IES vs Sterling Infrastructure
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put IES and Sterling Infrastructure side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- IES is the larger business, with $3.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.5B for Sterling Infrastructure.
- Sterling Infrastructure grew revenue faster (17.7%, against 16.9%).
- Sterling Infrastructure kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (16.3% operating margin, against 11.4%).
- Sterling Infrastructure turned more of its sales into free cash flow (14.6% FCF margin, against 6.5%).
- IES earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (50.5%, against 40.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Sterling Infrastructure’s earnings: a P/E of 26.0x against 9.6x for IES.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
IES
IESC
6/11
5-year growthGross marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Sterling Infrastructure
STRL
5/11
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginPiotroski F-score
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | IESC FY25 | STRL FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $4.4B | $11.2B |
| Revenue | $3.4B | $2.5B |
| Free cash flow | $219M | $363M |
| Net income | $306M | $290M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 16.9% | 17.7% |
| 5-year growth | 23.1% | 15.2% |
| Share count change | −1.1% | −0.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 25.5% | 23.0% |
| Operating margin | 11.4% | 16.3% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 11.7% |
| FCF margin | 6.5% | 14.6% |
| Return on capital | 50.5% | 40.8% |
| Return on equity | 40.9% | 30.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$224M | −$99.3M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.5x | −0.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $41.6M | $74.2M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 9.6x | 26.0x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 7 |
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.