Brown & Brown vs Willis Towers Watson
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The short version
- Willis Towers Watson is the larger business, with $9.7B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $5.9B for Brown & Brown, about 1.6 times as much.
- Brown & Brown grew revenue faster (22.8%, against −2.2%).
- Brown & Brown turned more of its sales into free cash flow (23.4% FCF margin, against 15.9%).
- Willis Towers Watson earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (12.8%, against 9.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Brown & Brown’s earnings: a P/E of 23.0x against 20.1x for Willis Towers Watson.
| Latest fiscal year | BRO · FY25 | WTW · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $24.4B | $30.6B |
| Revenue | $5.9B | $9.7B |
| Free cash flow | $1.4B | $1.5B |
| Net income | $1.1B | $1.6B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 22.8% | −2.2% |
| 5-year growth | 17.7% | 2.4% |
| Share count change | 10.2% | −2.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | — | 23.0% |
| Net margin | 17.9% | 16.5% |
| FCF margin | 23.4% | 15.9% |
| Return on capital | 9.1% | 12.8% |
| Return on equity | 11.1% | 20.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $6.5B | $6.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.8x | 2.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $293M | $2.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 23.0x | 20.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 7 |
Revenue
FY16
BRO $1.8B
WTW $7.9B
FY17
BRO $1.9B
WTW $8.2B
FY18
BRO $2.0B
WTW $8.5B
FY19
BRO $2.4B
WTW $8.4B
FY20
BRO $2.6B
WTW $8.6B
FY21
BRO $3.1B
WTW $9.0B
FY22
BRO $3.6B
WTW $8.9B
FY23
BRO $4.3B
WTW $9.5B
FY24
BRO $4.8B
WTW $9.9B
FY25
BRO $5.9B
WTW $9.7B
BRO
WTW
Operating margin
FY16
BRO —
WTW 4.4%
FY17
BRO —
WTW 6.3%
FY18
BRO —
WTW 9.5%
FY19
BRO —
WTW 12.6%
FY20
BRO —
WTW 10.0%
FY21
BRO —
WTW 24.5%
FY22
BRO —
WTW 13.3%
FY23
BRO —
WTW 14.4%
FY24
BRO —
WTW 6.3%
FY25
BRO —
WTW 23.0%
BRO
WTW
Free cash flow
FY16
BRO $393M
WTW $715M
FY17
BRO $418M
WTW $562M
FY18
BRO $526M
WTW $1.0B
FY19
BRO $605M
WTW $1.0B
FY20
BRO $642M
WTW $1.7B
FY21
BRO $764M
WTW $2.0B
FY22
BRO $829M
WTW $746M
FY23
BRO $941M
WTW $1.1B
FY24
BRO $1.1B
WTW $1.3B
FY25
BRO $1.4B
WTW $1.5B
BRO
WTW
Return on capital
FY16
BRO 9.8%
WTW —
FY17
BRO 14.8%
WTW —
FY18
BRO 10.7%
WTW 4.5%
FY19
BRO 10.6%
WTW 5.2%
FY20
BRO 11.0%
WTW 3.8%
FY21
BRO 11.9%
WTW 11.0%
FY22
BRO 11.7%
WTW 6.5%
FY23
BRO 12.3%
WTW 7.3%
FY24
BRO 12.6%
WTW 2.1%
FY25
BRO 9.1%
WTW 12.8%
BRO
WTW
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.