STANTEC INC. vs TETRA TECH, INC., two Consulting stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
One number splits these two engineering consultancies: 8.72 against 8.02, their free-cash yields, nearly identical, which makes everything else the pricing disagreement. Tetra Tech trades at 17.5 times earnings with the stronger economics, a 10.8% operating margin, a 23.6% return on equity, and a dividend; Stantec trades at 22.4 times with thinner margins (5.9% net) and no payout. Five multiple turns of premium for the firm earning less per dollar is a bet on backlog trajectory, Stantec's infrastructure-design book compounding faster than Tetra Tech's environmental one. Both are effectively debt-free. When the cash yields match this closely, the multiple gap is close to a pure forecast; the reader can decide whose backlog deserves it.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | STN | TTEK |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $69.32 | $29.25 |
| Market cap | $7.9B | $7.7B |
| Sector | Consulting | Consulting |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +3.4% |
| P/E | 22.4 | 17.5 |
| P/B | 3.32 | 4.11 |
| P/S | 1.32 | 1.49 |
| EV/EBITDA | — | 12.3 |
| Revenue growth | +15.6% | -6.0% |
| Gross margin | — | 17.6% |
| Operating margin | — | 10.8% |
| Net margin | 5.9% | 8.6% |
| Return on equity | 14.8% | 23.6% |
| Return on assets | 6.0% | 10.1% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 16.6% |
| FCF yield | 8.0% | 8.7% |
| Dividend yield | — | 0.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.47 |
| Current ratio | 1.23 | 1.25 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.47 | 7.99 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 4 / 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.