AOS
A. O. Smith Corporation
AOS has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over AOS overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
AOS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
AOS's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
AOS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 17x | $63.98 | — |
| Cheap | 18x | $63.76 | -0.3% |
| Current | 18x | $63.98 | — |
| Fair | 21x | $75.16 | +17% |
| Expensive | 30x | $107 | +67% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AOS has the edge over VRT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
VRT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $210 | — |
| Current | 39x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 58x | $308 | +47% |
| Fair | 72x | $383 | +83% |
| Expensive | 88x | $472 | +125% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VRT's PE is in its cheap range at 39x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 23x next year's earnings.
AOS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Decline | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect AOS's profitability to improve, but its revenue to decline.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
VRT has the edge over AOS on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and earnings expectations.
AOS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.73 | +4.1% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.58 | -3.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.59 | 0% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.75 | +4.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.85 | +6.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.71 | -2.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.59 | -7.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.58 | -7% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.63 | -1.6% |
AOS earned $3.58 per share over the past year, down 3.5% from the year before.
VRT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.14 | +71% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.35 | +102% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.98 | +131% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.41 | +166% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.65 | +75% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.09 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.72 | +64% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.28 | +7.6% |
VRT has the edge over AOS on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
AOS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $940.5M | -0.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $1B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $945.6M | -1.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $912.5M | 0% |
| Q3 2025 | $942.5M | +4.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | -1.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $963.9M | -1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $912.4M | -7.7% |
AOS's revenue grew through 2021 and has held roughly level since: $941M last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 19% | -0.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 17% | -3.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | -2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +0.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | -0.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 20% | -1.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 19% | -2.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | -2.6 points |
AOS's operating margin was 19% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
VRT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +26% |
VRT has the edge over AOS on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +4.2 points |
VRT has the edge over AOS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
AOS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $162.9M | -32% |
| Q2 2026 | $114.4M | -6.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $118.9M | +583% |
| Q4 2025 | $165.5M | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $240.6M | +47% |
| Q2 2025 | $122.5M | +255% |
| Q1 2025 | $17.4M | -79% |
| Q4 2024 | $191.3M | -5% |
AOS's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $562M over the past year, down 1.8% from the year before.
VRT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $654.9M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $926.5M | +233% |
| Q1 2026 | $654.2M | +145% |
| Q4 2025 | $885.6M | +143% |
| Q3 2025 | $463.5M | +36% |
| Q2 2025 | $277.9M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.8M | +162% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.5M | +18% |
VRT has the edge over AOS on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
AOS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.3% | -1.8M shares |
| 1 year | -3.4% | -4.8M shares |
| 3 years | -10% | -15.1M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -24.5M shares |
| Available history | -18% | -30.6M shares |
AOS has the edge over VRT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $98.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $111.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $51.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $65.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $84.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $130.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $120.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $68.7M |
AOS spent $326M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 19% from the year before.
VRT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -64.9K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +4.4M shares |
| 5 years | +10% | +36M shares |
| Available history | +63% | +152M shares |
VRT has 393M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | $599.9M |
AOS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
AOS's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
VRT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
VRT has the edge over AOS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
AOS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 75.5 | Neutral |
AOS's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 76 (neutral).
VRT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.4 | Neutral |
VRT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 26 (neutral).
AOS PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | AOS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 18x | 24x | 26% below |
| PE % | 18 | 58 | 40 pts below |
AOS has the edge over VRT on valuation relative to its sector.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT is trading at 39x earnings, a 63% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
AOS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $60.5 | 5.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $60.6 | 5.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $64.2 | 0.3% below |
| 100 week MA | $66.1 | 3.2% below |
| 200 week MA | $71.0 | 9.9% below |
AOS has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 9.9% below its 200-week average.
VRT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $221.8 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $254.4 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $253.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $189.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $123.5 | 70% above |
VRT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 70% above its 200-week average.
AOS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $47.8 | $55.5 | +16% |
| 2021 | $55.5 | $82.8 | +49% |
| 2022 | $82.8 | $56.9 | -31% |
| 2023 | $56.9 | $82.4 | +45% |
| 2024 | $82.4 | $68.4 | -17% |
| 2025 | $68.4 | $67.8 | -1% |
| 2026 YTD | $67.8 | $64.0 | -5.6% |
AOS has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 5.6% so far in 2026.
VRT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.9 | $18.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $18.9 | $24.9 | +31% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $12.8 | -48% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $48.0 | +275% |
| 2024 | $48.0 | $115.1 | +140% |
| 2025 | $115.1 | $167.6 | +46% |
| 2026 YTD | $167.6 | $209.6 | +25% |
VRT has the edge over AOS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.