CLS vs VRT Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Celestica offers manufacturing-driven exposure to AI infrastructure through its hardware and supply chain services, while Vertiv provides more direct exposure to data center power and cooling systems.
Investors weighing Celestica against Vertiv are choosing between a diversified contract manufacturer riding data center demand and a more focused, higher-multiple infrastructure equipment provider.
CLS holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. VRT has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+18.97% vs +16.78%), though CLS has the better forward P/E setup (14.42x vs 28.21x for VRT). On fundamentals, CLS is growing revenue faster (62.40%), while VRT maintains the higher operating margin (20.36%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CLS (+69.29%) than for VRT (+31.73%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want diversified exposure to AI and data center hardware demand
- Prefer a manufacturing business with a broader customer and end-market base
- Are comfortable with contract manufacturing margin profiles
- See potential in continued mix shift toward higher-value technology programs
- Want more direct exposure to data center power and cooling infrastructure
- Believe AI-driven data center buildouts will sustain strong order growth
- Are comfortable paying a premium valuation for growth exposure
- Value a global service and installed-base relationship model
| Metric | CLS | VRT |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 77.0 | 68.2 |
| AI ranki | #14 | #33 |
| Latest closei | $315.25 | $214.75 |
| 1M returni | -0.49% | -8.47% |
| 3M returni | +3.75% | -26.98% |
| 6M returni | -17.54% | -26.99% |
| 1Y returni | +16.78% | +18.97% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | CLS | VRT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.68K (+16.8%) started 2025-10-15 | $12.08K (+20.8%) started 2025-10-16 |
| 5Y ago | $338.25K (+3282.5%) started 2021-10-15 | $92.48K (+824.8%) started 2021-10-18 |
| 10Y ago | $301.67K (+2916.7%) started 2016-10-17 | $214.96K (+2049.6%) started 2018-08-02 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | CLS | VRT |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $35.55B | $98.83B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 29.27 | 57.95 |
| Forward P/Ei | 14.42 | 28.21 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 2.19 | 8.63 |
| Analyst targeti | $477.22 | $338.15 |
| Target upsidei | +69.29% | +31.73% |
| Metric | CLS | VRT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 62.40% | 24.10% |
| Earnings growthi | 74.20% | 53.00% |
| EPS growthi | +74.20% | +53.00% |
| FCF margini | +4.68% | +23.49% |
| Operating margini | 9.82% | 20.36% |
| Profit margini | 7.16% | 15.09% |
| ROIC proxyi | 52.69% | 43.94% |
| Return on equityi | 52.69% | 43.94% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 0.10% |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 5.09% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 1.52 | 2.08 |
| Debt/equityi | 39.57 | 70.17 |
| Current ratioi | 1.23 | 1.38 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.63 | 0.95 |
Over the past year, CLS and VRT have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.56), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | CLS | VRT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +16.78% | +20.77% |
| CAGRi | +16.79% | +20.81% | |
| Volatilityi | 77.00% | 65.48% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.53 | 0.55 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.74 | 0.81 | |
| Max drawdowni | 41.20% | 42.92% | |
| Current drawdowni | 33.27% | 42.92% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.51% | 14.58% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.46% | 18.74% | |
| Max daily dropi | 14.37% | 17.26% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.90% | 25.94% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +3282.51% | +824.85% |
| CAGRi | +102.25% | +56.12% | |
| Volatilityi | 59.64% | 64.10% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.41 | 0.96 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 2.11 | 1.38 | |
| Max drawdowni | 53.96% | 70.25% | |
| Current drawdowni | 33.27% | 42.92% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.86% | 23.78% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.19% | 31.74% | |
| Max daily dropi | 28.21% | 36.74% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.33% | 43.58% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +2916.75% | +2049.65% |
| CAGRi | +40.62% | +45.34% | |
| Volatilityi | 51.68% | 55.31% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.84 | 0.88 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.21 | 1.27 | |
| Max drawdowni | 80.60% | 71.25% | |
| Current drawdowni | 33.27% | 42.92% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 24.80% | 16.73% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 30.72% | 26.03% | |
| Max daily dropi | 28.21% | 36.74% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 44.18% | 47.70% |
| Category | CLS | VRT |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Celestica Inc. | Vertiv Holdings Co |
| Sector | Technology | Industrials |
| Industry | Electronic Components | Electrical Equipment & Parts |
| Core business | Celestica provides electronics manufacturing, design, and supply chain services, with a growing segment serving hyperscale data center and networking customers building AI infrastructure. | Vertiv designs and manufactures power, cooling, and infrastructure management products used in data centers, communication networks, and industrial environments. |
| Investor focus | Watch growth in the Advanced Technology Solutions segment, hyperscaler customer concentration, and margin trends. | Watch order backlog growth, data center cooling demand tied to AI buildouts, and supply chain execution. |
- Growing exposure to hyperscale data center and AI-related hardware demand
- Diversified manufacturing base across communications and enterprise end markets
- Track record of improving margins through mix shift toward higher-value programs
- Direct exposure to rising power and cooling needs from AI data center buildouts
- Broad global service and installed-base relationships with data center operators
- Product portfolio spanning thermal management, power, and monitoring systems
- Customer concentration risk with a small number of large hyperscale clients
- Contract manufacturing margins remain thinner than pure-play technology vendors
- Demand cyclicality tied to capital spending plans of large technology customers
- Valuation reflects high growth expectations tied to AI infrastructure spending
- Execution risk in scaling manufacturing capacity to meet demand
- Exposure to cyclicality in enterprise and colocation data center capital spending
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