VLTO vs XYL vs AIRJ Stock Comparison

Veralto, Xylem and AirJoule Technologies Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
VLTO Veralto Corp
$116.55 +20.8% 1M +16.6% 1Y
Market cap
$28.37B
P/E
28.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.80B
Div. yield
0.45%
Water Treatment Industrials
7 wins
XYL Xylem Inc.
$100.02 -4.4% 1M -33.6% 1Y
Market cap
$22.94B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.06B
Div. yield
1.69%
Water Treatment Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Veralto leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Veralto 7, Xylem 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionVLTOXYLAIRJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $28.37B $22.94B $154.03M VLTO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.4x 21.5x -1.7x XYL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.2x 19.7x — XYL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.4% +1.9% — VLTO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.3% 11.9% — VLTO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.1% 8.3% — VLTO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 1.1x — VLTO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.45% 1.69% — XYL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.6% -33.6% -57.7% VLTO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -5.3%/yr — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.4% 31.4% 86.6% VLTO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 75/100 80/100 47/100 XYL

Percentile Scorecard

VLTOXYLAIRJ

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

AxisVLTOXYLAIRJ
Valuation 79 #5 of 20 95 #2 of 20 53 #10 of 20
Growth 71 #6 of 18 88 #3 of 18 12 #16 of 18
Profitability 100 #1 of 17 75 #5 of 17 44 #10 of 17
Financial Health 55 #10 of 21 50 #11 of 21 100 #1 of 21
Shareholder Returns 73 #4 of 12 91 #2 of 12 27 #9 of 12
Overall 75 80 47
  • VLTO ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • XYL ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • AIRJ ranked among 21 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodVLTOXYLAIRJSPY
1 month +20.8%-4.4%-45.0% -5.9%
3 months +18.9%-17.2%-62.4% -4.6%
6 months +31.4%-13.5%-39.7% +0.2%
Year to date +16.8%-26.6%-46.7% +7.5%
1 year +16.6%-33.6%-57.7% +8.2%
3 years +70.7%+4.0%-80.3% +68.3%
3 years, per year +19.5%+1.3%-41.9% +19.0%
5 years —-23.7%— +56.5%
5 years, per year —-5.3%— +9.4%
10 years —+111.0%— +251.5%
10 years, per year —+7.8%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureVLTOXYLAIRJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.4%31.4%86.6% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.8%36.4%77.8% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.150.602.58 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.68-1.07-0.67 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.6%-45.4%-92.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.4%-33.9%-67.2% -5.9%
52-week high $117.02$151.31$6.40 $779.14
52-week low $82.23$88.24$2.10 $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.

MultipleVLTOXYLAIRJ
P/E now vs peer median 28.4xmedian 36.2x 21.5xmedian 36.2x -1.7xmedian 36.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.5x 2.5xmedian 2.5x —median 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 22.1x 13.0xmedian 22.1x -8.1xmedian 22.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.0xmedian 25.4x 24.9xmedian 25.4x -21.2xmedian 25.4x
P/B now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 1.8x 2.2xmedian 1.8x 0.6xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 5.09median 2.08 0.68median 2.08 0.01median 2.08

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 monthsVLTOXYLAIRJ
Revenue $5.80B $9.06B –
Gross profit $3.49B $3.61B –
Operating income $1.27B $1.37B -$13.96M
Net income $1.00B $1.08B -$84.79M
Free cash flow $1.09B $921.00M -$7.26M
R&D $278.00M $231.00M $607.33K
EPS (diluted) $4.08 $4.64 $-1.22
Cash & equivalents $1.79B $708.00M $41.42M
Total debt $2.92B $2.90B –
Shares (diluted) 245.30M 233.04M 69.74M
Enterprise value $21.00B $18.91B $33.66M

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
MetricVLTOXYLAIRJ
P/E 28.4x 21.5x -1.7x
P/FCF 26.0x 24.9x -21.2x
P/Operating cash flow 24.5x 18.0x -21.3x
P/S 4.9x 2.5x –
P/B 8.8x 2.2x 0.6x
P/Tangible book 11.8x 2.8x -0.6x
EV/EBITDA 21.6x 13.0x -8.1x
EV/EBIT 23.3x 18.3x -8.1x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 2.8x –
EV/FCF 27.0x 27.3x -15.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.5x 19.8x -15.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.09 0.68 0.01

