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

Applied Industrial Technologies holds the cleaner structural position, with growth as the main driver and stability adding further support. Watsco does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. The market setup broadly confirms the structural lead — Applied Industrial Technologies holds the more constructive position. 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.

Updated 2026-04-05

Growth remains the main source of distance in the comparison. The overall score gap is 21 points in favour of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc..

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.
62
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
vs
WSO
Watsco, Inc.
41
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium

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

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: AIT vs WSO Profitability 56 48 Stability 61 43 Valuation 67 58 Growth 67 5 AIT WSO
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +62
#2 Stability +18
#3 Valuation +9
#4 Profitability +8
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. looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
On growth, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. ranks near the top of the group; Watsco, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Stability
On stability, the same pattern holds: both rank well, but Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. still sits higher.
Growth — Dominant Gap
AIT
67
WSO
5
Gap+62in favour of AIT

One company is still expanding while the other is contracting, which creates a very wide growth split.

What else supports the lead

Stability still reinforces the same direction, which makes the lead look broader across the profile.

What this means for the comparison

Growth is the clearest driver, and stability also supports Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.'s broader structural position.

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-driven 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.

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.