OPTX vs MLI vs IIIN Stock Comparison

Syntec Optics Holdings, Mueller Industries and Insteel Industries Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MLI Mueller Industries Inc
$54.90 -9.3% 1M -47.1% 1Y
Market cap
$11.80B
P/E
13.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.00B
Div. yield
0.01%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
7 wins
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.36 -3.8% 1M -7.4% 1Y
Market cap
$536.78M
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Mueller Industries leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Mueller Industries 7, Syntec Optics Holdings 2, Insteel Industries 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionOPTXMLIIIINLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $281.01M $11.80B $536.78M MLI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -116.4x 13.7x 18.2x MLI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 13.6x 13.8x MLI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.5% +20.8% +14.2% MLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -8.3% 17.3% — MLI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 22.7% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -11.7x -1.3x — OPTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +177.9% -47.1% -7.4% OPTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +15.8%/yr -6.9%/yr MLI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 136.5% 131.8% 41.4% IIIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 31/100 86/100 68/100 MLI

Percentile Scorecard

OPTXMLIIIIN

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

AxisOPTXMLIIIIN
Valuation 5 #192 of 203 83 #35 of 203 84 #34 of 203
Growth 6 #176 of 188 66 #65 of 188 32 #129 of 188
Profitability 18 #151 of 183 97 #7 of 183 63 #68 of 183
Financial Health 94 #13 of 217 97 #7 of 217 –
Shareholder Returns – 85 #24 of 153 95 #9 of 153
Overall 31 86 68
  • OPTX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MLI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IIIN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodOPTXMLIIIINSPY
1 month -5.0%-9.3%-3.8% -0.2%
3 months +10.2%-17.4%-13.0% +3.9%
6 months -14.3%-59.5%+12.1% +8.2%
Year to date +145.8%-52.2%-10.5% +12.9%
1 year +177.9%-47.1%-7.4% +12.3%
3 years -33.0%+45.2%+5.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year -12.5%+13.2%+1.7% +23.3%
5 years —+108.3%-29.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year —+15.8%-6.9% +10.9%
10 years —+269.0%+8.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+13.9%+0.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureOPTXMLIIIINSPY
Volatility, 1Y 136.5%131.8%41.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 114.0%165.1%51.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.580.700.98 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.30-0.36-0.18 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.0%-61.6%-49.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.2%-61.0%-25.6% -1.2%
52-week high $14.11$140.83$38.11 $779.14
52-week low $1.25$54.11$24.48 $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.

MultipleOPTXMLIIIIN
P/E now vs peer median -114.1xmedian 25.2x 13.8xmedian 25.2x 18.7xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 1.9x 2.4xmedian 1.9x 0.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 281.3xmedian 14.0x 9.3xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -694.0xmedian 21.7x 17.4xmedian 21.7x -58.5xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 9.3xmedian 2.3x 3.4xmedian 2.3x 1.4xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.26median 1.32 1.08median 1.32 -6.39median 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 monthsOPTXMLIIIIN
Revenue $29.24M $5.00B $739.51M
Gross profit $5.73M $1.36B $75.68M
Operating income -$1.35M $1.08B –
Net income -$2.41M $871.57M $29.55M
Free cash flow -$407.99K $689.59M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.06 $3.92 $1.52
Cash & equivalents $14.05M $1.45B $37.48M
Total debt $29.94M $5.24M –
Shares (diluted) 39.19M 220.12M 19.49M
Enterprise value $265.41M $6.11B $536.78M

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
MetricOPTXMLIIIIN
P/E -114.1x 13.8x 18.7x
P/FCF -694.0x 17.4x -58.5x
P/Operating cash flow 403.4x 15.5x 15.1x
P/S 9.7x 2.4x 0.7x
P/B 9.3x 3.4x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 9.3x 3.7x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA 281.3x 9.3x –
EV/EBIT -200.7x 9.8x –
EV/Revenue 9.3x 2.1x 0.7x
EV/FCF -666.4x 15.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 387.3x 13.6x 15.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.26 1.08 -6.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricOPTXMLIIIIN
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.5% 20.8% 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 11.9% 4.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -14.9% 11.7% -19.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 9.2% 5.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -43.2% 12.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -56.0% 9.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) -53.5% 14.9% -28.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -52.3% 11.4% -3.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -44.6% 16.2% -27.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -50.5% 12.8% -2.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -40.6% 2.1% 33.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -37.2% 3.0% -36.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -0.1% 1.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -30.1% 1.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricOPTXMLIIIIN
Gross margin 19.6% 27.3% –
EBITDA margin 3.3% 22.5% –
Operating margin -4.6% 21.5% –
Pretax margin -6.8% 22.8% –
Net margin -8.3% 17.3% –
FCF margin -1.4% 13.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 2.4% 15.4% 4.9%
Return on equity -12.3% 24.5% 7.9%
Return on assets -7.7% 20.4% 6.2%
Return on invested capital – 22.7% –
Return on capital employed -5.2% 29.7% –
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.2x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.3x 0.9x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.6% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricOPTXMLIIIIN
Debt / assets 7.1% 0.1% –
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA -11.7x -1.3x –
Debt / FCF -6.8x 0.0x –
Liabilities / assets 21.5% 17.6% –
Equity / assets 78.5% 82.4% 79.0%
Interest coverage – 3,260x –
Current ratio 6.0x 4.4x 3.7x
Quick ratio 4.3x 3.4x –
Cash ratio 2.8x 2.3x –
Altman Z-score 21.94 13.54 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricOPTXMLIIIIN
Dividend yield – 1.2% 3.9%
Net buyback yield – 2.3% –
Shareholder yield – 3.5% 3.9%
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.

ConsensusOPTXMLIIIIN
Forward P/E – 13.6xFY2026 13.8xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year – $4.03FY2026 $2.05FY2027
EPS growth, next FY – +17.5%FY2026 +35.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after – +10.2% +7.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $5.04BFY2026 $759.46MFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY – +20.5%FY2026 +2.7%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after – +10.9% +4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersOPTXMLIIIIN
Held by institutions 12.3% 95.3% 82.1%
Institutions holding 62 738 187
Change in shares held, QoQ +244.7% +6.5% +0.9%
Institutions buying 51 419 122
Institutions selling 8 226 48
Buyers to sellers 6.38 1.85 2.54

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.

OPTXMLIIIIN
OPTX 1.00 0.11 0.21
MLI 0.11 1.00 0.07
IIIN 0.21 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, OPTX, MLI and IIIN?

Mueller Industries (MLI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) $281.01M, Mueller Industries (MLI) $11.80B, Insteel Industries (IIIN) $536.78M.

Which stock is cheaper, OPTX, MLI and IIIN?

Mueller Industries (MLI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -116.4x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.7x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 18.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mueller Industries (MLI) is cheapest (Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.6x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 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%, Mueller Industries (MLI) +20.8%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mueller Industries (MLI) has the highest net margin (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -8.3%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 17.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) returned the most: Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +177.9%, Mueller Industries (MLI) -47.1%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -7.4%. Over five years, Mueller Industries (MLI) compounded fastest (Mueller Industries (MLI) +15.8%/yr, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -6.9%/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%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 0.01%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 0.00%. Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) and Insteel Industries (IIIN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Insteel Industries (IIIN) has been the steadiest (Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 136.5%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 131.8%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.