ST vs FSS vs VRT Stock Comparison

Sensata Technologies Holding, Federal Signal and Vertiv Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FSS Federal Signal Corp /De/
$114.29 -0.3% 1M -8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$7.07B
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.45B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
3 wins
VRT Vertiv Holdings Co
$199.91 -21.1% 1M +7.4% 1Y
Market cap
$80.19B
P/E
46.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Electrical Equipment Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Vertiv Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Vertiv Holdings 6, Federal Signal 3, Sensata Technologies Holding 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSTFSSVRTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.14B $7.07B $80.19B VRT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 68.3x 24.8x 46.3x FSS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.3x 23.2x 28.9x ST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.8% +24.0% +26.2% VRT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.4% 11.7% 15.1% VRT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.6% 15.3% 24.0% VRT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.8x 0.8x -0.1x VRT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +27.6% -8.8% +7.4% ST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.8%/yr +22.3%/yr +52.0%/yr VRT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.7% 35.0% 66.0% FSS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 75/100 60/100 FSS

Percentile Scorecard

STFSSVRT

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

AxisSTFSSVRT
Valuation 77 #47 of 203 52 #99 of 203 30 #142 of 203
Growth 31 #130 of 187 94 #13 of 187 100 #2 of 187
Profitability 47 #98 of 185 89 #22 of 185 99 #3 of 185
Financial Health 35 #142 of 219 75 #55 of 219 56 #96 of 219
Shareholder Returns 47 #81 of 153 65 #54 of 153 16 #129 of 153
Overall 48 75 60
  • ST ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • FSS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • VRT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSTFSSVRTSPY
1 month -3.6%-0.3%-21.1% -0.8%
3 months -12.3%-3.5%-30.4% +3.5%
6 months -3.7%-1.2%-38.0% +7.0%
Year to date +22.2%+5.2%+23.4% +12.2%
1 year +27.6%-8.8%+7.4% +13.0%
3 years +18.6%+99.6%+448.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +5.9%+25.9%+76.5% +23.1%
5 years -25.7%+173.9%+709.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year -5.8%+22.3%+52.0% +11.0%
10 years +9.0%+835.3%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +0.9%+25.1%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSTFSSVRTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.7%35.0%66.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.8%35.9%67.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.921.282.89 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.70-0.250.11 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -72.8%-33.3%-70.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.0%-14.5%-46.9% -1.8%
52-week high $53.55$133.73$376.23 $779.14
52-week low $28.53$104.77$149.83 $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.

MultipleSTFSSVRT
P/E now vs peer median 65.8xmedian 26.0x 24.4xmedian 26.0x 44.4xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 1.9x 2.8xmedian 1.9x 6.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 14.0x 15.2xmedian 14.0x 29.9xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 21.4x 20.6xmedian 21.4x 26.3xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.2x 4.6xmedian 2.2x 16.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.74median 1.26 0.85median 1.26 0.40median 1.26

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 monthsSTFSSVRT
Revenue $3.78B $2.45B $11.48B
Gross profit $1.11B $714.00M $4.37B
Operating income $284.24M $395.40M $2.17B
Net income $89.91M $285.40M $1.73B
Free cash flow $579.20M $339.20M $2.93B
R&D $128.20M – –
EPS (diluted) $0.61 $4.64 $4.41
Cash & equivalents $403.30M $62.80M $2.81B
Total debt $11.62B $453.60M $2.94B
Shares (diluted) 146.70M 61.50M 392.75M
Enterprise value $3.74B $6.82B $70.81B

