XYL vs ITW Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare Xylem's concentrated water infrastructure business against Illinois Tool Works' broad, decentralized industrial portfolio.
Use this Xylem vs Illinois Tool Works comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
ITW holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ITW has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+3.40% vs -24.35%), though XYL has the better forward P/E setup (17.82x vs 22.60x for ITW). ITW leads on both revenue growth (6.10%) and operating margin (26.90%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for XYL (+38.24%) than for ITW (+7.77%).
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.
| Metric | XYL | ITW |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 41.2 | 50.8 |
| AI ranki | #1041 | #482 |
| Latest closei | $105.69 | $270.12 |
| 1M returni | -13.55% | -9.15% |
| 6M returni | -16.25% | -4.39% |
| 1Y returni | -24.35% | +3.40% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | XYL | ITW |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $7.45K (-25.5%) started 2025-09-04 | $10.17K (+1.7%) started 2025-09-04 |
| 5Y ago | $8.48K (-15.2%) started 2021-09-07 | $14.56K (+45.6%) started 2021-09-07 |
| 10Y ago | $25.61K (+156.1%) started 2016-09-06 | $34.69K (+246.9%) started 2016-09-06 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | XYL | ITW |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $25.99B | $79.77B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 26.82 | 25.37 |
| Forward P/Ei | 17.82 | 22.60 |
| Price/Salesi | 3.59 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 3.07 | 5.38 |
| Analyst targeti | $153.88 | $301.86 |
| Target upsidei | +38.24% | +7.77% |
| Metric | XYL | ITW |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 1.50% | 6.10% |
| Earnings growthi | 19.50% | 10.10% |
| EPS growthi | +19.50% | +10.10% |
| FCF margini | +12.97% | +14.77% |
| Operating margini | 17.00% | 26.90% |
| Profit margini | 11.15% | 19.39% |
| ROIC proxyi | 9.18% | 104.62% |
| Return on equityi | 9.18% | 104.62% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.53% | 2.46% |
| Betai | 1.01 | 1.00 |
| Debt/equityi | 28.64 | 334.85 |
| Current ratioi | 1.61 | 1.11 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.16 | 0.74 |
Over the past year, XYL and ITW have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.51), 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 | XYL | ITW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -25.54% | +1.68% |
| CAGRi | -25.57% | +1.68% | |
| Volatilityi | 24.61% | 21.29% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -1.26 | -0.03 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -1.59 | -0.04 | |
| Max drawdowni | 30.90% | 17.95% | |
| Current drawdowni | 30.90% | 9.84% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.15% | 7.47% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 17.92% | 8.86% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.04% | 4.54% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.87% | 6.71% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -18.74% | +32.98% |
| CAGRi | -4.07% | +5.88% | |
| Volatilityi | 26.50% | 21.40% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.19 | 0.16 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.27 | 0.23 | |
| Max drawdowni | 45.76% | 28.05% | |
| Current drawdowni | 30.90% | 9.84% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.30% | 8.36% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.43% | 10.21% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.03% | 5.79% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.82% | 12.18% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +129.87% | +176.67% |
| CAGRi | +8.68% | +10.72% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.45% | 23.90% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.28 | 0.36 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.39 | 0.51 | |
| Max drawdowni | 46.69% | 37.85% | |
| Current drawdowni | 30.90% | 9.84% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.52% | 8.43% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.54% | 10.98% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.03% | 11.51% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 21.39% | 20.86% |
| Category | XYL | ITW |
|---|---|---|
| Company | XYL | ITW |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Specialty Industrial Machinery | Specialty Industrial Machinery |
| Core business | Xylem Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions for utility, industrial, and residential and commercial building services settings world… | Illinois Tool Works Inc. provides industrial products and equipment in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and South America. |
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