ROK vs IPGP vs MIDD Stock Comparison

Rockwell Automation, Ipg Photonics and Middleby Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ROK Rockwell Automation, Inc
$439.20 +1.1% 1M +21.5% 1Y
Market cap
$49.38B
P/E
41.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.97B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
8 wins
IPGP Ipg Photonics Corp
$74.34 -4.8% 1M -14.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.21B
P/E
116.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.07B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins
MIDD MIDDLEBY Corp
$115.00 +6.8% 1M -12.5% 1Y
Market cap
$5.16B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.35B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionROKIPGPMIDDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $49.38B $3.21B $5.16B ROK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.1x 116.3x -16.4x ROK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 35.1x 70.8x 16.2x MIDD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.3% +13.0% +7.0% IPGP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.4% 2.6% -9.4% ROK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.0% — 9.2% ROK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x — 2.8x ROK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.5% -14.7% -12.5% ROK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.6%/yr -14.1%/yr -8.6%/yr ROK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.3% 72.0% 42.6% ROK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 58/100 37/100 IPGP

Percentile Scorecard

ROKIPGPMIDD

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

AxisROKIPGPMIDD
Valuation 16 #170 of 203 40 #123 of 203 57 #87 of 203
Growth 50 #94 of 188 31 #130 of 188 12 #166 of 188
Profitability 96 #9 of 183 31 #126 of 183 52 #89 of 183
Financial Health 32 #147 of 217 96 #9 of 217 28 #156 of 217
Shareholder Returns 72 #44 of 153 93 #11 of 153 –
Overall 53 58 37
  • ROK ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IPGP ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MIDD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodROKIPGPMIDDSPY
1 month +1.1%-4.8%+6.8% -0.2%
3 months -6.8%-11.5%-14.9% +3.9%
6 months +9.4%-33.8%-18.9% +8.2%
Year to date +12.9%+3.8%-22.6% +12.9%
1 year +21.5%-14.7%-12.5% +12.3%
3 years +67.6%-15.7%+2.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +18.8%-5.5%+0.9% +23.3%
5 years +37.8%-53.2%-36.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +6.6%-14.1%-8.6% +10.9%
10 years +271.5%-21.0%+3.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +14.0%-2.3%+0.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureROKIPGPMIDDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.3%72.0%42.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.8%77.3%47.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.402.141.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.69-0.20-0.29 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.6%-72.0%-48.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.3%-51.7%-35.8% -1.2%
52-week high $495.08$153.91$179.20 $779.14
52-week low $348.51$69.41$102.69 $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.

MultipleROKIPGPMIDD
P/E now vs peer median 40.6xmedian 25.2x 114.6xmedian 25.2x -16.5xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 1.9x 3.0xmedian 1.9x 1.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.6xmedian 14.0x 30.5xmedian 14.0x 10.6xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.4xmedian 21.7x 152.0xmedian 21.7x —median 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 2.3x 1.5xmedian 2.3x 2.4xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -9.25median 1.32 -3.37median 1.32 0.40median 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 monthsROKIPGPMIDD
Revenue $8.97B $1.07B $3.35B
Gross profit $4.41B $410.10M $1.29B
Operating income $1.77B $7.97M $574.47M
Net income $1.20B $27.56M -$315.27M
Free cash flow $1.50B $20.80M –
R&D $716.00M $123.44M –
EPS (diluted) $10.76 $0.64 $-6.95
Cash & equivalents $479.00M $399.23M $159.18M
Total debt $13.81B – $8.60B
Shares (diluted) 111.60M 42.91M 45.34M
Enterprise value $47.56B -$188.06M $4.10B

