SMID vs JHX vs WMS Stock Comparison

Smith Midland, James Hardie Industries and Advanced Drainage Systems Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SMID Smith Midland Corp
$22.34 -4.9% 1M -40.6% 1Y
Market cap
$119.14M
P/E
15.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$89.50M
Div. yield
–
Building Products Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

James Hardie Industries leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (James Hardie Industries 4, Advanced Drainage Systems 4, Smith Midland 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSMIDJHXWMSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $119.14M $15.77B $10.31B JHX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.4x 108.2x 22.9x SMID
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 19.1x 21.3x JHX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.6% +42.9% +10.4% JHX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.6% 2.7% 14.0% WMS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.8% 2.6% 14.7% WMS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.5x 3.5x 1.6x SMID
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -40.6% +26.0% -2.3% JHX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.2%/yr -7.3%/yr +3.9%/yr WMS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.1% 44.9% 36.5% WMS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 80/100 36/100 64/100 SMID

Percentile Scorecard

SMIDJHXWMS

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

AxisSMIDJHXWMS
Valuation 82 #11 of 55 24 #42 of 55 48 #29 of 55
Growth 82 #10 of 51 50 #26 of 51 48 #27 of 51
Profitability 65 #18 of 49 46 #27 of 49 88 #7 of 49
Financial Health 93 #5 of 55 33 #37 of 55 52 #27 of 55
Shareholder Returns – 26 #30 of 40 85 #7 of 40
Overall 80 36 64
  • SMID ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • JHX ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • WMS ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSMIDJHXWMSSPY
1 month -4.9%+7.3%+6.2% +0.7%
3 months -21.5%+1.7%-0.8% +3.7%
6 months -33.9%+28.3%-8.5% +7.1%
Year to date -38.5%+29.7%-5.7% +12.8%
1 year -40.6%+26.0%-2.3% +11.9%
3 years +10.9%+8.4%+27.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year +3.5%+2.7%+8.5% +22.8%
5 years +11.7%-31.6%+21.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year +2.2%-7.3%+3.9% +10.9%
10 years +522.3%+80.4%+598.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +20.1%+6.1%+21.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSMIDJHXWMSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.1%44.9%36.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.7%41.0%33.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.971.701.36 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.800.58-0.06 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -72.4%-60.3%-50.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -43.9%-13.4%-22.2% -1.2%
52-week high $39.82$31.09$175.38 $779.14
52-week low $21.20$16.69$125.22 $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.

MultipleSMIDJHXWMS
P/E now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 20.3x 107.2xmedian 20.3x 23.2xmedian 20.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.6x 2.9xmedian 1.6x 3.0xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 12.6x 17.4xmedian 12.6x 12.4xmedian 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.4xmedian 16.9x 43.8xmedian 16.9x 17.7xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 3.0x 2.4xmedian 3.0x 5.4xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.11median 1.13 -2.70median 1.13 -12.35median 1.13

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 monthsSMIDJHXWMS
Revenue $89.50M $5.41B $3.22B
Gross profit $21.00M $1.94B $1.24B
Operating income $10.80M $526.70M $668.00M
Net income $7.73M $145.70M $455.60M
Free cash flow $4.17M $356.40M $550.15M
R&D – $64.00M –
EPS (diluted) $1.46 $0.25 $5.86
Cash & equivalents $10.66M $289.90M $162.25M
Total debt $17.45M $4.28B $1.61B
Shares (diluted) 5.31M 584.30M 77.02M
Enterprise value $70.00M $14.84B $8.11B

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
MetricSMIDJHXWMS
P/E 15.3x 107.2x 23.2x
P/FCF 28.4x 43.8x 17.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.2x 21.5x 12.1x
P/S 1.3x 2.9x 3.0x
P/B 2.1x 2.4x 5.4x
P/Tangible book 3.7x 4.8x 9.8x
EV/EBITDA 7.8x 17.4x 12.4x
EV/EBIT 10.4x 37.2x 16.7x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 3.6x 3.5x
EV/FCF 26.9x 55.0x 20.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.7x 27.0x 13.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.11 -2.70 -12.35