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
MetricSTFSSVRT
P/E 65.8x 24.4x 44.4x
P/FCF 10.2x 20.6x 26.3x
P/Operating cash flow 8.5x 18.7x 22.9x
P/S 1.6x 2.8x 6.7x
P/B 2.0x 4.6x 16.2x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 6.2x 26.0x
EV/EBITDA 15.0x 15.2x 29.9x
EV/EBIT 28.0x 18.6x 35.3x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 3.0x 6.7x
EV/FCF 13.7x 21.7x 26.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.5x 19.8x 22.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.74 0.85 0.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSTFSSVRT
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.8% 24.0% 26.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.7% 16.1% 21.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.5% 24.5% 36.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.6% 22.1% 29.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 110.8% 27.8% 39.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -24.9% 28.8% 55.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -19.3% 28.8% 113.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -38.6% 28.6% 112.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -19.4% 28.4% 111.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -37.8% 28.6% 110.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 23.5% 45.6% 135.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 59.2% 91.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 34.0% 49.8% 134.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.0% 73.3% 100.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSTFSSVRT
Gross margin 29.5% 29.2% 38.0%
EBITDA margin 14.0% 19.8% 22.3%
Operating margin 7.5% 16.2% 18.9%
Pretax margin 4.6% 15.2% 18.4%
Net margin 2.4% 11.7% 15.1%
FCF margin 15.3% 13.9% 25.5%
Operating cash flow margin 18.4% 15.2% 29.2%
Return on equity 3.1% 19.4% 38.5%
Return on assets 1.3% 11.7% 11.8%
Return on invested capital 2.6% 15.3% 24.0%
Return on capital employed 4.8% 18.5% 29.4%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 7.7x 1.3x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.6% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSTFSSVRT
Debt / assets 36.9% 18.6% 18.5%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.3x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.8x 0.8x -0.1x
Debt / FCF 4.2x 1.3x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 55.1% 38.2% 70.1%
Equity / assets 44.9% 61.8% 29.9%
Interest coverage 2.0x 19.3x 41.4x
Current ratio 2.3x 2.7x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.1x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.41 7.13 5.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSTFSSVRT
Dividend yield 1.2% 0.5% 0.1%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 0.0% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 1.6% 0.5% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 12.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 13.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 17.0% –

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.

ConsensusSTFSSVRT
Forward P/E 11.3xFY2026 23.2xFY2026 28.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.60FY2026 $4.92FY2026 $6.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.3%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 +64.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.7% +10.0% +40.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.79BFY2026 $2.79BFY2026 $14.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.3%FY2026 +28.1%FY2026 +43.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.1% -5.3% +20.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSTFSSVRT
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 81.7%
Institutions holding 467 474 2,037
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% +3.9% +0.0%
Institutions buying 265 249 1,170
Institutions selling 149 152 690
Buyers to sellers 1.78 1.64 1.70

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.

STFSSVRT
ST 1.00 0.47 0.53
FSS 0.47 1.00 0.34
VRT 0.53 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ST, FSS and VRT?

Vertiv Holdings (VRT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) $6.14B, Federal Signal (FSS) $7.07B, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) $80.19B.

Which stock is cheaper, ST, FSS and VRT?

Federal Signal (FSS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) 68.3x, Federal Signal (FSS) 24.8x, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 46.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) is cheapest (Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) 11.3x, Federal Signal (FSS) 23.2x, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 28.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Vertiv Holdings (VRT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) +0.8%, Federal Signal (FSS) +24.0%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) +26.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertiv Holdings (VRT) has the highest net margin (Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) 2.4%, Federal Signal (FSS) 11.7%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 15.1%). On return on invested capital, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) leads (Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) 2.6%, Federal Signal (FSS) 15.3%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 24.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) returned the most: Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) +27.6%, Federal Signal (FSS) -8.8%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) +7.4%. Over five years, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) compounded fastest (Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) -5.8%/yr, Federal Signal (FSS) +22.3%/yr, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) +52.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) 0.00%, Federal Signal (FSS) 0.01%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 0.00%. Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) and Vertiv Holdings (VRT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Federal Signal (FSS) has been the steadiest (Sensata Technologies Holding (ST) 39.7%, Federal Signal (FSS) 35.0%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 66.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ST, FSS and VRT?

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