STN vs ACM vs J Stock Comparison

Stantec, Aecom and Jacobs Solutions Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
STN Stantec Inc
$71.00 +2.9% 1M -36.7% 1Y
Market cap
$8.06B
P/E
12.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.51B
Div. yield
–
Engineering and Construction Industrials
6 wins
ACM Aecom
$60.73 -0.3% 1M -54.3% 1Y
Market cap
$7.91B
P/E
27.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.39B
Div. yield
–
Engineering and Construction Industrials
1 win
J Jacobs Solutions Inc.
$147.11 +6.3% 1M -7.8% 1Y
Market cap
$17.44B
P/E
51.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.22B
Div. yield
0.01%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Stantec leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Stantec 6, Jacobs Solutions 4, Aecom 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSTNACMJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.06B $7.91B $17.44B J
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.4x 27.5x 51.5x STN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.4x 14.5x 21.7x ACM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% -4.2% +20.1% J
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.2% 1.9% 2.4% STN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 37.8% 9.9% 5.8% STN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.0x 2.4x 2.7x STN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -36.7% -54.3% -7.8% J
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.4%/yr -1.9%/yr +5.5%/yr J
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.4% 38.4% 33.1% STN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 47/100 47/100 STN

Percentile Scorecard

STNACMJ

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

AxisSTNACMJ
Valuation 92 #5 of 52 63 #20 of 52 35 #34 of 52
Growth 36 #24 of 37 11 #33 of 37 31 #26 of 37
Profitability 89 #5 of 37 44 #21 of 37 53 #18 of 37
Financial Health 79 #13 of 57 25 #43 of 57 46 #31 of 57
Shareholder Returns 65 #10 of 27 92 #3 of 27 69 #9 of 27
Overall 72 47 47
  • STN ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • ACM ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • J ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSTNACMJSPY
1 month +2.9%-0.3%+6.3% -0.8%
3 months +0.5%-14.4%+8.8% +3.5%
6 months -21.9%-25.9%+16.9% +7.0%
Year to date -24.8%-36.3%+11.1% +12.2%
1 year -36.7%-54.3%-7.8% +13.0%
3 years +18.4%-18.8%+35.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +5.8%-6.7%+10.7% +23.1%
5 years +29.8%-9.3%+30.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +5.4%-1.9%+5.5% +11.0%
10 years +216.8%+120.8%+249.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +12.2%+8.2%+13.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSTNACMJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.4%38.4%33.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.6%47.1%36.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.760.860.77 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.21-1.42-0.24 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-56.8%-34.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -37.6%-54.8%-8.6% -1.8%
52-week high $113.70$134.35$161.00 $779.14
52-week low $66.69$58.00$107.27 $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.

MultipleSTNACMJ
P/E now vs peer median 12.4xmedian 25.7x 27.1xmedian 25.7x 51.2xmedian 25.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 0.8x 0.5xmedian 0.8x 1.2xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 12.9x 13.4xmedian 12.9x 22.3xmedian 12.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 22.5x 38.4xmedian 22.5x 26.7xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.3x 3.3xmedian 2.3x 5.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.60median 0.56 0.85median 0.56 -2.41median 0.56

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 monthsSTNACMJ
Revenue $10.51B $15.39B $14.22B
Gross profit $4.58B $874.05M $3.14B
Operating income $1.23B $631.20M $649.64M
Net income $536.90M $334.79M $301.35M
Free cash flow $528.58M $203.45M $644.54M
EPS (diluted) $5.72 $2.24 $2.85
Cash & equivalents $265.54M $1.01B $1.17B
Total debt $2.38B $2.75B $3.58B
Shares (diluted) 114.07M 128.60M 118.90M
Enterprise value $6.99B $3.03B $12.11B

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
MetricSTNACMJ
P/E 12.4x 27.1x 51.2x
P/FCF 15.3x 38.4x 26.7x
P/Operating cash flow 17.3x 21.4x 23.4x
P/S 0.8x 0.5x 1.2x
P/B 3.4x 3.3x 5.3x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 3.5x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 5.1x 13.4x 22.3x
EV/EBIT 6.5x 15.1x 30.2x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 0.6x 1.4x
EV/FCF 15.2x 46.9x 30.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.2x 26.1x 26.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.60 0.85 -2.41

