ESAB vs Nordson
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put ESAB and Nordson side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- ESAB is the larger business, with $2.8B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.8B for Nordson.
- Nordson kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (25.5% operating margin, against 14.5%).
- Nordson turned more of its sales into free cash flow (23.7% FCF margin, against 7.5%).
- Nordson earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.6%, against 11.0%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Nordson’s earnings: a P/E of 32.6x against 24.2x for ESAB.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
ESAB
ESAB
2/11
5-year growthNet debt / EBITDA
Nordson
NDSN
9/11
Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | ESAB FY25 | NDSN FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $4.1B | $18.0B |
| Revenue | $2.8B | $2.8B |
| Free cash flow | $213M | $661M |
| Net income | $227M | $485M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 3.7% | 3.8% |
| 5-year growth | 7.8% | 5.7% |
| Share count change | 0.3% | −1.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 36.9% | 55.2% |
| Operating margin | 14.5% | 25.5% |
| Net margin | 8.0% | 17.4% |
| FCF margin | 7.5% | 23.7% |
| Return on capital | 11.0% | 11.6% |
| Return on equity | 11.5% | 16.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.0B | $1.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.1x | 2.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $21.9M | $486M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 24.2x | 32.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 5 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
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.