PLXS vs FLEX vs CLS Stock Comparison

Plexus, Flex and Celestica Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PLXS Plexus Corp
$230.29 -12.5% 1M +60.7% 1Y
Market cap
$6.14B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.60B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Manufacturing Services Technology
2 wins
FLEX Flex Ltd.
$83.35 -27.3% 1M +28.9% 1Y
Market cap
$30.79B
P/E
31.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$29.27B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Manufacturing Services Technology
1 win
CLS Celestica Inc
$276.22 -24.4% 1M -8.5% 1Y
Market cap
$34.83B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.23B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Manufacturing Services Technology
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Celestica leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Celestica 8, Plexus 2, Flex 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPLXSFLEXCLSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.14B $30.79B $34.83B CLS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.2x 31.4x 26.7x CLS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.6x 17.1x 23.9x FLEX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% +12.2% +61.6% CLS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 3.3% 6.8% CLS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.3% 11.3% 25.0% CLS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 1.5x -1.9x CLS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +60.7% +28.9% -8.5% PLXS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.4%/yr +45.2%/yr +95.0%/yr CLS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.4% 69.0% 79.9% PLXS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 55/100 61/100 CLS

Percentile Scorecard

PLXSFLEXCLS

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

AxisPLXSFLEXCLS
Valuation 53 #53 of 112 64 #41 of 112 65 #40 of 112
Growth 45 #60 of 109 51 #54 of 109 91 #11 of 109
Profitability 54 #48 of 104 55 #47 of 104 78 #24 of 104
Financial Health 41 #69 of 116 19 #94 of 116 57 #51 of 116
Shareholder Returns 69 #26 of 81 88 #11 of 81 16 #68 of 81
Overall 53 55 61
  • PLXS ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • FLEX ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CLS ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPLXSFLEXCLSSPY
1 month -12.5%-27.3%-24.4% -0.2%
3 months -7.9%-26.4%-21.1% +3.9%
6 months -6.5%-4.4%-23.6% +8.2%
Year to date +56.7%+38.0%-6.6% +12.9%
1 year +60.7%+28.9%-8.5% +12.3%
3 years +143.2%+330.1%+1,134.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +34.5%+62.7%+131.2% +23.3%
5 years +163.3%+545.1%+2,715.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +21.4%+45.2%+95.0% +10.9%
10 years +407.4%+696.8%+2,211.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +17.6%+23.1%+36.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePLXSFLEXCLSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.4%69.0%79.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.0%64.2%86.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.733.113.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.470.42-0.11 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.9%-52.8%-54.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.2%-48.6%-41.5% -1.2%
52-week high $303.82$162.07$472.40 $779.14
52-week low $132.74$54.51$246.25 $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.

MultiplePLXSFLEXCLS
P/E now vs peer median 33.2xmedian 33.2x 31.4xmedian 33.2x 26.7xmedian 33.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 2.8x 1.1xmedian 2.8x 1.9xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 20.0x 21.4xmedian 20.0x 18.8xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 99.3xmedian 29.8x 37.3xmedian 29.8x 63.9xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 3.0x 5.6xmedian 3.0x 5.6xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 3.95median 1.17 2.17median 1.17 —median 1.17

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 monthsPLXSFLEXCLS
Revenue $4.60B $29.27B $18.23B
Gross profit $461.48M $2.74B $2.09B
Operating income $230.67M $1.45B $1.50B
Net income $185.41M $973.00M $1.25B
Free cash flow $61.87M $826.00M $545.40M
R&D – – $168.90M
EPS (diluted) $6.79 $2.60 $10.23
Cash & equivalents $314.05M $2.84B $3.96B
Total debt $275.46M $5.22B $818.80M
Shares (diluted) 27.29M 374.00M 121.80M
Enterprise value $4.97B $20.25B $29.36B

