Crane vs Nordson
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Crane and Nordson side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- 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 Crane’s earnings: a P/E of 33.3x against 32.6x for Nordson.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Crane
CR
5/10
Revenue growthReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Nordson
NDSN
5/10
Gross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CR FY25 | NDSN FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $11.2B | $18.0B |
| 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 | 33.3x | 32.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 5 |
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.