PRIM vs SMXT vs IESC Stock Comparison

Primoris Services, SolarMax Technology and IES Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PRIM Primoris Services Corp
$69.05 -4.9% 1M -51.3% 1Y
Market cap
$3.72B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.28B
Div. yield
0.46%
Utility Construction Industrials
2 wins
IESC IES Holdings, Inc.
$227.40 -29.8% 1M -44.9% 1Y
Market cap
$9.06B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.99B
Div. yield
–
Utility Construction Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

IES Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (IES Holdings 6, SolarMax Technology 3, Primoris Services 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPRIMSMXTIESCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.72B $20.63M $9.06B IESC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.7x -2.5x 19.9x IESC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.6x — 21.0x IESC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.1% +284.7% +22.7% SMXT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.9% -7.9% 11.4% IESC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.0% -24.2% — PRIM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x -5.4x — SMXT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.46% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -51.3% +341.7% -44.9% SMXT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +20.9%/yr — +35.4%/yr IESC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 94.4% 269.4% 105.3% PRIM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 37/100 22/100 66/100 IESC

Percentile Scorecard

PRIMSMXTIESC

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

AxisPRIMSMXTIESC
Valuation 57 #23 of 52 24 #40 of 52 41 #31 of 52
Growth 17 #31 of 37 58 #16 of 37 83 #7 of 37
Profitability 42 #22 of 37 11 #33 of 37 92 #4 of 37
Financial Health 48 #30 of 57 11 #51 of 57 88 #8 of 57
Shareholder Returns 23 #21 of 27 8 #25 of 27 27 #20 of 27
Overall 37 22 66
  • PRIM ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • SMXT ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • IESC ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPRIMSMXTIESCSPY
1 month -4.9%+89.1%-29.8% -0.2%
3 months -12.5%+1,218.2%-58.2% +3.9%
6 months -59.1%+624.2%-62.2% +8.2%
Year to date -44.4%+430.0%-41.5% +12.9%
1 year -51.3%+341.7%-44.9% +12.3%
3 years +136.8%—+271.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +33.3%—+55.0% +23.3%
5 years +158.4%—+355.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +20.9%—+35.4% +10.9%
10 years +250.9%—+1,457.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.4%—+31.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePRIMSMXTIESCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 94.4%269.4%105.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 120.4%107.9%130.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.872.182.98 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.541.27-0.43 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -68.0%-98.1%-73.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -66.0%-21.5%-71.4% -1.2%
52-week high $202.92$5.54$793.96 $779.14
52-week low $64.99$0.29$213.54 $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.

MultiplePRIMSMXTIESC
P/E now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 26.7x -2.5xmedian 26.7x 19.9xmedian 26.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 0.8x 0.2xmedian 0.8x 2.3xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.7xmedian 13.1x -8.1xmedian 13.1x 15.7xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.2xmedian 23.0x -4.8xmedian 23.0x 39.7xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 2.4x -1.3xmedian 2.4x 7.4xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 6.69median 0.57 —median 0.57 0.27median 0.57

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 monthsPRIMSMXTIESC
Revenue $7.28B $102.25M $3.99B
Gross profit $627.80M $7.67M $1.05B
Operating income $212.09M -$7.73M $492.85M
Net income $139.54M -$8.09M $457.91M
Free cash flow $88.00M -$4.28M $228.40M
EPS (diluted) $2.59 $-1.71 $11.29
Cash & equivalents $218.20M $2.16M $77.28M
Total debt $797.00M $43.35M –
Shares (diluted) 54.00M 4.74M 40.40M
Enterprise value $2.17B $475.75K $7.93B

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
MetricPRIMSMXTIESC
P/E 26.7x -2.5x 19.9x
P/FCF 42.2x -4.8x 39.7x
P/Operating cash flow 19.1x -4.8x 24.4x
P/S 0.5x 0.2x 2.3x
P/B 2.3x -1.3x 7.4x
P/Tangible book 3.0x -1.3x 7.7x
EV/EBITDA 13.7x -8.1x 15.7x
EV/EBIT 20.3x -8.0x 17.6x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 0.6x 2.2x
EV/FCF 48.8x -14.5x 38.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.1x -14.5x 23.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 6.69 – 0.27

