STN vs STRL vs GVA Stock Comparison

Stantec, Sterling Infrastructure and Granite Construction Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
STN Stantec Inc
$70.73 +2.5% 1M -37.0% 1Y
Market cap
$8.07B
P/E
12.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.51B
Div. yield
1.34%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
6 wins
GVA Granite Construction Inc
$110.49 -4.1% 1M +6.4% 1Y
Market cap
$4.84B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.97B
Div. yield
0.47%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Stantec leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Stantec 6, Sterling Infrastructure 5, Granite Construction 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSTNSTRLGVALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.07B $11.28B $4.84B STRL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.4x 26.1x -29.3x STN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.3x 19.6x — STN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +60.8% +21.8% STRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.2% 12.5% -3.3% STRL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 37.8% 29.2% 13.4% STN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.0x -0.3x 1.3x STRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.34% — 0.47% STN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -37.0% -2.5% +6.4% GVA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.8%/yr +72.8%/yr +23.9%/yr STRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.3% 85.6% 33.1% STN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 71/100 57/100 STN

Percentile Scorecard

STNSTRLGVA

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

AxisSTNSTRLGVA
Valuation 92 #5 of 52 49 #27 of 52 84 #9 of 52
Growth 36 #24 of 37 86 #6 of 37 50 #19 of 37
Profitability 89 #5 of 37 97 #2 of 37 50 #19 of 37
Financial Health 79 #13 of 57 75 #15 of 57 36 #37 of 57
Shareholder Returns 69 #9 of 27 46 #15 of 27 65 #10 of 27
Overall 73 71 57
  • STN ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • STRL ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • GVA ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSTNSTRLGVASPY
1 month +2.5%-28.3%-4.1% -0.2%
3 months -1.6%-31.7%-8.9% +3.9%
6 months -21.3%-22.1%-11.5% +8.2%
Year to date -25.0%+20.0%-4.2% +12.9%
1 year -37.0%-2.5%+6.4% +12.3%
3 years +18.0%+418.5%+222.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year +5.7%+73.1%+47.8% +23.3%
5 years +26.3%+1,435.7%+192.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year +4.8%+72.8%+23.9% +10.9%
10 years +216.6%+4,685.2%+158.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.2%+47.2%+10.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSTNSTRLGVASPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.3%85.6%33.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.5%81.7%33.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.763.390.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.22-0.030.19 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-64.2%-40.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -37.8%-63.0%-31.1% -1.2%
52-week high $113.70$993.74$160.39 $779.14
52-week low $66.69$283.57$98.50 $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.

MultipleSTNSTRLGVA
P/E now vs peer median 12.4xmedian 26.7x 26.1xmedian 26.7x -29.3xmedian 26.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 0.8x 3.3xmedian 0.8x 1.0xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 13.1x 16.0xmedian 13.1x 10.8xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 23.0x 23.4xmedian 23.0x 10.2xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 2.4x 8.1xmedian 2.4x 6.0xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.60median 0.57 0.14median 0.57 0.40median 0.57

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 monthsSTNSTRLGVA
Revenue $10.51B $3.44B $4.97B
Gross profit $4.58B $818.59M $776.94M
Operating income $1.23B $602.35M $314.31M
Net income $536.90M $460.44M -$151.53M
Free cash flow $528.58M $482.00M $471.91M
EPS (diluted) $5.72 $13.85 $-3.77
Cash & equivalents $265.54M $464.45M $877.12M
Total debt $2.38B $283.88M $1.56B
Shares (diluted) 114.07M 31.14M 43.75M
Enterprise value $7.00B $9.64B $2.51B

