SNA vs IEX vs MSA Stock Comparison

Snap-on, Idex and MSA Safety Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SNA Snap-on Inc
$365.02 -1.1% 1M +8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$18.88B
P/E
18.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.27B
Div. yield
2.67%
Power Tools Industrials
8 wins
IEX Idex Corp /De/
$236.53 +1.5% 1M +38.0% 1Y
Market cap
$17.37B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.66B
Div. yield
1.23%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
2 wins
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$187.05 +3.2% 1M +19.1% 1Y
Market cap
$7.22B
P/E
23.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
1.14%
Power Tools Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Snap-on leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Snap-on 8, Idex 2, MSA Safety 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSNAIEXMSALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.88B $17.37B $7.22B SNA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.3x 32.5x 23.0x SNA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.9x 25.9x 20.0x SNA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.0% +6.9% +6.5% IEX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.6% 14.6% 16.1% SNA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.5% 10.0% 15.9% MSA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.3x 1.2x 0.8x SNA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.67% 1.23% 1.14% SNA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.8% +38.0% +19.1% IEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.6%/yr +0.5%/yr +4.2%/yr SNA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.2% 22.0% 24.4% SNA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 75/100 56/100 78/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

SNAIEXMSA

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

AxisSNAIEXMSA
Valuation 65 #72 of 203 36 #130 of 203 58 #85 of 203
Growth 37 #119 of 189 43 #108 of 189 88 #24 of 189
Profitability 97 #7 of 187 88 #24 of 187 96 #9 of 187
Financial Health 87 #30 of 221 72 #62 of 221 76 #54 of 221
Shareholder Returns 89 #17 of 152 42 #89 of 152 72 #43 of 152
Overall 75 56 78
  • SNA ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • IEX ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSNAIEXMSASPY
1 month -1.1%+1.5%+3.2% -2.3%
3 months -10.8%+1.6%-2.8% -0.7%
6 months -1.9%+10.4%+13.2% +4.8%
Year to date +5.9%+32.9%+16.8% +10.3%
1 year +8.8%+38.0%+19.1% +10.3%
3 years +34.8%+21.2%+16.5% +73.0%
3 years, per year +10.5%+6.6%+5.2% +20.1%
5 years +73.0%+2.7%+22.6% +61.9%
5 years, per year +11.6%+0.5%+4.2% +10.1%
10 years +139.6%+178.4%+232.6% +258.6%
10 years, per year +9.1%+10.8%+12.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSNAIEXMSASPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.2%22.0%24.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.3%19.9%21.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.570.690.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.461.730.78 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -21.3%-35.9%-34.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.9%-1.7%-7.9% -3.5%
52-week high $419.26$240.52$203.08 $779.14
52-week low $328.69$161.68$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.

MultipleSNAIEXMSA
P/E now vs peer median 18.3xmedian 25.6x 32.5xmedian 25.6x 23.0xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.9x 4.7xmedian 1.9x 3.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.8xmedian 14.4x 18.9xmedian 14.4x 15.6xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 22.5x 26.0xmedian 22.5x 20.4xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.2x 4.3xmedian 2.2x 5.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 6.30median 1.36 -8.54median 1.36 0.12median 1.36

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 monthsSNAIEXMSA
Revenue $5.27B $3.66B $1.95B
Gross profit $2.45B $1.64B $925.88M
Operating income $1.34B $763.90M $413.17M
Net income $1.06B $535.80M $314.01M
Free cash flow $1.11B $667.10M $354.30M
R&D – – $68.19M
EPS (diluted) $19.68 $7.24 $8.11
Cash & equivalents $1.64B $602.10M $200.06M
Total debt $1.20B $1.75B $599.74M
Shares (diluted) 52.52M 74.00M 38.70M
Enterprise value $12.35B $14.98B $6.51B

