Graco vs Nordson
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The short version
- Nordson is the larger business, with $2.8B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.2B for Graco.
- Graco grew revenue faster (5.8%, against 3.8%).
- Graco kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (27.9% operating margin, against 25.5%).
- Graco turned more of its sales into free cash flow (28.5% FCF margin, against 23.7%).
- Graco earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (25.8%, against 11.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Nordson’s earnings: a P/E of 32.3x against 21.6x for Graco.
| Latest fiscal year | GGG · FY25 | NDSN · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $10.9B | $17.9B |
| Revenue | $2.2B | $2.8B |
| Free cash flow | $638M | $661M |
| Net income | $522M | $485M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.8% | 3.8% |
| 5-year growth | 6.3% | 5.7% |
| Share count change | −1.9% | −1.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 52.5% | 55.2% |
| Operating margin | 27.9% | 25.5% |
| Net margin | 23.3% | 17.4% |
| FCF margin | 28.5% | 23.7% |
| Return on capital | 25.8% | 11.6% |
| Return on equity | 19.9% | 16.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$623M | $1.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.9x | 2.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $607M | $486M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 21.6x | 32.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 5 |
Revenue
FY16
GGG $1.3B
NDSN $1.8B
FY17
GGG $1.5B
NDSN $2.1B
FY18
GGG $1.7B
NDSN $2.3B
FY19
GGG $1.6B
NDSN $2.2B
FY20
GGG $1.7B
NDSN $2.1B
FY21
GGG $2.0B
NDSN $2.4B
FY22
GGG $2.1B
NDSN $2.6B
FY23
GGG $2.2B
NDSN $2.6B
FY24
GGG $2.1B
NDSN $2.7B
FY25
GGG $2.2B
NDSN $2.8B
GGG
NDSN
Operating margin
FY16
GGG 9.1%
NDSN 21.5%
FY17
GGG 25.7%
NDSN 22.6%
FY18
GGG 26.4%
NDSN 22.3%
FY19
GGG 25.8%
NDSN 22.0%
FY20
GGG 23.7%
NDSN 16.5%
FY21
GGG 26.7%
NDSN 26.0%
FY22
GGG 26.7%
NDSN 27.1%
FY23
GGG 29.5%
NDSN 25.6%
FY24
GGG 27.0%
NDSN 25.1%
FY25
GGG 27.9%
NDSN 25.5%
GGG
NDSN
Free cash flow
FY16
GGG $234M
NDSN $274M
FY17
GGG $298M
NDSN $285M
FY18
GGG $314M
NDSN $415M
FY19
GGG $291M
NDSN $319M
FY20
GGG $323M
NDSN $452M
FY21
GGG $323M
NDSN $508M
FY22
GGG $176M
NDSN $462M
FY23
GGG $466M
NDSN $607M
FY24
GGG $515M
NDSN $492M
FY25
GGG $638M
NDSN $661M
GGG
NDSN
Return on capital
FY16
GGG 6.7%
NDSN 16.4%
FY17
GGG 32.9%
NDSN 14.9%
FY18
GGG 41.9%
NDSN 15.9%
FY19
GGG 38.8%
NDSN 14.1%
FY20
GGG 34.2%
NDSN 10.8%
FY21
GGG 40.1%
NDSN 18.1%
FY22
GGG 33.0%
NDSN 19.9%
FY23
GGG 32.8%
NDSN 15.0%
FY24
GGG 26.2%
NDSN 11.6%
FY25
GGG 25.8%
NDSN 11.6%
GGG
NDSN
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.