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
MetricROKIPGPMIDD
P/E 40.6x 114.6x -16.5x
P/FCF 32.4x 152.0x –
P/Operating cash flow 28.2x 32.8x –
P/S 5.4x 3.0x 1.6x
P/B 14.0x 1.5x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 17.5x 1.5x 4.4x
EV/EBITDA 24.6x 30.5x 10.6x
EV/EBIT 29.1x 287.5x 12.2x
EV/Revenue 5.7x 2.1x 2.1x
EV/FCF 34.3x 110.1x –
EV/Operating cash flow 29.8x 23.8x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -9.25 -3.37 0.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricROKIPGPMIDD
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.3% 13.0% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.3% -7.9% -6.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1.9% 25.1% 4.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.5% -6.8% -5.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -7.1% 103.4% -7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.9% -62.6% -6.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 23.8% 112.8% -174.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -5.5% -36.2% -39.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 25.2% 112.7% -187.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -4.4% -34.0% -41.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.8% -36.2% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.8% -24.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 13.9% -67.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.6% -43.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricROKIPGPMIDD
Gross margin 49.1% 38.4% 38.7%
EBITDA margin 23.3% 7.0% 19.7%
Operating margin 19.7% 0.7% 17.2%
Pretax margin 14.7% 3.7% 14.4%
Net margin 13.4% 2.6% -9.4%
FCF margin 16.8% 1.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 19.3% 9.0% –
Return on equity 30.9% 1.3% -12.6%
Return on assets 9.8% 1.1% -5.4%
Return on invested capital 21.0% – 9.2%
Return on capital employed 23.6% 0.4% 11.5%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 3.5x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 3.9% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricROKIPGPMIDD
Debt / assets 29.4% – 36.9%
Debt / equity 0.9x – 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x – 2.8x
Debt / FCF 2.2x – –
Liabilities / assets 68.5% 12.3% 58.8%
Equity / assets 31.5% 87.7% 41.2%
Interest coverage 12.8x – 5.6x
Current ratio 1.1x 6.2x 2.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x 4.4x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.1x 3.6x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 5.96 8.98 3.21

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricROKIPGPMIDD
Dividend yield 1.3% – –
Net buyback yield 1.4% 4.2% –
Shareholder yield 2.7% 4.2% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusROKIPGPMIDD
Forward P/E 35.1xFY2026 70.8xFY2026 16.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.50FY2026 $1.05FY2026 $7.12FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.7%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.3% +109.5% +15.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.50BFY2026 $1.18BFY2026 $2.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.9%FY2026 +18.1%FY2026 -16.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.4% +7.7% +0.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersROKIPGPMIDD
Held by institutions 89.2% 71.5% 91.7%
Institutions holding 1,540 356 452
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +4.7% -1.4%
Institutions buying 805 214 205
Institutions selling 437 96 172
Buyers to sellers 1.84 2.23 1.19

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.

ROKIPGPMIDD
ROK 1.00 0.14 0.33
IPGP 0.14 1.00 0.18
MIDD 0.33 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ROK, IPGP and MIDD?

Rockwell Automation (ROK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Rockwell Automation (ROK) $49.38B, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) $3.21B, Middleby (MIDD) $5.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, ROK, IPGP and MIDD?

Rockwell Automation (ROK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Rockwell Automation (ROK) 41.1x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 116.3x, Middleby (MIDD) -16.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Middleby (MIDD) is cheapest (Rockwell Automation (ROK) 35.1x, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 70.8x, Middleby (MIDD) 16.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ipg Photonics (IPGP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Rockwell Automation (ROK) +11.3%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) +13.0%, Middleby (MIDD) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Rockwell Automation (ROK) has the highest net margin (Rockwell Automation (ROK) 13.4%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 2.6%, Middleby (MIDD) -9.4%). On return on invested capital, Rockwell Automation (ROK) leads (Rockwell Automation (ROK) 21.0%, Middleby (MIDD) 9.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Rockwell Automation (ROK) returned the most: Rockwell Automation (ROK) +21.5%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -14.7%, Middleby (MIDD) -12.5%. Over five years, Rockwell Automation (ROK) compounded fastest (Rockwell Automation (ROK) +6.6%/yr, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) -14.1%/yr, Middleby (MIDD) -8.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Rockwell Automation (ROK) has been the steadiest (Rockwell Automation (ROK) 31.3%, Ipg Photonics (IPGP) 72.0%, Middleby (MIDD) 42.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ROK, IPGP and MIDD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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.