Home Compare AIT vs WSO
Stock Comparison · Industry comparison · Industrial Distribution

Applied Industrial Technologies vs Watsco: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Applied Industrial Technologies holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and stability. Watsco does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. On the market side, Applied Industrial Technologies is in better shape — its trend is intact while Watsco's trend has broken down. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Applied Industrial Technologies's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-08-16

The clearest separation starts in growth, but stability adds another real layer to the result. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. leads by 19 points on the overall comparison score.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Industrial Distribution

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. AIT and WSO share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how AIT and Watsco each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
63
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
WSO
Watsco, Inc.
44
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: AIT vs WSO Profitability 65 43 Stability 70 40 Valuation 54 61 Growth 67 25 AIT WSO
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +42
#2 Stability +30
#3 Profitability +22
#4 Valuation +7
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for AIT and WSO Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer AITWSO Relative valuation Structural strength

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. holds the stronger structural profile, but the price setup still leans toward Watsco, Inc..

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where AIT and WSO each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY AIT Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 63 pct gap WSO Neutral · below norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 36th
Today WSO sits in the lower-middle of its own 5-year history (36th percentile), while AIT sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, WSO is at a historically more favourable entry position than AIT. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. ranks near the top of the group on growth; Watsco, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Stability
On stability, the edge is clear — both rank well, but Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. sits noticeably higher.
Growth — Dominant Gap
AIT
67
WSO
25
Gap+42in favour of AIT

Earnings growth is one contributing factor within the growth lead.

What else supports the lead

Stability also supports the lead, so the result is broader than one isolated gap.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and stability, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the AIT vs WSO comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-and-stability comparisons

Explore how AIT and WSO each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.