Crane vs Nordson
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The short version
- Nordson is the larger business, with $2.8B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.3B for Crane.
- Crane grew revenue faster (8.2%, against 3.8%).
- Nordson kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (25.5% operating margin, against 18.4%).
- Nordson turned more of its sales into free cash flow (23.7% FCF margin, against 14.8%).
- Crane earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (15.2%, against 11.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Nordson’s earnings: a P/E of 32.3x against 32.0x for Crane.
| Latest fiscal year | CR · FY25 | NDSN · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $10.7B | $17.9B |
| Revenue | $2.3B | $2.8B |
| Free cash flow | $341M | $661M |
| Net income | $367M | $485M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.2% | 3.8% |
| 5-year growth | — | 5.7% |
| Share count change | 0.5% | −1.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 42.2% | 55.2% |
| Operating margin | 18.4% | 25.5% |
| Net margin | 15.9% | 17.4% |
| FCF margin | 14.8% | 23.7% |
| Return on capital | 15.2% | 11.6% |
| Return on equity | 19.8% | 16.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $642M | $1.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.4x | 2.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $52.9M | $486M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 32.0x | 32.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 5 |
Revenue
FY16
CR —
NDSN $1.8B
FY17
CR —
NDSN $2.1B
FY18
CR —
NDSN $2.3B
FY19
CR —
NDSN $2.2B
FY20
CR —
NDSN $2.1B
FY21
CR $2.1B
NDSN $2.4B
FY22
CR $1.8B
NDSN $2.6B
FY23
CR $1.9B
NDSN $2.6B
FY24
CR $2.1B
NDSN $2.7B
FY25
CR $2.3B
NDSN $2.8B
CR
NDSN
Operating margin
FY16
CR —
NDSN 21.5%
FY17
CR —
NDSN 22.6%
FY18
CR —
NDSN 22.3%
FY19
CR —
NDSN 22.0%
FY20
CR —
NDSN 16.5%
FY21
CR 10.8%
NDSN 26.0%
FY22
CR 0.3%
NDSN 27.1%
FY23
CR 13.5%
NDSN 25.6%
FY24
CR 16.7%
NDSN 25.1%
FY25
CR 18.4%
NDSN 25.5%
CR
NDSN
Free cash flow
FY16
CR —
NDSN $274M
FY17
CR —
NDSN $285M
FY18
CR —
NDSN $415M
FY19
CR —
NDSN $319M
FY20
CR —
NDSN $452M
FY21
CR $150M
NDSN $508M
FY22
CR −$532M
NDSN $462M
FY23
CR $123M
NDSN $607M
FY24
CR $221M
NDSN $492M
FY25
CR $341M
NDSN $661M
CR
NDSN
Return on capital
FY16
CR —
NDSN 16.4%
FY17
CR —
NDSN 14.9%
FY18
CR —
NDSN 15.9%
FY19
CR —
NDSN 14.1%
FY20
CR —
NDSN 10.8%
FY21
CR —
NDSN 18.1%
FY22
CR —
NDSN 19.9%
FY23
CR 12.0%
NDSN 15.0%
FY24
CR 19.7%
NDSN 11.6%
FY25
CR 15.2%
NDSN 11.6%
CR
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.