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
MetricSTNSTRLGVA
P/E 12.4x 26.1x -29.3x
P/FCF 15.3x 23.4x 10.2x
P/Operating cash flow 17.3x 18.9x 8.0x
P/S 0.8x 3.3x 1.0x
P/B 3.4x 8.1x 6.0x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 15.4x 8.1x
EV/EBITDA 5.1x 16.0x 10.8x
EV/EBIT 6.5x 18.4x 17.4x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 3.2x 1.1x
EV/FCF 15.2x 23.0x 11.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.2x 18.6x 9.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.60 0.14 0.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSTNSTRLGVA
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 60.8% 21.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 22.6% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.5% 72.5% 22.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.2% 39.4% 30.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 20.5% 94.1% 37.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 16.5% 49.7% 76.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 24.6% 51.3% -185.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 55.4% -85.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 24.6% 49.5% -225.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 20.6% 183.9% -73.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.0% 20.3% 37.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 18.6% 147.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -10.2% 10.6% 52.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.6% 18.8% 94.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSTNSTRLGVA
Gross margin 43.6% 23.8% 15.6%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 20.2% 10.2%
Operating margin 11.7% 17.5% 6.3%
Pretax margin 11.3% 17.5% -1.3%
Net margin 6.2% 12.5% -3.3%
FCF margin 5.0% 14.0% 9.5%
Operating cash flow margin 4.4% 17.4% 12.2%
Return on equity 36.3% 35.6% -14.8%
Return on assets 15.1% 15.4% -3.3%
Return on invested capital 37.8% 29.2% 13.4%
Return on capital employed 28.3% 35.5% 16.9%
Asset turnover 1.8x 1.2x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 1.3x -4.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.8% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSTNSTRLGVA
Debt / assets 3.9% 8.9% 32.6%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.2x 1.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.0x -0.3x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 0.4x 0.6x 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 58.6% 56.5% 83.1%
Equity / assets 41.4% 43.5% 16.9%
Interest coverage 9.6x 36.1x 4.5x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.1x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score – 6.00 2.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSTNSTRLGVA
Dividend yield 1.3% – 0.5%
Net buyback yield – 0.6% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.3% 0.6% 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -15.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 4.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 0.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -0.1%

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.

ConsensusSTNSTRLGVA
Forward P/E 15.3xFY2026 19.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $4.62FY2026 $18.73FY2026 $-3.74FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.7%FY2026 +72.2%FY2026 -196.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.6% +43.6% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.75BFY2026 $4.20BFY2026 $5.09BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.4%FY2026 +68.8%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.6% +12.4% +12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSTNSTRLGVA
Held by institutions 62.0% 85.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 293 888 445
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% -6.1% -3.0%
Institutions buying 162 456 239
Institutions selling 87 366 151
Buyers to sellers 1.86 1.25 1.58

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.

STNSTRLGVA
STN 1.00 0.07 0.28
STRL 0.07 1.00 0.44
GVA 0.28 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, STN, STRL and GVA?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Stantec (STN) $8.07B, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) $11.28B, Granite Construction (GVA) $4.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, STN, STRL and GVA?

Stantec (STN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Stantec (STN) 12.4x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 26.1x, Granite Construction (GVA) -29.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stantec (STN) is cheapest (Stantec (STN) 15.3x, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 19.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Stantec (STN) +9.4%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +60.8%, Granite Construction (GVA) +21.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) has the highest net margin (Stantec (STN) 6.2%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 12.5%, Granite Construction (GVA) -3.3%). On return on invested capital, Stantec (STN) leads (Stantec (STN) 37.8%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 29.2%, Granite Construction (GVA) 13.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Granite Construction (GVA) returned the most: Stantec (STN) -37.0%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) -2.5%, Granite Construction (GVA) +6.4%. Over five years, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) compounded fastest (Stantec (STN) +4.8%/yr, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) +72.8%/yr, Granite Construction (GVA) +23.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Stantec (STN) has the highest dividend yield: Stantec (STN) 1.34%, Granite Construction (GVA) 0.47%. Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Stantec (STN) has been the steadiest (Stantec (STN) 30.3%, Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) 85.6%, Granite Construction (GVA) 33.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, STN, STRL and GVA?

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.