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Graco vs Illinois Tool Works: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Illinois Tool Works holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. Graco does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. The market setup broadly confirms the structural lead — Illinois Tool Works holds the more constructive position. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Illinois Tool Works'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 2026-07-05

The lead is spread across growth and profitability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. Illinois Tool Works Inc. leads by 20 points on the overall comparison score.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Specialty Industrial Machinery

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

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Graco and Illinois Tool Works each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
GGG
Graco Inc.
50
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
ITW
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
70
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: GGG vs ITW Profitability 44 82 Stability 63 72 Valuation 76 69 Growth 9 50 GGG ITW
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +41
#2 Profitability +38
#3 Stability +9
#4 Valuation +7
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for GGG and ITW Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer GGGITW Relative valuation Structural strength

The setup is mixed: neither company clearly combines the stronger profile with the more supportive price setup.

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

Entry today — historical context

Where GGG and ITW each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY GGG Neutral · below norm 0th 50th 100th 55 pct gap ITW Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 43rd 98th
Today GGG sits in the lower-middle of its own 5-year history (43rd percentile), while ITW sits higher in its own history (98th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, GGG is at a historically more favourable entry position than ITW. 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
Illinois Tool Works Inc. sits in the stronger part of the group on growth, while Graco Inc. is closer to mid-pack.
Profitability
Both rank well on profitability, but Illinois Tool Works Inc. still holds a clear edge.
Growth — Dominant Gap
GGG
9
ITW
50
Gap+41in favour of ITW

The main growth separation is very wide, driven by a meaningfully stronger expansion profile.

What else supports the lead

Return on equity adds support too, with a 77-point advantage.

What this means for the comparison

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

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the GGG vs ITW comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-and-profitability comparisons

Explore how GGG and ITW 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.