OPTX vs AZZ vs MLI Stock Comparison

Syntec Optics Holdings, Azz and Mueller Industries Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AZZ Azz Inc
$133.41 -2.6% 1M +35.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.13B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
2 wins
MLI Mueller Industries Inc
$54.40 -10.1% 1M -47.2% 1Y
Market cap
$11.90B
P/E
13.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.00B
Div. yield
0.01%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionOPTXAZZMLILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $275.91M $4.13B $11.90B MLI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -114.3x 24.6x 13.8x MLI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 18.1x 13.5x MLI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.5% +9.5% +20.8% MLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -8.3% 9.6% 17.3% MLI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 11.4% 22.7% MLI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -11.7x 1.2x -1.3x OPTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +131.8% +35.2% -47.2% OPTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +20.8%/yr +15.9%/yr AZZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 136.6% 32.1% 132.0% AZZ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 31/100 58/100 85/100 MLI

Percentile Scorecard

OPTXAZZMLI

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

AxisOPTXAZZMLI
Valuation 5 #193 of 203 75 #52 of 203 81 #39 of 203
Growth 7 #175 of 187 63 #69 of 187 67 #63 of 187
Profitability 18 #152 of 185 72 #52 of 185 96 #9 of 185
Financial Health 95 #12 of 219 56 #98 of 219 97 #7 of 219
Shareholder Returns – 24 #117 of 153 86 #22 of 153
Overall 31 58 85
  • OPTX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • AZZ 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

PeriodOPTXAZZMLISPY
1 month -11.4%-2.6%-10.1% -0.8%
3 months -8.1%-10.2%-15.2% +3.5%
6 months -30.2%-7.9%-60.1% +7.0%
Year to date +129.4%+24.5%-52.6% +12.2%
1 year +131.8%+35.2%-47.2% +13.0%
3 years -37.5%+187.2%+43.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year -14.5%+42.2%+12.9% +23.1%
5 years —+157.4%+109.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+20.8%+15.9% +11.0%
10 years —+149.6%+258.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+9.6%+13.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureOPTXAZZMLISPY
Volatility, 1Y 136.6%32.1%132.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 114.0%30.2%165.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.571.170.70 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.961.10-0.36 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.0%-46.8%-61.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -53.5%-16.7%-61.4% -1.8%
52-week high $14.11$160.17$140.83 $779.14
52-week low $1.25$97.64$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.

MultipleOPTXAZZMLI
P/E now vs peer median -106.5xmedian 26.0x 23.9xmedian 26.0x 13.7xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 9.0xmedian 1.9x 2.3xmedian 1.9x 2.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 261.7xmedian 14.0x 11.7xmedian 14.0x 9.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -647.6xmedian 21.4x 18.6xmedian 21.4x 17.2xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 2.2x 2.8xmedian 2.2x 3.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.11median 1.26 0.27median 1.26 1.07median 1.26

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 monthsOPTXAZZMLI
Revenue $29.24M $1.75B $5.00B
Gross profit $5.73M $423.83M $1.36B
Operating income -$1.35M $287.42M $1.08B
Net income -$2.41M $167.46M $871.57M
Free cash flow -$407.99K $214.45M $689.59M
EPS (diluted) $-0.06 $5.56 $3.92
Cash & equivalents $14.05M $1.95M $1.45B
Total debt $29.94M $468.47M $5.24M
Shares (diluted) 39.19M 30.12M 220.12M
Enterprise value $260.31M $4.12B $6.21B

