ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES, INC. vs ADVANCED DRAINAGE SYSTEMS, INC., two Plastics stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where AWI and WMS diverge most: on operating margin, AWI reads 28.4% and WMS reads 7.9%; on altman z (solvency), AWI reads 8.51 and WMS reads 4.04. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's AWI price has a different growth bar priced in than WMS (+13.1% implied for AWI vs +23.1% for WMS); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What AWI's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What WMS's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | AWI | WMS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $174.69 | $138.51 |
| Market cap | $7.5B | $10.9B |
| Sector | Plastics | Plastics |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +13.1% | +23.1% |
| P/E | 23.9 | 25.5 |
| P/B | 8.44 | 5.77 |
| P/S | 4.40 | 3.56 |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.9 | 14.7 |
| Revenue growth | +8.5% | +5.2% |
| Gross margin | 41.3% | 35.1% |
| Operating margin | 28.4% | 7.9% |
| Net margin | 18.6% | 14.0% |
| Return on equity | 35.7% | 22.7% |
| Return on assets | 15.7% | 9.5% |
| Return on invested capital | 24.2% | 13.9% |
| FCF yield | 3.3% | 5.2% |
| Dividend yield | 0.7% | 0.5% |
| Debt / equity | 0.56 | 0.87 |
| Current ratio | 1.52 | 2.42 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 8.51 | 4.04 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 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.