Ferguson Enterprises Inc. vs WATSCO INC, two Distribution stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Ferguson and Watsco are both high-quality building-supply distributors, Ferguson in plumbing and broad building products, Watsco in HVAC, and both earn strong returns. Ferguson's return on equity is higher, 37.78% against Watsco's 15.43%, and it trades cheaper, 21 times earnings against 33.7. Watsco runs the lighter balance sheet, 0.11 turns of debt against 0.7, and pays the bigger dividend, 2.85% against 1.37%. Both convert 4.45% free cash. The pair matches two well-run niche distributors: Ferguson the larger, higher-return, cheaper name, Watsco the debt-light, dividend-rich HVAC specialist, and while both are quality, Ferguson leads for total return, Watsco for income.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | FERG | WSO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $238.57 | $410.75 |
| Market cap | $46.5B | $15.6B |
| Sector | Distribution | Distribution |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +17.6% | +19.8% |
| P/E | 21.2 | 33.7 |
| P/B | 7.91 | 4.85 |
| P/S | 1.44 | 2.15 |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.4 | 21.4 |
| Revenue growth | +6.7% | -4.4% |
| Gross margin | 31.0% | 27.9% |
| Operating margin | 8.2% | 7.2% |
| Net margin | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| Return on equity | 37.8% | 15.4% |
| Return on assets | 12.5% | 10.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 22.7% | 16.0% |
| FCF yield | 4.5% | 4.5% |
| Dividend yield | 1.4% | 2.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.70 | 0.11 |
| Current ratio | 1.78 | 3.34 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 5.15 | 8.60 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 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.