APPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. vs WATSCO INC, two Distribution stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Applied Industrial distributes industrial parts, Watsco HVAC equipment, and the two are similarly profitable specialty distributors. Watsco earns a bit less on equity, 15.43% against Applied's 21.71%, but runs an even cleaner balance sheet at 0.11 turns of debt and pays a far bigger dividend, 2.85% against 0.49%. Watsco trades richer, 33.7 times earnings against 31.8, and converts more free cash, 4.45% against 3.46%. Both are well-run niche distributors with pricing power in their categories. The two make a close matchup: Applied the higher-return industrial-parts name, Watsco the steadier, dividend-rich HVAC distributor with the lighter balance sheet, and whether you want Applied's returns or Watsco's income and consistency decides it.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | AIT | WSO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $336.94 | $410.75 |
| Market cap | $12.7B | $15.6B |
| Sector | Distribution | Distribution |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +19.8% |
| P/E | 31.8 | 33.7 |
| P/B | 6.83 | 4.85 |
| P/S | 2.62 | 2.15 |
| EV/EBITDA | 23.4 | 21.4 |
| Revenue growth | +7.6% | -4.4% |
| Gross margin | 30.4% | 27.9% |
| Operating margin | 11.0% | 7.2% |
| Net margin | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| Return on equity | 21.7% | 15.4% |
| Return on assets | 13.5% | 10.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 17.4% | 16.0% |
| FCF yield | 3.5% | 4.5% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | 2.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.20 | 0.11 |
| Current ratio | 2.95 | 3.34 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.46 | 8.60 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.