J
Jacobs Solutions Inc.
J's outlook is improving despite an expensive valuation.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over J overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
J Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure |
J's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
J PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $159 | — |
| Cheap | 22x | $61.39 | -61% |
| Fair | 29x | $80.58 | -49% |
| Expensive | 41x | $116 | -27% |
| Current | 56x | $159 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
J's PE is in its expensive range at 56x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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 has the edge over J in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
J Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect J's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
VRT has the edge over J on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
J Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.17 | +191% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.81 | -30% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.21 | -12% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.61 | -26% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.38 | -62% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.01 | -21% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.63 | -30% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.85 | -14% |
| Q3 2024 | $6.33 | +19% |
J's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $2.81 over the past year, against $7.16 in late 2019.
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 J on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
J Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.1B | +34% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.7B | +27% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.3B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.2B | +6.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $3B | -28% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.9B | -32% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.9B | -29% |
| Q3 2024 | $3B | -31% |
J's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $4.1B last quarter, up 34% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | -2.2% | -9.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.7% | +0.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.8% | +1.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7.2% | +0.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.1% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2024 | 6.6% | +0.1 points |
J's operating margin was 7% last quarter, down 0.7 points from 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 J 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 J on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
J Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $431M | +59% |
| Q1 2026 | -$504.9M | -$391.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $364.9M | +276% |
| Q3 2025 | $353.5M | +123% |
| Q2 2025 | $270.5M | -39% |
| Q1 2025 | -$113.7M | -$43.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $97.1M | -76% |
| Q3 2024 | $158.2M | -12% |
J still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2024 peak: $645M over the past year.
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 J on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
J Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.4% | +1.6M shares |
| 1 year | -1.3% | -1.6M shares |
| 3 years | -6.5% | -8.2M shares |
| 5 years | -9.5% | -12.5M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -20.3M shares |
J has the edge over VRT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $142.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $219.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $252.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $100.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $100.8M |
| Q1 2025 | $350.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $201.6M |
| Q3 2024 | $56.3M |
J spent $715M buying back its own shares over the past year, about the same as 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 |
J Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
J's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.3 years a year ago.
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 J on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
J Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 65.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 79.5 | Neutral |
J's weekly RSI is 65 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 79 (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).
J PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | J | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 56x | 24x | 135% above |
| PE % | 96 | 58 | 38 pts above |
J is trading at 56x earnings, a 135% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT has the edge over J on valuation relative to its sector.
J Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $145.5 | 9.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $142.1 | 12% above |
| 50 week MA | $135.0 | 18% above |
| 100 week MA | $135.1 | 17% above |
| 200 week MA | $124.1 | 28% above |
J has the edge over VRT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
J Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $74.1 | $88.7 | +20% |
| 2021 | $88.7 | $113.6 | +28% |
| 2022 | $113.6 | $100.0 | -12% |
| 2023 | $100.0 | $107.4 | +7.4% |
| 2024 | $107.4 | $133.7 | +25% |
| 2025 | $133.7 | $135.3 | +1.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $135.3 | $158.7 | +17% |
J has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 17% 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 J on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.