Simpson Manufacturing vs Advanced Drainage Systems
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Simpson Manufacturing and Advanced Drainage Systems side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Advanced Drainage Systems is the larger business, with $3.1B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $2.3B for Simpson Manufacturing.
- Advanced Drainage Systems grew revenue faster (5.0%, against 4.5%).
- Advanced Drainage Systems kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (20.3% operating margin, against 19.6%).
- Advanced Drainage Systems turned more of its sales into free cash flow (18.7% FCF margin, against 12.8%).
- Simpson Manufacturing earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (17.5%, against 15.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Advanced Drainage Systems’s earnings: a P/E of 22.7x against 19.9x for Simpson Manufacturing.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Simpson Manufacturing
SSD
7/11
5-year growthGross marginNet marginReturn on capitalPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Advanced Drainage Systems
WMS
4/11
Revenue growthOperating marginFCF marginReturn on equity
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | SSD FY25 | WMS FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $7.5B | $10.1B |
| Revenue | $2.3B | $3.1B |
| Free cash flow | $298M | $569M |
| Net income | $345M | $427M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.5% | 5.0% |
| 5-year growth | 13.0% | 9.0% |
| Share count change | −1.2% | 0.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 45.9% | 38.3% |
| Operating margin | 19.6% | 20.3% |
| Net margin | 14.8% | 14.0% |
| FCF margin | 12.8% | 18.7% |
| Return on capital | 17.5% | 15.8% |
| Return on equity | 18.0% | 25.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$84.1M | $1.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.2x | 1.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $168M | $148M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 19.9x | 22.7x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 4 |
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.