EXPONENT, INC. vs STANTEC INC., two Consulting stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Two debt-free consultancies, and the resemblance ends at the balance sheet. Exponent runs a 24.9% operating margin on litigation-grade engineering analysis; Stantec runs single-digit net margins, 5.9%, on infrastructure design at scale. Returns on equity sit at 32.2% against 14.8%. The market prices them closer than the economics suggest, 28.4 and 22.4 times earnings, because Stantec offers what Exponent structurally cannot: a backlog that compounds with public-works spending. Stantec also converts more price into cash, an 8% free-cash yield against 3.7%. The choice is margin without scale or scale without margin, priced six turns apart.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | EXPO | STN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $60.81 | $69.32 |
| Market cap | $3.0B | $7.9B |
| Sector | Consulting | Consulting |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +15.5% | — |
| P/E | 28.4 | 22.4 |
| P/B | 9.01 | 3.32 |
| P/S | 5.06 | 1.32 |
| EV/EBITDA | 23.1 | — |
| Revenue growth | +7.8% | +15.6% |
| Operating margin | 24.9% | — |
| Net margin | 18.1% | 5.9% |
| Return on equity | 32.2% | 14.8% |
| Return on assets | 15.8% | 6.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 24.1% | — |
| FCF yield | 3.7% | 8.0% |
| Dividend yield | 2.0% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 2.40 | 1.23 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 8.05 | 2.47 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 7 / 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.