Core & Main vs Watsco
CNM and WSO side by side, both in wholesale trade-durable goods. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How CNM and WSO compare
Watsco is the larger company, worth 1.5 times as much as Core & Main ($12.5B against $8.4B).
On earnings, Core & Main is cheaper: it trades at 18.3× trailing earnings, against 26.1× for Watsco.
Core & Main grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (−0.54% versus −3.0% for Watsco).
Watsco keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 6.5% compared with 6.0% at Core & Main.
Watsco pays a dividend yielding 4.2%; Core & Main does not pay one.
Watsco scores higher on the StockData Score (15 against 14 for Core & Main), which adds up 30 checks on valuation, growth, past performance, financial health and dividends.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | CNM | WSO |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $8.4B | $12.5B |
| Share price | $44.25 | $303.56 |
| Change, 1 year | −16.7% | −17.6% |
| Change, 5 years | 63.2% | 2.8% |
| Beta (5Y) | 1.22 | 1.05 |
| Employees | 5,600 | 7,050 |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 14 | 15 (better) |
| Valuation score | 4 (better) | 1 |
| Growth score | 1 (better) | 0 |
| Performance score | 5 | 5 |
| Health score | 4 | 5 (better) |
| Dividend score | 0 | 4 (better) |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 18.3× (better) | 26.1× |
| P/S | 1.1× (better) | 1.7× |
| P/B | 4.2× (better) | 4.2× |
| EV/EBITDA | 11.5× (better) | 17.4× |
| P/FCF | 13.4× (better) | 18.0× |
| PEG | 6.67 | – |
| FCF yield | 7.5% (better) | 5.6% |
| Fair value | $48.24 | $235.40 |
| Margin of safety | 8.3% (better) | −29.0% |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | −0.54% (better) | −3.0% |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | 16.0% (better) | 7.4% |
| Net income growth (TTM) | 6.5% (better) | −10.5% |
| EPS growth (TTM) | 8.5% (better) | −11.0% |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | – | 11.8% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 27.0% | 27.5% (better) |
| Operating margin | 9.6% (better) | 9.4% |
| Net margin | 6.0% | 6.5% (better) |
| FCF margin | 8.2% | 9.6% (better) |
| Return on equity | 23.4% (better) | 16.5% |
| Return on invested capital | 13.7% | 19.6% (better) |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 1.21 | 0.04 (better) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.30 (better) | −0.47 |
| Interest coverage | 6.3× | – |
| Current ratio | 2.47 | 3.20 (better) |
| Altman Z-score | 3.09 | 7.46 (better) |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 (better) | 5 |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Dividend yield | – | 4.2% |
| Payout ratio | – | 105% |
| Years of dividend growth | – | 12 |
| Dividend growth, 5Y average | – | 11.1% |
| Buyback yield | 4.3% | – |
| Shareholder yield | 4.3% (better) | 4.2% |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 105% | 92.0% |
| Held by insiders | 2.7% | 8.1% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$67.6K | – |
| Superinvestors holding | – | 2 |
| Short interest, % of float | 6.7% | – |
Go deeper
- CNM stock overview
- CNM income statement
- CNM valuation and score
- WSO stock overview
- WSO income statement
- WSO valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.