Illinois Tool Works vs Stanley Black & Decker
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The short version
- Illinois Tool Works is the larger business, with $16.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $15.1B for Stanley Black & Decker.
- Illinois Tool Works grew revenue faster (0.9%, against −1.5%).
- Illinois Tool Works turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.9% FCF margin, against 4.6%).
- Illinois Tool Works earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (30.2%, against 6.2%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Illinois Tool Works’s earnings: a P/E of 25.0x against 24.2x for Stanley Black & Decker.
| Latest fiscal year | ITW · FY25 | SWK · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $79.1B | $14.9B |
| Revenue | $16.0B | $15.1B |
| Free cash flow | $2.7B | $688M |
| Net income | $3.1B | $402M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 0.9% | −1.5% |
| 5-year growth | 5.0% | 3.5% |
| Share count change | −1.9% | 0.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 52.9% | 30.3% |
| Operating margin | 26.3% | — |
| Net margin | 19.1% | 2.7% |
| FCF margin | 16.9% | 4.6% |
| Return on capital | 30.2% | 6.2% |
| Return on equity | 93.7% | 4.5% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $8.1B | $5.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.8x | 4.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.3B | $521M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 25.0x | 24.2x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
ITW $13.6B
SWK $11.6B
FY17
ITW $14.3B
SWK $13.0B
FY18
ITW $14.8B
SWK $14.0B
FY19
ITW $14.1B
SWK $12.9B
FY20
ITW $12.6B
SWK $12.8B
FY21
ITW $14.5B
SWK $15.3B
FY22
ITW $15.9B
SWK $16.9B
FY23
ITW $16.1B
SWK $15.8B
FY24
ITW $15.9B
SWK $15.4B
FY25
ITW $16.0B
SWK $15.1B
ITW
SWK
Operating margin
FY16
ITW 22.5%
SWK 15.8%
FY17
ITW 24.4%
SWK 15.4%
FY18
ITW 24.3%
SWK 13.5%
FY19
ITW 24.1%
SWK 15.4%
FY20
ITW 22.9%
SWK 17.1%
FY21
ITW 24.1%
SWK —
FY22
ITW 23.8%
SWK —
FY23
ITW 25.1%
SWK —
FY24
ITW 26.8%
SWK —
FY25
ITW 26.3%
SWK —
ITW
SWK
Free cash flow
FY16
ITW $2.0B
SWK $839M
FY17
ITW $2.1B
SWK $226M
FY18
ITW $2.4B
SWK $769M
FY19
ITW $2.7B
SWK $1.1B
FY20
ITW $2.6B
SWK $1.7B
FY21
ITW $2.3B
SWK $144M
FY22
ITW $1.9B
SWK −$2.0B
FY23
ITW $3.1B
SWK $853M
FY24
ITW $2.8B
SWK $753M
FY25
ITW $2.7B
SWK $688M
ITW
SWK
Return on capital
FY16
ITW 22.3%
SWK 15.7%
FY17
ITW 18.5%
SWK 15.6%
FY18
ITW 28.6%
SWK 9.6%
FY19
ITW 29.1%
SWK 14.6%
FY20
ITW 25.1%
SWK 15.9%
FY21
ITW 29.0%
SWK 10.7%
FY22
ITW 28.5%
SWK 2.2%
FY23
ITW 28.2%
SWK 0.9%
FY24
ITW 31.0%
SWK 4.9%
FY25
ITW 30.2%
SWK 6.2%
ITW
SWK
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.