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSTNACMJ
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% -4.2% 20.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 3.3% 28.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.5% -25.9% 6.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.2% -1.4% 5.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 20.5% -38.5% -23.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 16.5% 13.8% 14.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 24.6% -50.9% -40.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 24.6% -26.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 24.6% -51.4% -30.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 20.6% 31.9% -21.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.0% -60.5% 47.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% -20.5% -10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -10.2% -75.3% 56.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.6% -29.3% -10.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSTNACMJ
Gross margin 43.6% 5.7% 22.1%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 4.6% 6.2%
Operating margin 11.7% 4.1% 4.6%
Pretax margin 11.3% 3.4% 3.6%
Net margin 6.2% 1.9% 2.4%
FCF margin 5.0% 1.3% 4.5%
Operating cash flow margin 4.4% 2.4% 5.2%
Return on equity 36.3% 13.9% 9.2%
Return on assets 15.1% 2.8% 2.5%
Return on invested capital 37.8% 9.9% 5.8%
Return on capital employed 28.3% 10.5% 8.2%
Asset turnover 1.8x 1.3x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 1.1x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.3% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSTNACMJ
Debt / assets 3.9% 22.8% 30.5%
Debt / equity 0.1x 1.1x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.0x 2.4x 2.7x
Debt / FCF 0.4x 13.5x 5.6x
Liabilities / assets 58.6% 80.0% 72.2%
Equity / assets 41.4% 20.0% 27.8%
Interest coverage 9.6x 3.1x 3.9x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.9x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 1.79 2.84

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSTNACMJ
Dividend yield 1.3% 2.0% 1.0%
Net buyback yield – 8.2% 3.9%
Shareholder yield 1.3% 10.3% 4.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 53.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 25.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 6.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 8.9%

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.

ConsensusSTNACMJ
Forward P/E 15.4xFY2026 14.5xFY2026 21.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.62FY2026 $4.19FY2026 $6.78FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.7%FY2026 -20.3%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.6% +54.7% +27.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.75BFY2026 $7.04BFY2026 $9.78BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.4%FY2026 -7.0%FY2026 -18.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.6% +8.8% -0.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSTNACMJ
Held by institutions 62.0% 92.6% 92.2%
Institutions holding 293 572 871
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +5.5% +3.0%
Institutions buying 162 270 375
Institutions selling 87 232 360
Buyers to sellers 1.86 1.16 1.04

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.

STNACMJ
STN 1.00 0.52 0.51
ACM 0.52 1.00 0.59
J 0.51 0.59 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, STN, ACM and J?

Jacobs Solutions (J) is the largest by market capitalisation: Stantec (STN) $8.06B, Aecom (ACM) $7.91B, Jacobs Solutions (J) $17.44B.

Which stock is cheaper, STN, ACM and J?

Stantec (STN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Stantec (STN) 12.4x, Aecom (ACM) 27.5x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 51.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aecom (ACM) is cheapest (Stantec (STN) 15.4x, Aecom (ACM) 14.5x, Jacobs Solutions (J) 21.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Jacobs Solutions (J) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Stantec (STN) +9.4%, Aecom (ACM) -4.2%, Jacobs Solutions (J) +20.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Stantec (STN) has the highest net margin (Stantec (STN) 6.2%, Aecom (ACM) 1.9%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 2.4%). On return on invested capital, Stantec (STN) leads (Stantec (STN) 37.8%, Aecom (ACM) 9.9%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 5.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Jacobs Solutions (J) returned the most: Stantec (STN) -36.7%, Aecom (ACM) -54.3%, Jacobs Solutions (J) -7.8%. Over five years, Jacobs Solutions (J) compounded fastest (Stantec (STN) +5.4%/yr, Aecom (ACM) -1.9%/yr, Jacobs Solutions (J) +5.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Stantec (STN) 0.00%, Aecom (ACM) 0.00%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 0.01%. Stantec (STN) and Aecom (ACM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Stantec (STN) has been the steadiest (Stantec (STN) 30.4%, Aecom (ACM) 38.4%, Jacobs Solutions (J) 33.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, STN, ACM and J?

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