Growth

14 metrics
MetricVLTOXYLAIRJ
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.4% 1.9% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 10.3% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.7% 6.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 12.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.2% 20.7% -11.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 29.1% -46.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.7% 14.1% -322.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 30.0% -288.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.1% 19.6% -292.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 31.7% -176.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.0% -0.1% 18.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 19.6% -47.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 10.9% -0.4% 18.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 21.9% -47.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricVLTOXYLAIRJ
Gross margin 60.2% 39.8% –
EBITDA margin 23.6% 21.3% –
Operating margin 21.8% 15.1% –
Pretax margin 20.3% 14.8% –
Net margin 17.3% 11.9% –
FCF margin 18.8% 10.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 19.9% 14.0% –
Return on equity 31.7% 10.3% -34.6%
Return on assets 11.9% 6.2% -28.1%
Return on invested capital 17.1% 8.3% –
Return on capital employed 18.8% 9.5% -4.7%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.2x 0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 0.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVLTOXYLAIRJ
Debt / assets 35.5% 16.7% –
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 1.1x –
Debt / FCF 2.7x 3.1x –
Liabilities / assets 60.7% 40.7% 19.0%
Equity / assets 39.3% 59.3% 81.0%
Interest coverage 13.2x 36.1x –
Current ratio 2.0x 1.4x 19.7x
Quick ratio 1.7x 0.9x 18.9x
Cash ratio 1.1x 0.2x 18.9x
Altman Z-score 5.28 3.15 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricVLTOXYLAIRJ
Dividend yield 0.4% 1.7% –
Net buyback yield 1.8% 6.8% -23.6%
Shareholder yield 2.2% 8.5% -23.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 37.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 44.0% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 6.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 14.1% –

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.

ConsensusVLTOXYLAIRJ
Forward P/E 25.2xFY2026 19.7xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $4.62FY2026 $5.07FY2026 $-1.05FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.5%FY2026 -0.2%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +8.0% +11.6% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.73BFY2026 $9.57BFY2026 $168.27KFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.2%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026 +205.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.8% -0.5% +3,073.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersVLTOXYLAIRJ
Held by institutions 96.1% 92.0% 24.6%
Institutions holding 977 1,094 119
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.3% +0.2% +8.4%
Institutions buying 398 489 84
Institutions selling 387 448 19
Buyers to sellers 1.03 1.09 4.42

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.

VLTOXYLAIRJ
VLTO 1.00 0.32 -0.07
XYL 0.32 1.00 0.06
AIRJ -0.07 0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, VLTO, XYL and AIRJ?

Veralto (VLTO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Veralto (VLTO) $28.37B, Xylem (XYL) $22.94B, AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) $154.03M.

Which stock is cheaper, VLTO, XYL and AIRJ?

Xylem (XYL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Veralto (VLTO) 28.4x, Xylem (XYL) 21.5x, AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) -1.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Xylem (XYL) is cheapest (Veralto (VLTO) 25.2x, Xylem (XYL) 19.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Veralto (VLTO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Veralto (VLTO) +6.4%, Xylem (XYL) +1.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Veralto (VLTO) has the highest net margin (Veralto (VLTO) 17.3%, Xylem (XYL) 11.9%). On return on invested capital, Veralto (VLTO) leads (Veralto (VLTO) 17.1%, Xylem (XYL) 8.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Veralto (VLTO) returned the most: Veralto (VLTO) +16.6%, Xylem (XYL) -33.6%, AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) -57.7%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Xylem (XYL) has the highest dividend yield: Veralto (VLTO) 0.45%, Xylem (XYL) 1.69%. AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Veralto (VLTO) has been the steadiest (Veralto (VLTO) 24.4%, Xylem (XYL) 31.4%, AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) 86.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, VLTO, XYL and AIRJ?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Veralto (VLTO) leads on 7. 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.