RELX vs CGNT vs MSA Stock Comparison

Relx, Cognyte Software and MSA Safety Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RELX Relx Plc
$40.17 +19.9% 1M -13.7% 1Y
Market cap
$72.18B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Analytics and BI Technology
2 wins
CGNT Cognyte Software Ltd.
$9.97 +17.0% 1M +19.0% 1Y
Market cap
$738.58M
P/E
211.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$421.71M
Div. yield
–
Analytics and BI Technology
2 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$182.59 +0.1% 1M +8.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.99B
P/E
22.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

MSA Safety leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (MSA Safety 5, Relx 2, Cognyte Software 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRELXCGNTMSALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $72.18B $738.58M $6.99B RELX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only — 211.7x 22.3x MSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 20.8x 19.6x MSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +12.0% +6.5% CGNT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 0.8% 16.1% MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 15.9% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 0.8x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.7% +19.0% +8.6% CGNT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.3%/yr -13.7%/yr +3.7%/yr RELX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.3% 52.2% 25.5% MSA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 57/100 77/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

RELXCGNTMSA

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

AxisRELXCGNTMSA
Valuation – 57 #44 of 102 55 #91 of 203
Growth – 89 #12 of 98 86 #27 of 187
Profitability – 64 #35 of 95 97 #7 of 185
Financial Health 19 #89 of 109 60 #44 of 109 76 #53 of 219
Shareholder Returns 52 #31 of 64 14 #55 of 64 73 #42 of 153
Overall – 57 77
  • RELX ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • CGNT ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodRELXCGNTMSASPY
1 month +19.9%+17.0%+0.1% -0.8%
3 months +12.7%+14.5%+4.0% +3.5%
6 months +10.4%+5.6%+6.8% +7.0%
Year to date -0.6%+6.1%+14.0% +12.2%
1 year -13.7%+19.0%+8.6% +13.0%
3 years +17.9%+148.0%+15.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +5.6%+35.4%+5.0% +23.1%
5 years +29.7%-52.2%+20.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +5.3%-13.7%+3.7% +11.0%
10 years +126.3%—+228.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +8.5%—+12.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureRELXCGNTMSASPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.3%52.2%25.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.0%56.6%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.201.310.82 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.390.360.34 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.2%-89.3%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.9%-18.5%-10.1% -1.8%
52-week high $46.64$12.24$203.08 $779.14
52-week low $27.73$6.34$152.94 $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.

MultipleRELXCGNTMSA
P/E now vs peer median —median 28.8x 208.3xmedian 28.8x 22.5xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median —median 2.8x 1.7xmedian 2.8x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.7x 21.3xmedian 17.7x 15.3xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 15.8x 25.2xmedian 15.8x 19.9xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 43.9xmedian 3.2x 3.3xmedian 3.2x 5.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.85 7.73median 0.85 0.12median 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 monthsRELXCGNTMSA
Revenue – $421.71M $1.95B
Gross profit – $307.70M $925.88M
Operating income – $17.43M $413.17M
Net income – $4.85M $314.01M
Free cash flow – $28.96M $354.30M
R&D – $127.59M $68.19M
EPS (diluted) – $0.05 $8.11
Cash & equivalents $291.59M $102.17M $200.06M
Total debt $3.11B – $599.74M
Shares (diluted) 1.84B 72.91M 38.70M
Enterprise value $71.28B $303.76M $6.28B

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
MetricRELXCGNTMSA
P/E – 208.3x 22.5x
P/FCF – 25.2x 19.9x
P/Operating cash flow – 17.6x 17.4x
P/S – 1.7x 3.6x
P/B 43.9x 3.3x 5.0x
P/Tangible book -29.7x 3.4x 6.3x
EV/EBITDA – 21.3x 15.3x
EV/EBIT – 35.9x 18.0x
EV/Revenue – 1.5x 3.8x
EV/FCF – 21.6x 21.0x
EV/Operating cash flow – 15.1x 18.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 7.73 0.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRELXCGNTMSA
Revenue growth (1Y) – 12.0% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 12.7% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 15.3% 8.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 17.1% 6.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 406.0% 10.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 31.9% 34.5%
Net income growth (1Y) – 202.7% 13.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 27.4% 186.8%
EPS growth (1Y) – 201.4% 15.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 26.9% 188.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 56.8% 26.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 38.0% 96.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 53.0% 40.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 66.3% 72.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRELXCGNTMSA
Gross margin – 73.0% 47.6%
EBITDA margin – 7.0% 25.1%
Operating margin – 4.1% 21.2%
Pretax margin – 3.1% 21.1%
Net margin – 0.8% 16.1%
FCF margin – 6.9% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin – 9.8% 20.9%
Return on equity – 2.2% 22.8%
Return on assets – 0.9% 12.2%
Return on invested capital – – 15.9%
Return on capital employed – 5.9% 18.0%
Asset turnover – 0.8x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 8.5x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 5.3% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRELXCGNTMSA
Debt / assets 15.6% – 23.1%
Debt / equity 1.9x – 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 0.8x
Debt / FCF – – 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 91.7% 56.6% 46.1%
Equity / assets 8.3% 43.4% 53.9%
Interest coverage – 113.9x 12.7x
Current ratio – 1.3x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.5x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.5x 0.7x
Altman Z-score – 2.22 5.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRELXCGNTMSA
Dividend yield 2.3% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield – -2.8% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 2.3% -2.8% 2.9%
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.

ConsensusRELXCGNTMSA
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2026 20.8xFY2026 19.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.81FY2026 $0.48FY2026 $9.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.4%FY2026 +71.4%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.9% +68.8% +3.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.79BFY2026 $426.78MFY2026 $1.98BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.4%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.4% +18.3% +19.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRELXCGNTMSA
Held by institutions 4.7% 67.2% 91.0%
Institutions holding 439 133 457
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.2% -2.8% +3.0%
Institutions buying 220 75 236
Institutions selling 157 33 147
Buyers to sellers 1.40 2.27 1.61

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.

RELXCGNTMSA
RELX 1.00 0.33 -0.01
CGNT 0.33 1.00 -0.03
MSA -0.01 -0.03 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RELX, CGNT and MSA?

Relx (RELX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Relx (RELX) $72.18B, Cognyte Software (CGNT) $738.58M, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.99B.

Which stock is cheaper, RELX, CGNT and MSA?

MSA Safety (MSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cognyte Software (CGNT) 211.7x, MSA Safety (MSA) 22.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, MSA Safety (MSA) is cheapest (Relx (RELX) 22.2x, Cognyte Software (CGNT) 20.8x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cognyte Software (CGNT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cognyte Software (CGNT) +12.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (Cognyte Software (CGNT) 0.8%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cognyte Software (CGNT) returned the most: Relx (RELX) -13.7%, Cognyte Software (CGNT) +19.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) +8.6%. Over five years, Relx (RELX) compounded fastest (Relx (RELX) +5.3%/yr, Cognyte Software (CGNT) -13.7%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, MSA Safety (MSA) has been the steadiest (Relx (RELX) 35.3%, Cognyte Software (CGNT) 52.2%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RELX, CGNT and MSA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, MSA Safety (MSA) leads on 5. 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.