX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ACA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MLI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodOPTXACAMLISPY
1 month -1.5%+1.7%-8.2% +0.7%
3 months +14.2%+2.9%-16.6% +3.7%
6 months -4.8%+24.1%-58.8% +7.1%
Year to date +155.2%+40.3%-51.4% +12.8%
1 year +179.7%+61.6%-46.7% +11.9%
3 years -40.3%+117.4%+49.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year -15.8%+29.6%+14.2% +22.8%
5 years —+181.9%+112.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year —+23.0%+16.2% +10.9%
10 years ——+272.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year ——+14.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureOPTXACAMLISPY
Volatility, 1Y 136.2%31.7%131.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 114.3%32.9%165.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.570.950.70 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.321.94-0.35 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.0%-36.7%-61.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -48.3%0.0%-60.4% -1.2%
52-week high $14.11$149.18$140.83 $779.14
52-week low $1.25$92.25$54.11 $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.

MultipleOPTXACAMLI
P/E now vs peer median -118.5xmedian 25.8x 14.9xmedian 25.8x 14.0xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 1.9x 2.7xmedian 1.9x 2.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 292.5xmedian 14.6x 15.2xmedian 14.6x 9.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -720.7xmedian 22.2x 54.9xmedian 22.2x 17.6xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 2.2x 2.5xmedian 2.2x 3.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.34median 1.45 0.75median 1.45 1.10median 1.45

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 monthsOPTXACAMLI
Revenue $29.24M $2.74B $5.00B
Gross profit $5.73M $632.30M $1.36B
Operating income -$1.35M $322.70M $1.08B
Net income -$2.41M $491.40M $871.57M
Free cash flow -$407.99K $133.40M $689.59M
EPS (diluted) $-0.06 $9.99 $3.92
Cash & equivalents $14.05M $432.10M $1.45B
Total debt $29.94M $1.44B $5.24M
Shares (diluted) 39.19M 49.20M 220.12M
Enterprise value $278.44M $6.31B $6.50B

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
MetricOPTXACAMLI
P/E -118.5x 14.9x 14.0x
P/FCF -720.7x 54.9x 17.6x
P/Operating cash flow 418.9x 21.5x 15.8x
P/S 10.1x 2.7x 2.4x
P/B 9.6x 2.5x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 9.6x 2.7x 3.8x
EV/EBITDA 292.5x 15.2x 9.5x
EV/EBIT -208.8x 25.8x 9.9x
EV/Revenue 9.7x 3.0x 2.1x
EV/FCF -693.0x 62.4x 15.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 402.8x 24.4x 13.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.34 0.75 1.10

Growth

14 metrics
MetricOPTXACAMLI
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.5% 9.7% 20.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 7.0% 11.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -14.9% 20.7% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 14.2% 9.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -43.2% 61.3% 12.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -56.0% -5.6% 9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -53.5% 433.0% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -52.3% 20.2% 11.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -44.6% 430.8% 16.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -50.5% 19.8% 12.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -40.6% -23.1% 2.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -37.2% 16.1% 3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -0.1% -54.9% 1.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -30.1% 54.7% 1.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricOPTXACAMLI
Gross margin 19.6% 23.0% 27.3%
EBITDA margin 3.3% 19.9% 22.5%
Operating margin -4.6% 11.8% 21.5%
Pretax margin -6.8% 8.4% 22.8%
Net margin -8.3% 17.9% 17.3%
FCF margin -1.4% 4.9% 13.8%
Operating cash flow margin 2.4% 12.4% 15.4%
Return on equity -12.3% 17.4% 24.5%
Return on assets -7.7% 9.5% 20.4%
Return on invested capital – 6.5% 22.7%
Return on capital employed -5.2% 6.9% 29.7%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.5x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.3x 0.7x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.9% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricOPTXACAMLI
Debt / assets 7.1% 27.1% 0.1%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.5x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -11.7x 1.8x -1.3x
Debt / FCF -6.8x 10.8x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 21.5% 43.7% 17.6%
Equity / assets 78.5% 56.3% 82.4%
Interest coverage – 3.3x 3,260x
Current ratio 6.0x 3.1x 4.4x
Quick ratio 4.3x 2.2x 3.4x
Cash ratio 2.8x 1.0x 2.3x
Altman Z-score 22.72 3.18 13.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricOPTXACAMLI
Dividend yield – 0.1% 0.8%
Net buyback yield – 0.2% 2.3%
Shareholder yield – 0.4% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 2.0% 16.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 7.4% 20.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.0% 35.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.0% 30.2%

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.

ConsensusOPTXACAMLI
Forward P/E – 33.6xFY2026 13.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $4.44FY2026 $4.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -0.7%FY2026 +17.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +7.0% +10.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $2.45BFY2026 $5.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – -14.9%FY2026 +20.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +12.5% +10.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersOPTXACAMLI
Held by institutions 12.3% 91.8% 95.3%
Institutions holding 62 427 739
Change in shares held, QoQ +244.7% -1.1% +6.5%
Institutions buying 51 230 419
Institutions selling 8 114 227
Buyers to sellers 6.38 2.02 1.85

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.

OPTXACAMLI
OPTX 1.00 0.18 0.11
ACA 0.18 1.00 0.10
MLI 0.11 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, OPTX, ACA and MLI?

Mueller Industries (MLI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) $294.04M, Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B, Mueller Industries (MLI) $12.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, OPTX, ACA and MLI?

Mueller Industries (MLI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -118.5x, Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 14.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mueller Industries (MLI) is cheapest (Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mueller Industries (MLI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +1.5%, Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%, Mueller Industries (MLI) +20.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest net margin (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -8.3%, Arcosa (ACA) 17.9%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 17.3%). On return on invested capital, Mueller Industries (MLI) leads (Arcosa (ACA) 6.5%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 22.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) returned the most: Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +179.7%, Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%, Mueller Industries (MLI) -46.7%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr, Mueller Industries (MLI) +16.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mueller Industries (MLI) has the highest dividend yield: Arcosa (ACA) 0.13%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 0.83%. Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Arcosa (ACA) has been the steadiest (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 136.2%, Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 131.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, OPTX, ACA and MLI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mueller Industries (MLI) 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.