Ferguson Enterprises Inc. vs WESCO International, Inc., two Distribution stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Ferguson and WESCO both distribute into construction and industry, but Ferguson runs a far better business: a 37.78% return on equity against WESCO's 13.24%, a 6.87% net margin against 2.79%, and much lighter debt, 0.7 turns against 1.13. Ferguson trades cheaper on earnings, 21 times against 24.7, despite triple the return, and converts more free cash, 4.45% against 1.25%. The pair prices a premium building-supply distributor against a leveraged electrical one: Ferguson's scale and margins tower over WESCO's thin, debt-financed model, and with a lower multiple and higher returns, Ferguson is the stronger business on nearly every line.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | FERG | WCC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $238.57 | $347.28 |
| Market cap | $46.5B | $17.2B |
| Sector | Distribution | Distribution |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +17.6% | +20.3% |
| P/E | 21.2 | 24.7 |
| P/B | 7.91 | 3.37 |
| P/S | 1.44 | 0.71 |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.4 | 15.4 |
| Revenue growth | +6.7% | +11.2% |
| Gross margin | 31.0% | — |
| Operating margin | 8.2% | 4.8% |
| Net margin | 6.9% | 2.8% |
| Return on equity | 37.8% | 13.2% |
| Return on assets | 12.5% | 4.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 22.7% | 9.3% |
| FCF yield | 4.5% | 1.3% |
| Dividend yield | 1.4% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.70 | 1.13 |
| Current ratio | 1.78 | 2.12 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 5.15 | 3.19 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 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.