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Balfour Beatty vs Jacobs Solutions: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

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

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Peer scores are normalised within each company's primary universe (BBY.L: STOXX 600, J: S&P 500).

Updated 2026-07-05

This is not just a one-metric split: both profitability and stability materially support the lead. The overall score gap is 41 points in favour of Balfour Beatty plc.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Engineering & Construction

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. BBY.L and J share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Balfour Beatty and Jacobs Solutions each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
BBY.L
Balfour Beatty plc
76
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: STOXX 600
vs
J
Jacobs Solutions Inc.
35
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

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: BBY.L vs J Profitability 74 5 Stability 79 48 Valuation 76 47 Growth 78 50 BBY.L J
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +69
#2 Stability +31
#3 Valuation +29
#4 Growth +28
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for BBY.L and J Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer BBY.LJ Relative valuation Structural strength

Balfour Beatty plc looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

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

Entry today — historical context

Where BBY.L and J each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY BBY.L Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 21 pct gap J Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 78th
Today J sits in the upper portion of its own 5-year history (78th percentile), while BBY.L sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, J is at a historically more favourable entry position than BBY.L. 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
Profitability
On profitability, Balfour Beatty plc ranks near the top of the group; Jacobs Solutions Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Stability
On stability, the edge is clear — both rank well, but Balfour Beatty plc sits noticeably higher.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
BBY.L
74
J
5
Gap+69in favour of BBY.L

Capital efficiency adds support, with a 100-point ROIC advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Jacobs Solutions Inc. still shows lower market-fundamental divergence, which keeps the wider picture mixed rather than completely one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

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

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the BBY.L vs J comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar profitability-driven comparisons

Explore how BBY.L and J 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.