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
MetricSNAIEXMSA
P/E 18.3x 32.5x 23.0x
P/FCF 17.0x 26.0x 20.4x
P/Operating cash flow 15.9x 23.1x 17.8x
P/S 3.6x 4.7x 3.7x
P/B 3.1x 4.3x 5.2x
P/Tangible book 3.3x 6.0x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 12.8x 18.9x 15.6x
EV/EBIT 13.7x 24.2x 18.4x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 5.1x 3.9x
EV/FCF 16.6x 27.8x 21.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.5x 24.6x 18.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 6.30 -8.54 0.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSNAIEXMSA
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.0% 6.9% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 3.5% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.1% 8.1% 8.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 4.1% 6.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 3.5% 12.2% 10.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 0.7% 34.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 3.2% 12.1% 13.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.0% -4.6% 186.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 4.3% 13.9% 15.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.9% -3.8% 188.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.5% 17.0% 26.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 3.3% 96.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 8.4% 14.2% 40.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 3.9% 72.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSNAIEXMSA
Gross margin 46.5% 44.9% 47.6%
EBITDA margin 27.3% 26.7% 25.1%
Operating margin 25.4% 20.9% 21.2%
Pretax margin 25.7% 19.2% 21.1%
Net margin 19.6% 14.6% 16.1%
FCF margin 21.0% 18.2% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 22.5% 20.6% 20.9%
Return on equity 17.6% 13.4% 22.8%
Return on assets 12.3% 7.8% 12.2%
Return on invested capital 14.5% 10.0% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 18.5% 12.2% 18.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.4x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.9% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSNAIEXMSA
Debt / assets 13.9% 25.5% 23.1%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.4x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.3x 1.2x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 1.1x 2.6x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 29.8% 41.6% 46.1%
Equity / assets 70.2% 58.4% 53.9%
Interest coverage 26.6x – 12.7x
Current ratio 3.4x 2.8x 3.2x
Quick ratio 2.0x 1.8x 1.9x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.9x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 7.33 5.70 6.08

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSNAIEXMSA
Dividend yield 2.7% 1.2% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 1.9% 1.7% 1.7%
Shareholder yield 4.5% 3.0% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 39.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 32.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.5% –

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.

ConsensusSNAIEXMSA
Forward P/E 19.9xFY2026 25.9xFY2026 20.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $18.35FY2026 $9.14FY2026 $9.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -4.4%FY2026 +15.0%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.5% +12.0% +3.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.58BFY2026 $3.93BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.4%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.2% +3.0% +19.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSNAIEXMSA
Held by institutions 96.3% 100.0% 91.0%
Institutions holding 1,071 688 457
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +0.1% +3.0%
Institutions buying 499 352 236
Institutions selling 370 202 147
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.74 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.

SNAIEXMSA
SNA 1.00 0.61 0.55
IEX 0.61 1.00 0.43
MSA 0.55 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SNA, IEX and MSA?

Snap-on (SNA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Snap-on (SNA) $18.88B, Idex (IEX) $17.37B, MSA Safety (MSA) $7.22B.

Which stock is cheaper, SNA, IEX and MSA?

Snap-on (SNA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Snap-on (SNA) 18.3x, Idex (IEX) 32.5x, MSA Safety (MSA) 23.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Snap-on (SNA) is cheapest (Snap-on (SNA) 19.9x, Idex (IEX) 25.9x, MSA Safety (MSA) 20.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Idex (IEX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Snap-on (SNA) +4.0%, Idex (IEX) +6.9%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Snap-on (SNA) has the highest net margin (Snap-on (SNA) 19.6%, Idex (IEX) 14.6%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%). On return on invested capital, MSA Safety (MSA) leads (Snap-on (SNA) 14.5%, Idex (IEX) 10.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Idex (IEX) returned the most: Snap-on (SNA) +8.8%, Idex (IEX) +38.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) +19.1%. Over five years, Snap-on (SNA) compounded fastest (Snap-on (SNA) +11.6%/yr, Idex (IEX) +0.5%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +4.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Snap-on (SNA) has the highest dividend yield: Snap-on (SNA) 2.67%, Idex (IEX) 1.23%, MSA Safety (MSA) 1.14%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Snap-on (SNA) has been the steadiest (Snap-on (SNA) 19.2%, Idex (IEX) 22.0%, MSA Safety (MSA) 24.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SNA, IEX 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, Snap-on (SNA) 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.