Carpenter Technology vs Nordson
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The short version
- Carpenter Technology is the larger business, with $3.1B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $2.8B for Nordson.
- Carpenter Technology grew revenue faster (8.6%, against 3.8%).
- Nordson kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (25.5% operating margin, against 22.5%).
- Nordson turned more of its sales into free cash flow (23.7% FCF margin, against 11.6%).
- Carpenter Technology earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (23.7%, against 11.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Nordson’s earnings: a P/E of 32.3x against 25.1x for Carpenter Technology.
| Latest fiscal year | CRS · FY26 | NDSN · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $14.2B | $17.9B |
| Revenue | $3.1B | $2.8B |
| Free cash flow | $362M | $661M |
| Net income | $530M | $485M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.6% | 3.8% |
| 5-year growth | 16.2% | 5.7% |
| Share count change | −0.6% | −1.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 30.6% | 55.2% |
| Operating margin | 22.5% | 25.5% |
| Net margin | 17.0% | 17.4% |
| FCF margin | 11.6% | 23.7% |
| Return on capital | 23.7% | 11.6% |
| Return on equity | 25.8% | 16.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $297M | $1.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.4x | 2.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $219M | $486M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 25.1x | 32.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 9 | 5 |
Revenue
FY17
CRS $1.8B
NDSN $2.1B
FY18
CRS $2.2B
NDSN $2.3B
FY19
CRS $2.4B
NDSN $2.2B
FY20
CRS $2.2B
NDSN $2.1B
FY21
CRS $1.5B
NDSN $2.4B
FY22
CRS $1.8B
NDSN $2.6B
FY23
CRS $2.6B
NDSN $2.6B
FY24
CRS $2.8B
NDSN $2.7B
FY25
CRS $2.9B
NDSN $2.8B
FY26
CRS $3.1B
NDSN —
CRS
NDSN
Operating margin
FY17
CRS 6.8%
NDSN 22.6%
FY18
CRS 8.8%
NDSN 22.3%
FY19
CRS 10.1%
NDSN 22.0%
FY20
CRS 1.2%
NDSN 16.5%
FY21
CRS −16.9%
NDSN 26.0%
FY22
CRS −1.4%
NDSN 27.1%
FY23
CRS 5.2%
NDSN 25.6%
FY24
CRS 11.7%
NDSN 25.1%
FY25
CRS 18.1%
NDSN 25.5%
FY26
CRS 22.5%
NDSN —
CRS
NDSN
Free cash flow
FY17
CRS $31.8M
NDSN $285M
FY18
CRS $74.2M
NDSN $415M
FY19
CRS $52.1M
NDSN $319M
FY20
CRS $60.4M
NDSN $452M
FY21
CRS $150M
NDSN $508M
FY22
CRS −$85.3M
NDSN $462M
FY23
CRS −$67.6M
NDSN $607M
FY24
CRS $178M
NDSN $492M
FY25
CRS $286M
NDSN $661M
FY26
CRS $362M
NDSN —
CRS
NDSN
Return on capital
FY17
CRS 4.8%
NDSN 14.9%
FY18
CRS 10.2%
NDSN 15.9%
FY19
CRS 9.2%
NDSN 14.1%
FY20
CRS 0.6%
NDSN 10.8%
FY21
CRS −10.4%
NDSN 18.1%
FY22
CRS −1.1%
NDSN 19.9%
FY23
CRS 5.3%
NDSN 15.0%
FY24
CRS 13.7%
NDSN 11.6%
FY25
CRS 19.1%
NDSN 11.6%
FY26
CRS 23.7%
NDSN —
CRS
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.