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
MetricOPTXAZZMLI
P/E -106.5x 23.9x 13.7x
P/FCF -647.6x 18.6x 17.2x
P/Operating cash flow 376.4x 13.7x 15.4x
P/S 9.0x 2.3x 2.4x
P/B 8.7x 2.8x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 8.7x 4.0x 3.7x
EV/EBITDA 261.7x 11.7x 9.2x
EV/EBIT -186.8x 15.5x 9.7x
EV/Revenue 8.6x 2.6x 2.1x
EV/FCF -620.0x 20.8x 15.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 360.3x 15.3x 13.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.11 0.27 1.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricOPTXAZZMLI
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.5% 9.5% 20.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 5.2% 11.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -14.9% 11.0% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 8.9% 9.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -43.2% 21.3% 12.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -56.0% 11.4% 9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -53.5% -46.7% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -52.3% 99.0% 11.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -44.6% -46.5% 16.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -50.5% 87.1% 12.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -40.6% -42.0% 2.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -37.2% 20.3% 3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -0.1% -47.3% 1.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -30.1% 35.3% 1.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricOPTXAZZMLI
Gross margin 19.6% 24.3% 27.3%
EBITDA margin 3.3% 21.8% 22.5%
Operating margin -4.6% 16.5% 21.5%
Pretax margin -6.8% 12.9% 22.8%
Net margin -8.3% 9.6% 17.3%
FCF margin -1.4% 12.3% 13.8%
Operating cash flow margin 2.4% 16.7% 15.4%
Return on equity -12.3% 12.0% 24.5%
Return on assets -7.7% 7.3% 20.4%
Return on invested capital – 11.4% 22.7%
Return on capital employed -5.2% 14.1% 29.7%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.3x 1.7x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricOPTXAZZMLI
Debt / assets 7.1% 20.0% 0.1%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.3x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -11.7x 1.2x -1.3x
Debt / FCF -6.8x 2.2x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 21.5% 39.5% 17.6%
Equity / assets 78.5% 60.5% 82.4%
Interest coverage – 6.3x 3,260x
Current ratio 6.0x 1.8x 4.4x
Quick ratio 4.3x 0.8x 3.4x
Cash ratio 2.8x 0.0x 2.3x
Altman Z-score 20.58 4.44 13.45

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricOPTXAZZMLI
Dividend yield – 0.7% 1.2%
Net buyback yield – – 2.3%
Shareholder yield – 0.7% 3.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 16.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 20.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 35.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 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.

ConsensusOPTXAZZMLI
Forward P/E – 18.1xFY2026 13.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $7.37FY2026 $4.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +19.1%FY2026 +17.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +12.1% +10.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $1.97BFY2026 $5.04BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +19.4%FY2026 +20.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – -8.1% +10.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersOPTXAZZMLI
Held by institutions 12.3% 94.6% 95.3%
Institutions holding 62 364 738
Change in shares held, QoQ +244.7% +1.1% +6.5%
Institutions buying 51 196 419
Institutions selling 8 119 226
Buyers to sellers 6.38 1.65 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.

OPTXAZZMLI
OPTX 1.00 0.28 0.11
AZZ 0.28 1.00 0.25
MLI 0.11 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, OPTX, AZZ and MLI?

Mueller Industries (MLI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) $275.91M, Azz (AZZ) $4.13B, Mueller Industries (MLI) $11.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, OPTX, AZZ and MLI?

Mueller Industries (MLI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -114.3x, Azz (AZZ) 24.6x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mueller Industries (MLI) is cheapest (Azz (AZZ) 18.1x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.5x). 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%, Azz (AZZ) +9.5%, Mueller Industries (MLI) +20.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mueller Industries (MLI) has the highest net margin (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -8.3%, Azz (AZZ) 9.6%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 17.3%). On return on invested capital, Mueller Industries (MLI) leads (Azz (AZZ) 11.4%, 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) +131.8%, Azz (AZZ) +35.2%, Mueller Industries (MLI) -47.2%. Over five years, Azz (AZZ) compounded fastest (Azz (AZZ) +20.8%/yr, Mueller Industries (MLI) +15.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 0.00%, Azz (AZZ) 0.00%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 0.01%. Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) and Azz (AZZ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Azz (AZZ) has been the steadiest (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 136.6%, Azz (AZZ) 32.1%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 132.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, OPTX, AZZ 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.