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
MetricPLXSFLEXCLS
P/E 33.2x 31.4x 26.7x
P/FCF 99.3x 37.3x 63.9x
P/Operating cash flow 35.9x 19.7x 24.7x
P/S 1.3x 1.1x 1.9x
P/B 4.0x 5.6x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 6.5x 5.8x
EV/EBITDA 19.9x 21.4x 18.8x
EV/EBIT 26.5x 22.9x 21.1x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 1.1x 1.7x
EV/FCF 98.7x 40.2x 58.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 35.7x 21.2x 22.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.95 2.17 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPLXSFLEXCLS
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% 12.2% 61.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.2% 1.0% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.7% 21.3% 53.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 11.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.6% 16.2% 62.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.0% 14.0% –
Net income growth (1Y) 14.0% 9.2% 73.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% -2.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) 15.0% 11.2% 65.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 14.4% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -49.3% -0.1% 154.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 31.3% 19.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -75.3% -25.2% 37.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 70.7% 54.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPLXSFLEXCLS
Gross margin 10.0% 9.4% 11.5%
EBITDA margin 6.7% 5.3% 9.3%
Operating margin 5.0% 5.0% 8.3%
Pretax margin 4.7% 4.4% 8.0%
Net margin 4.0% 3.3% 6.8%
FCF margin 1.3% 2.8% 3.0%
Operating cash flow margin 3.7% 5.3% 7.7%
Return on equity 12.3% 18.3% 28.7%
Return on assets 5.3% 4.1% 10.0%
Return on invested capital 11.3% 11.3% 25.0%
Return on capital employed 14.9% 13.9% 32.1%
Asset turnover 1.3x 1.2x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 1.6x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPLXSFLEXCLS
Debt / assets 7.6% 20.7% 5.4%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.9x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 1.5x -1.9x
Debt / FCF 4.5x 6.3x 1.5x
Liabilities / assets 57.9% 78.2% 59.0%
Equity / assets 42.1% 21.8% 41.0%
Interest coverage 18.0x 6.5x 21.3x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.4x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.6x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 4.36 2.66 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPLXSFLEXCLS
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 1.4% 2.3% -9.6%
Shareholder yield 1.4% 2.3% -9.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusPLXSFLEXCLS
Forward P/E 27.6xFY2026 17.1xFY2026 23.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.35FY2026 $4.88FY2026 $11.54FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.4%FY2026 +47.9%FY2026 +93.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +26.7% +38.7% +77.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.60BFY2026 $36.41BFY2026 $20.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.1%FY2026 +30.4%FY2026 +64.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.8% +29.4% +70.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPLXSFLEXCLS
Held by institutions 99.7% 94.3% 69.0%
Institutions holding 447 1,106 874
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.6% -0.8% +5.0%
Institutions buying 245 674 519
Institutions selling 135 342 272
Buyers to sellers 1.81 1.97 1.91

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.

PLXSFLEXCLS
PLXS 1.00 0.63 0.54
FLEX 0.63 1.00 0.57
CLS 0.54 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PLXS, FLEX and CLS?

Celestica (CLS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Plexus (PLXS) $6.14B, Flex (FLEX) $30.79B, Celestica (CLS) $34.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, PLXS, FLEX and CLS?

Celestica (CLS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Plexus (PLXS) 33.2x, Flex (FLEX) 31.4x, Celestica (CLS) 26.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Flex (FLEX) is cheapest (Plexus (PLXS) 27.6x, Flex (FLEX) 17.1x, Celestica (CLS) 23.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Celestica (CLS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Plexus (PLXS) +14.2%, Flex (FLEX) +12.2%, Celestica (CLS) +61.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Celestica (CLS) has the highest net margin (Plexus (PLXS) 4.0%, Flex (FLEX) 3.3%, Celestica (CLS) 6.8%). On return on invested capital, Celestica (CLS) leads (Plexus (PLXS) 11.3%, Flex (FLEX) 11.3%, Celestica (CLS) 25.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Plexus (PLXS) returned the most: Plexus (PLXS) +60.7%, Flex (FLEX) +28.9%, Celestica (CLS) -8.5%. Over five years, Celestica (CLS) compounded fastest (Plexus (PLXS) +21.4%/yr, Flex (FLEX) +45.2%/yr, Celestica (CLS) +95.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Plexus (PLXS) has been the steadiest (Plexus (PLXS) 41.4%, Flex (FLEX) 69.0%, Celestica (CLS) 79.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PLXS, FLEX and CLS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Celestica (CLS) leads on 8. 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.