SHW vs ITW vs ESI Stock Comparison

Sherwin Williams, Illinois Tool Works and Element Solutions Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SHW Sherwin Williams Co
$320.88 -3.6% 1M -9.5% 1Y
Market cap
$79.29B
P/E
29.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.91B
Div. yield
–
Paints and Coatings Basic Materials
1 win
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
6 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
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 6, Element Solutions 4, Sherwin Williams 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSHWITWESILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $79.29B $80.03B $8.61B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.6x 24.8x 42.0x ITW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.3x 25.9x 20.8x ESI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +4.8% +39.6% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.7% 19.4% 5.9% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.5% 27.1% 5.4% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 1.8x 3.2x ITW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -9.5% +12.3% +36.5% ESI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.3%/yr +3.9%/yr +9.5%/yr ESI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.5% 21.2% 47.0% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 50/100 52/100 SHW

Percentile Scorecard

SHWITWESI

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

AxisSHWITWESI
Valuation 29 #67 of 94 29 #145 of 203 41 #56 of 94
Growth 66 #32 of 91 34 #124 of 188 77 #22 of 91
Profitability 98 #3 of 84 100 #2 of 184 60 #34 of 84
Financial Health 24 #72 of 94 26 #160 of 217 47 #50 of 94
Shareholder Returns 60 #28 of 69 62 #59 of 153 32 #47 of 69
Overall 55 50 52
  • SHW 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

PeriodSHWITWESISPY
1 month -3.6%+0.8%+1.9% +0.9%
3 months -6.7%-5.6%+2.8% +5.9%
6 months +1.0%+3.9%-15.9% +8.5%
Year to date -1.0%+12.1%+43.3% +13.3%
1 year -9.5%+12.3%+36.5% +12.4%
3 years +35.9%+23.6%+98.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +10.8%+7.3%+25.8% +23.5%
5 years +1.3%+21.1%+57.6% +68.2%
5 years, per year +0.3%+3.9%+9.5% +11.0%
10 years +293.3%+142.5%+397.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year +14.7%+9.3%+17.4% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureSHWITWESISPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.5%21.2%47.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.6%20.8%47.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.830.472.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.340.580.78 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.9%-28.9%-40.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.9%-7.9%-27.1% -0.9%
52-week high $372.60$299.60$49.09 $779.14
52-week low $293.00$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.

MultipleSHWITWESI
P/E now vs peer median 28.9xmedian 22.0x 24.3xmedian 25.4x 42.5xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.4x 4.7xmedian 1.9x 2.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.6xmedian 12.4x 18.0xmedian 14.3x 18.2xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 15.5x 27.4xmedian 21.8x 47.5xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 19.5xmedian 1.7x 25.0xmedian 2.2x 3.0xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 5.16median 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 monthsSHWITWESI
Revenue $24.91B $16.65B $3.49B
Gross profit $12.11B $7.38B $1.28B
Operating income $4.03B $4.43B $408.70M
Net income $2.68B $3.23B $205.20M
Free cash flow $3.08B $2.87B $182.90M
R&D – – $80.00M
EPS (diluted) $11.02 $11.31 $0.84
Cash & equivalents $264.20M $809.00M $224.90M
Total debt $11.80B $9.37B $2.08B
Shares (diluted) 242.80M 285.30M 243.70M
Enterprise value $78.30B $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
MetricSHWITWESI
P/E 28.9x 24.3x 42.5x
P/FCF 25.2x 27.4x 47.5x
P/Operating cash flow 21.0x 24.0x 30.7x
P/S 3.1x 4.7x 2.5x
P/B 19.5x 25.0x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 333.6x 30.2x 4.6x
EV/EBITDA 18.6x 18.0x 18.2x
EV/EBIT 22.1x 19.6x 25.8x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 5.2x 3.0x
EV/FCF 28.9x 30.3x 57.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.2x 26.7x 37.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.16 8.41 0.76

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSHWITWESI
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 4.8% 39.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 1.1% 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.4% 5.7% 21.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 2.8% 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 7.9% 6.4% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.9% 3.1% 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.1% 6.7% -14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 0.9% 56.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.7% 9.1% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 2.9% 55.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 11.8% -0.5% -16.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.3% -0.5% -4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 26.8% 0.8% -32.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 0.4% -12.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSHWITWESI
Gross margin 48.6% 44.3% 36.6%
EBITDA margin 19.2% 29.0% 16.6%
Operating margin 16.2% 26.6% 11.7%
Pretax margin 14.0% 25.2% 9.0%
Net margin 10.7% 19.4% 5.9%
FCF margin 12.4% 17.2% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 14.8% 19.6% 8.1%
Return on equity 68.3% 106.9% 7.2%
Return on assets 9.9% 19.6% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 19.5% 27.1% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 23.6% 38.9% 7.8%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.5% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSHWITWESI
Debt / assets 43.7% 56.8% 35.5%
Debt / equity 3.0x 3.0x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 1.8x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 3.8x 3.3x 11.4x
Liabilities / assets 85.3% 81.0% 50.7%
Equity / assets 14.7% 19.0% 49.3%
Interest coverage 7.5x 14.3x –
Current ratio 0.7x 1.3x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.8x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.45 8.17 2.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSHWITWESI
Dividend yield 1.0% 2.4% 0.9%
Net buyback yield 3.0% 2.1% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 4.0% 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.

ConsensusSHWITWESI
Forward P/E 25.3xFY2026 25.9xFY2026 20.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.68FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $1.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.9%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +15.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -0.4% +19.3% +33.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.55BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.1%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +51.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.0% +11.4% +2.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSHWITWESI
Held by institutions 82.7% 84.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,740 1,969 499
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.3% +0.8% +0.6%
Institutions buying 746 846 269
Institutions selling 718 750 176
Buyers to sellers 1.04 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.

SHWITWESI
SHW 1.00 0.63 0.24
ITW 0.63 1.00 0.26
ESI 0.24 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SHW, ITW and ESI?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sherwin Williams (SHW) $79.29B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $80.03B, Element Solutions (ESI) $8.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, SHW, ITW and ESI?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Sherwin Williams (SHW) 29.6x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.8x, Element Solutions (ESI) 42.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Element Solutions (ESI) is cheapest (Sherwin Williams (SHW) 25.3x, 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: Sherwin Williams (SHW) +7.0%, 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 (Sherwin Williams (SHW) 10.7%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Sherwin Williams (SHW) 19.5%, 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: Sherwin Williams (SHW) -9.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +12.3%, Element Solutions (ESI) +36.5%. Over five years, Element Solutions (ESI) compounded fastest (Sherwin Williams (SHW) +0.3%/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: Sherwin Williams (SHW) 0.00%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.02%, Element Solutions (ESI) 0.00%. Sherwin Williams (SHW) 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 (Sherwin Williams (SHW) 27.5%, 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, SHW, 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 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.