Fortive vs Pentair
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Fortive and Pentair side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Pentair is the larger business, with $4.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.2B for Fortive.
- Pentair kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (20.5% operating margin, against 17.3%).
- Fortive turned more of its sales into free cash flow (23.5% FCF margin, against 17.9%).
- Pentair earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (14.0%, against 5.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Fortive’s earnings: a P/E of 36.4x against 13.5x for Pentair.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Fortive
FTV
3/11
Gross marginFCF marginShare count change
Pentair
PNR
8/11
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | FTV FY25 | PNR FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $19.0B | $9.0B |
| Revenue | $4.2B | $4.2B |
| Free cash flow | $978M | $746M |
| Net income | $579M | $654M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 1.9% | 2.3% |
| 5-year growth | −2.1% | 6.7% |
| Share count change | −5.2% | −1.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 63.5% | 40.5% |
| Operating margin | 17.3% | 20.5% |
| Net margin | 13.9% | 15.7% |
| FCF margin | 23.5% | 17.9% |
| Return on capital | 5.7% | 14.0% |
| Return on equity | 7.0% | 17.6% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $2.8B | $1.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.4x | 1.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.7B | $389M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 36.4x | 13.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 9 |
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.