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Core & Main vs Watsco: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Core & Main holds the cleaner structural position, with growth as the main driver and valuation adding further support. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels.

Updated 2026-04-05

This is not just a one-metric split: both growth and valuation materially support the lead. The overall score gap is 14 points in favour of Core & Main, Inc..

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Industrial Distribution

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

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

Peer-Relative Score
CNM
Core & Main, Inc.
55
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: CNM vs WSO Profitability 55 48 Stability 41 43 Valuation 81 58 Growth 31 5 CNM WSO
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +26
#2 Valuation +23
#3 Profitability +7
#4 Stability +2
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CNM and WSO Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CNMWSO Relative valuation Structural strength

Core & Main, Inc. still looks stronger, and the price setup does not materially undermine that lead.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Neither side looks especially strong on growth, though Core & Main, Inc. still ranks somewhat higher.
Valuation
Both profiles are strong on valuation, but Core & Main, Inc. leads clearly.
Growth — Dominant Gap
CNM
31
WSO
5
Gap+26in favour of CNM

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

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Stability is the one area where Watsco, Inc. still pushes back materially — it is the steadier name on this dimension, which keeps the result from reading as one-way.

What this means for the comparison

Growth is the clearest driver, and valuation also supports Core & Main, Inc.'s broader structural position.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-and-valuation comparisons

Explore how CNM 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.