Fortive vs MKS
FTV and MKSI side by side, both in laboratory apparatus and analytical, optical, measuring, and controlling instruments. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How FTV and MKSI compare
Fortive is the larger company, worth 1.5 times as much as MKS ($19.9B against $13.7B).
On earnings, MKS is cheaper: it trades at 32.3× trailing earnings, against 39.0× for Fortive.
MKS grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (16.3% versus 5.6% for Fortive).
Fortive keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 12.4% compared with 10.1% at MKS.
Both pay dividends: Fortive yields 0.38% and MKS 0.48%.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | FTV | MKSI |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $19.9B | $13.7B |
| Share price | $65.84 | $202.04 |
| Change, 1 year | 33.9% | 42.9% |
| Change, 5 years | −16.4% | 26.1% |
| Beta (5Y) | 0.97 | 2.03 |
| Employees | 10K | 10K |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 14 | 14 |
| Valuation score | 3 (better) | 2 |
| Growth score | 1 | 2 (better) |
| Performance score | 2 | 4 (better) |
| Health score | 4 (better) | 2 |
| Dividend score | 4 | 4 |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 39.0× | 32.3× (better) |
| P/S | 4.6× | 3.1× (better) |
| P/B | 3.3× (better) | 4.6× |
| EV/EBITDA | 18.7× | 14.3× (better) |
| P/FCF | 21.2× (better) | 30.0× |
| FCF yield | 4.7% (better) | 3.3% |
| Fair value | $69.80 | $217.80 |
| Margin of safety | 5.7% | 7.2% (better) |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | 5.6% | 16.3% (better) |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | −2.1% | 11.0% (better) |
| Net income growth (TTM) | −30.5% | 64.8% (better) |
| EPS growth (TTM) | −23.9% | 58.5% (better) |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | −17.4% | −7.1% (better) |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 63.2% (better) | 47.0% |
| Operating margin | 18.2% (better) | 15.7% |
| Net margin | 12.4% (better) | 10.1% |
| FCF margin | 21.7% (better) | 10.5% |
| Return on equity | 6.5% | 15.9% (better) |
| Return on invested capital | 6.3% | 20.3% (better) |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 0.58 | 0.47 (better) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.54 | 0.92 (better) |
| Interest coverage | – | 3.7× |
| Current ratio | 1.24 (better) | 1.14 |
| Altman Z-score | 3.46 (better) | 2.31 |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 (better) |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Dividend yield | 0.38% | 0.48% (better) |
| Payout ratio | 10.6% | 14.3% |
| Years of dividend growth | – | 0 |
| Dividend growth, 5Y average | – | 1.9% |
| Buyback yield | 9.9% (better) | 0.00% |
| Shareholder yield | 10.3% (better) | 0.48% |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 109% | 105% |
| Held by insiders | 0.58% | 0.50% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$6.8M (better) | −$43.4M |
| Superinvestors holding | 2 | 3 (better) |
| Short interest, % of float | 5.7% | 7.6% |
Go deeper
- FTV stock overview
- FTV income statement
- FTV valuation and score
- MKSI stock overview
- MKSI income statement
- MKSI valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.