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPRIMSMXTIESC
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.1% 284.7% 22.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.3% – 19.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -20.1% 81.9% 29.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.6% – 37.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -44.8% 47.6% 39.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -0.8% – 55.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -42.1% 51.6% 66.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.8% – 67.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -41.2% 61.0% 69.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.0% – 74.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -70.8% -187.4% 50.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.6% – 41.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -82.4% -187.4% 23.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 57.9% – 25.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPRIMSMXTIESC
Gross margin 8.6% 7.5% 26.3%
EBITDA margin 4.3% -7.4% 13.8%
Operating margin 2.9% -7.6% 12.4%
Pretax margin 2.6% -8.9% 14.5%
Net margin 1.9% -7.9% 11.4%
FCF margin 1.2% -4.2% 5.7%
Operating cash flow margin 2.7% -4.2% 9.3%
Return on equity 8.5% – 39.8%
Return on assets 3.2% -7.5% 21.4%
Return on invested capital 7.0% -24.2% –
Return on capital employed 8.2% -13.1% 41.3%
Asset turnover 1.6x 0.9x 1.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 0.5x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPRIMSMXTIESC
Debt / assets 17.2% 39.2% –
Debt / equity 0.5x -2.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x -5.4x –
Debt / FCF 9.1x -10.1x –
Liabilities / assets 65.4% 114.6% 46.0%
Equity / assets 34.6% -14.6% 54.0%
Interest coverage – -5.5x 140.8x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.0x 1.6x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.8x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.96 -0.68 8.68

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPRIMSMXTIESC
Dividend yield 0.5% – –
Net buyback yield – -18.9% 0.2%
Shareholder yield 0.5% -18.9% 0.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 12.5% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 19.8% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 15.4% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.9% – –

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.

ConsensusPRIMSMXTIESC
Forward P/E 30.6xFY2026 – 21.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.26FY2026 – $10.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -59.8%FY2026 – +58.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +117.7% – +18.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.78BFY2026 – $4.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -10.4%FY2026 – +21.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.0% – +60.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPRIMSMXTIESC
Held by institutions 100.0% 3.2% 96.8%
Institutions holding 445 19 412
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% -11.1% +0.6%
Institutions buying 243 8 224
Institutions selling 159 7 144
Buyers to sellers 1.53 1.14 1.56

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.

PRIMSMXTIESC
PRIM 1.00 0.03 0.28
SMXT 0.03 1.00 0.00
IESC 0.28 0.00 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PRIM, SMXT and IESC?

IES Holdings (IESC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Primoris Services (PRIM) $3.72B, SolarMax Technology (SMXT) $20.63M, IES Holdings (IESC) $9.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, PRIM, SMXT and IESC?

IES Holdings (IESC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Primoris Services (PRIM) 26.7x, SolarMax Technology (SMXT) -2.5x, IES Holdings (IESC) 19.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, IES Holdings (IESC) is cheapest (Primoris Services (PRIM) 30.6x, IES Holdings (IESC) 21.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

SolarMax Technology (SMXT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Primoris Services (PRIM) +5.1%, SolarMax Technology (SMXT) +284.7%, IES Holdings (IESC) +22.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

IES Holdings (IESC) has the highest net margin (Primoris Services (PRIM) 1.9%, SolarMax Technology (SMXT) -7.9%, IES Holdings (IESC) 11.4%). On return on invested capital, Primoris Services (PRIM) leads (Primoris Services (PRIM) 7.0%, SolarMax Technology (SMXT) -24.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year SolarMax Technology (SMXT) returned the most: Primoris Services (PRIM) -51.3%, SolarMax Technology (SMXT) +341.7%, IES Holdings (IESC) -44.9%. Over five years, IES Holdings (IESC) compounded fastest (Primoris Services (PRIM) +20.9%/yr, IES Holdings (IESC) +35.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Primoris Services (PRIM) 0.46%. SolarMax Technology (SMXT) and IES Holdings (IESC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Primoris Services (PRIM) has been the steadiest (Primoris Services (PRIM) 94.4%, SolarMax Technology (SMXT) 269.4%, IES Holdings (IESC) 105.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PRIM, SMXT and IESC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, IES Holdings (IESC) leads on 6. 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.