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSMIDJHXWMS
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.6% 42.9% 10.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.4% 13.2% 3.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -18.4% 34.4% 14.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 35.0% 13.0% 4.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -30.8% -5.8% 4.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 134.1% -11.3% -2.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -49.1% -56.0% 4.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 136.0% -34.0% -2.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -35.9% -67.6% 5.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 135.4% -39.7% -1.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 92.5% -11.8% 19.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 97.2% 1.0% 4.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 459.8% 110.4% 18.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 38.5% 75.0% 1.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSMIDJHXWMS
Gross margin 23.5% 35.9% 38.6%
EBITDA margin 16.1% 20.9% 27.9%
Operating margin 12.1% 9.7% 20.7%
Pretax margin 12.0% 5.1% 18.6%
Net margin 8.6% 2.7% 14.0%
FCF margin 4.7% 6.6% 17.1%
Operating cash flow margin 16.3% 13.4% 25.0%
Return on equity 13.7% 2.2% 24.6%
Return on assets 8.6% 1.0% 10.1%
Return on invested capital 12.8% 2.6% 14.7%
Return on capital employed 13.8% 4.2% 17.0%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 5.0x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 0.8% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSMIDJHXWMS
Debt / assets 4.8% 31.7% 35.8%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.7x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.5x 3.5x 1.6x
Debt / FCF 1.0x 12.0x 2.9x
Liabilities / assets 34.2% 51.5% 59.7%
Equity / assets 65.8% 48.5% 40.3%
Interest coverage 48.9x 1.8x –
Current ratio 4.1x 1.6x 2.1x
Quick ratio 3.1x 0.7x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 5.12 2.14 4.17

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSMIDJHXWMS
Dividend yield – – 0.6%
Net buyback yield – 1.9% 3.3%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 1.9% 3.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 12.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 10.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 12.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 12.3%

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.

ConsensusSMIDJHXWMS
Forward P/E – 19.1xFY2026 21.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $1.41FY2026 $6.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +29.4%FY2026 +2.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +12.8% +22.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $5.13BFY2026 $3.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +6.0%FY2026 +18.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +15.1% +5.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSMIDJHXWMS
Held by institutions 57.0% 49.9% 90.9%
Institutions holding 56 340 554
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +7.1% +0.3%
Institutions buying 23 190 259
Institutions selling 17 100 210
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.90 1.23

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.

SMIDJHXWMS
SMID 1.00 0.24 0.32
JHX 0.24 1.00 0.56
WMS 0.32 0.56 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SMID, JHX and WMS?

James Hardie Industries (JHX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Smith Midland (SMID) $119.14M, James Hardie Industries (JHX) $15.77B, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) $10.31B.

Which stock is cheaper, SMID, JHX and WMS?

Smith Midland (SMID) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Smith Midland (SMID) 15.4x, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 108.2x, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) 22.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, James Hardie Industries (JHX) is cheapest (James Hardie Industries (JHX) 19.1x, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) 21.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

James Hardie Industries (JHX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Smith Midland (SMID) -1.6%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) +42.9%, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) +10.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) has the highest net margin (Smith Midland (SMID) 8.6%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 2.7%, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) 14.0%). On return on invested capital, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) leads (Smith Midland (SMID) 12.8%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 2.6%, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) 14.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year James Hardie Industries (JHX) returned the most: Smith Midland (SMID) -40.6%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) +26.0%, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) -2.3%. Over five years, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) compounded fastest (Smith Midland (SMID) +2.2%/yr, James Hardie Industries (JHX) -7.3%/yr, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) +3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Smith Midland (SMID) 0.00%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 0.00%, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) 0.01%. Smith Midland (SMID) and James Hardie Industries (JHX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) has been the steadiest (Smith Midland (SMID) 51.1%, James Hardie Industries (JHX) 44.9%, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) 36.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SMID, JHX and WMS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, James Hardie Industries (JHX) leads on 4. 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.