Core & Main
CNM · Trading Companies & Distributors
$41.97
0.9%Watsco
WSO · Trading Companies & Distributors
$322.98
1.2%The short version
- Core & Main is the larger business, with $7.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $7.2B for Watsco.
- Core & Main grew revenue faster (2.8%, against −5.0%).
- Watsco kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (10.0% operating margin, against 9.4% operating margin).
- Core & Main turned more of its sales into free cash flow (7.9% FCF margin, against 7.4% FCF margin).
- Watsco earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (20.1%, against 13.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Watsco’s earnings: a P/E of 27.8x against 17.3x for Core & Main.
| Latest fiscal year | CNM · FY25 | WSO · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $8.1B | $12.3B |
| Revenue | $7.6B | $7.2B |
| Free cash flow | $604M | $535M |
| Net income | $441M | $497M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 2.8% | −5.0% |
| 5-year growth | 16.0% | 7.5% |
| Share count change | −1.8% | 1.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 26.9% | 28.1% |
| Operating margin | 9.4% | 10.0% |
| Net margin | 5.8% | 6.9% |
| FCF margin | 7.9% | 7.4% |
| Return on capital | 13.7% | 20.1% |
| Return on equity | 23.9% | 18.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.9B | −$255M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.1x | −0.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $155M | $474M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 17.3x | 27.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
FY16
CNM —
WSO $4.2B
FY17
CNM —
WSO $4.3B
FY18
CNM —
WSO $4.5B
FY19
CNM $3.4B
WSO $4.8B
FY20
CNM $3.6B
WSO $5.1B
FY21
CNM $5.0B
WSO $6.3B
FY22
CNM $6.7B
WSO $7.3B
FY23
CNM $6.7B
WSO $7.3B
FY24
CNM $7.4B
WSO $7.6B
FY25
CNM $7.6B
WSO $7.2B
CNM
WSO
FY16
CNM —
WSO 8.2%
FY17
CNM —
WSO 8.2%
FY18
CNM —
WSO 8.2%
FY19
CNM 4.6%
WSO 7.7%
FY20
CNM 5.1%
WSO 7.9%
FY21
CNM 8.5%
WSO 10.0%
FY22
CNM 11.7%
WSO 11.4%
FY23
CNM 11.0%
WSO 10.9%
FY24
CNM 9.7%
WSO 10.3%
FY25
CNM 9.4%
WSO 10.0%
CNM
WSO
FY16
CNM —
WSO $238M
FY17
CNM —
WSO $289M
FY18
CNM —
WSO $153M
FY19
CNM $180M
WSO $318M
FY20
CNM $202M
WSO $518M
FY21
CNM −$51.0M
WSO $324M
FY22
CNM $376M
WSO $536M
FY23
CNM $1.0B
WSO $526M
FY24
CNM $586M
WSO $743M
FY25
CNM $604M
WSO $535M
CNM
WSO
FY16
CNM —
WSO 16.8%
FY17
CNM —
WSO 17.9%
FY18
CNM —
WSO 19.0%
FY19
CNM —
WSO 16.3%
FY20
CNM —
WSO 16.8%
FY21
CNM —
WSO 24.4%
FY22
CNM 18.2%
WSO 30.1%
FY23
CNM 16.8%
WSO 24.3%
FY24
CNM 14.6%
WSO 22.4%
FY25
CNM 13.7%
WSO 20.1%
CNM
WSO
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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.