RPM vs ITW vs ESI Stock Comparison

Rpm International, Illinois Tool Works and Element Solutions Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RPM Rpm International Inc/De/
$99.28 -0.9% 1M -11.0% 1Y
Market cap
$12.94B
P/E
18.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.97B
Div. yield
–
Paints and Coatings Basic Materials
3 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$276.03 +0.8% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$80.03B
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.65B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins
ESI Element Solutions Inc
$35.80 +1.9% 1M +36.5% 1Y
Market cap
$8.61B
P/E
42.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 5, Rpm International 3, Element Solutions 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRPMITWESILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.94B $80.03B $8.61B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.8x 24.8x 42.0x RPM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.8x 25.9x 20.8x RPM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.0% +4.8% +39.6% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.7% 19.4% 5.9% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.5% 27.1% 5.4% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.8x 3.2x ITW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.0% +12.3% +36.5% ESI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr +3.9%/yr +9.5%/yr ESI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.8% 21.2% 47.0% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 50/100 52/100 RPM

Percentile Scorecard

RPMITWESI

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

AxisRPMITWESI
Valuation 58 #40 of 94 29 #145 of 203 41 #56 of 94
Growth 70 #28 of 91 34 #124 of 188 77 #22 of 91
Profitability 86 #13 of 84 100 #2 of 184 60 #34 of 84
Financial Health 56 #42 of 94 26 #160 of 217 47 #50 of 94
Shareholder Returns 59 #29 of 69 62 #59 of 153 32 #47 of 69
Overall 66 50 52
  • RPM ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodRPMITWESISPY
1 month -0.9%+0.8%+1.9% +0.9%
3 months -8.4%-5.6%+2.8% +5.9%
6 months -1.4%+3.9%-15.9% +8.5%
Year to date -4.5%+12.1%+43.3% +13.3%
1 year -11.0%+12.3%+36.5% +12.4%
3 years +11.3%+23.6%+98.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +3.6%+7.3%+25.8% +23.5%
5 years +13.9%+21.1%+57.6% +68.2%
5 years, per year +2.6%+3.9%+9.5% +11.0%
10 years +108.5%+142.5%+397.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year +7.6%+9.3%+17.4% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureRPMITWESISPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.8%21.2%47.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.4%20.8%47.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.950.472.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.370.580.78 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.5%-28.9%-40.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.4%-7.9%-27.1% -0.9%
52-week high $120.17$299.60$49.09 $779.14
52-week low $93.23$241.07$22.99 $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.

MultipleRPMITWESI
P/E now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 22.0x 24.3xmedian 25.4x 42.5xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 1.4x 4.7xmedian 1.9x 2.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 12.4x 18.0xmedian 14.3x 18.2xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 15.5x 27.4xmedian 21.8x 47.5xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.7x 25.0xmedian 2.2x 3.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.66median 1.84 8.41median 1.41 0.76median 1.84

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 monthsRPMITWESI
Revenue $7.97B $16.65B $3.49B
Gross profit $3.28B $7.38B $1.28B
Operating income $961.65M $4.43B $408.70M
Net income $691.27M $3.23B $205.20M
Free cash flow $705.58M $2.87B $182.90M
R&D – – $80.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.42 $11.31 $0.84
Cash & equivalents $312.84M $809.00M $224.90M
Total debt $10.15B $9.37B $2.08B
Shares (diluted) 127.24M 285.30M 243.70M
Enterprise value $11.71B $76.70B $7.39B

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
MetricRPMITWESI
P/E 18.2x 24.3x 42.5x
P/FCF 17.9x 27.4x 47.5x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 24.0x 30.7x
P/S 1.6x 4.7x 2.5x
P/B 3.6x 25.0x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 4.7x 30.2x 4.6x
EV/EBITDA 12.5x 18.0x 18.2x
EV/EBIT 15.3x 19.6x 25.8x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 5.2x 3.0x
EV/FCF 20.9x 30.3x 57.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.0x 26.7x 37.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.66 8.41 0.76

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRPMITWESI
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.0% 4.8% 39.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.8% 1.1% 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.5% 5.7% 21.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 2.8% 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.0% 6.4% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 3.1% 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 0.2% 6.7% -14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 0.9% 56.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 0.8% 9.1% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 11.0% 2.9% 55.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.1% -0.5% -16.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.4% -0.5% -4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 36.7% 0.8% -32.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.0% 0.4% -12.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRPMITWESI
Gross margin 41.2% 44.3% 36.6%
EBITDA margin 14.8% 29.0% 16.6%
Operating margin 12.1% 26.6% 11.7%
Pretax margin 11.4% 25.2% 9.0%
Net margin 8.7% 19.4% 5.9%
FCF margin 8.9% 17.2% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 11.6% 19.6% 8.1%
Return on equity 20.4% 106.9% 7.2%
Return on assets 8.3% 19.6% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 12.5% 27.1% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 15.1% 38.9% 7.8%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.5% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRPMITWESI
Debt / assets 29.2% 56.8% 35.5%
Debt / equity 0.7x 3.0x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.8x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 3.4x 3.3x 11.4x
Liabilities / assets 57.7% 81.0% 50.7%
Equity / assets 42.3% 19.0% 49.3%
Interest coverage 8.9x 14.3x –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.3x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.8x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.81 8.17 2.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRPMITWESI
Dividend yield 2.2% 2.4% 0.9%
Net buyback yield 0.7% 2.1% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 4.4% 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 57.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 64.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% –

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.

ConsensusRPMITWESI
Forward P/E 17.8xFY2026 25.9xFY2026 20.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.58FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $1.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.9%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +15.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.5% +19.3% +33.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.69BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.1%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +51.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +11.4% +2.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRPMITWESI
Held by institutions 86.1% 84.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 795 1,969 499
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +0.8% +0.6%
Institutions buying 385 846 269
Institutions selling 244 750 176
Buyers to sellers 1.58 1.13 1.53

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.

RPMITWESI
RPM 1.00 0.65 0.30
ITW 0.65 1.00 0.26
ESI 0.30 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RPM, ITW and ESI?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Rpm International (RPM) $12.94B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $80.03B, Element Solutions (ESI) $8.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, RPM, ITW and ESI?

Rpm International (RPM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Rpm International (RPM) 18.8x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.8x, Element Solutions (ESI) 42.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Rpm International (RPM) is cheapest (Rpm International (RPM) 17.8x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, Element Solutions (ESI) 20.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Element Solutions (ESI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Rpm International (RPM) +6.0%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%, Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Rpm International (RPM) 8.7%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Rpm International (RPM) 12.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Element Solutions (ESI) returned the most: Rpm International (RPM) -11.0%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +12.3%, Element Solutions (ESI) +36.5%. Over five years, Element Solutions (ESI) compounded fastest (Rpm International (RPM) +2.6%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +3.9%/yr, Element Solutions (ESI) +9.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Rpm International (RPM) 0.00%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.02%, Element Solutions (ESI) 0.00%. Rpm International (RPM) and Element Solutions (ESI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Rpm International (RPM) 29.8%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.2%, Element Solutions (ESI) 47.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RPM, ITW and ESI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 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.