Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ADT scored 57.0, MSA scored 69.8 — MSA leads.
Compare another set
ADT
ADT Inc.
Security & Protection Services · Quality-Growth
57
$6.43 · $4.7B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
12.8
MSA leads
MSA
MSA Safety Incorporated
Security & Protection Services · Quality-Growth
69.8
$180.71 · $7.0B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestADT8.8x
Fastest growthMSA+6.5%
Strongest balance sheetMSA0.46
Highest qualityMSA81 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueADT-83%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ADT
stronger →← stronger
MSA
69
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
81
38
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
66
70
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
63
MSA is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ADT
MSA
$2.0bC+
FCF
$354mC
+2.1%C
Rev
+6.5%C+
2.24D
D/E
0.46B+
8.8xA
P/E
22.5xB+
1.29B
PEG
0.99B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ADT
MSA
83% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
16% above
decline
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~9%/yr
+486%
1-yr DCF upside
-17%
+474%
5-yr DCF upside
-13%
+457%
10-yr DCF upside
-8%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Security & Protection Services · market cap $4.7b. Down 28% from 52-week high of $8.89 — deep drawdown territory. 5 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $8.23 (implying +28% upside).
Moat
ROE 18% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income.
Risk
D/E 2.24 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer.
Security & Protection Services · market cap $7.0b. 14% off the 52-week high of $208.92. PEG 0.99 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 7 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $209.14 (implying +16% upside).
Moat
Net margin 16% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 22% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 113% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ADT and MSA diverge
On the headline score the gap is 12.8 points in favor of MSA. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
GrowthADT 38.2 · MSA 66.1MSA +27.9
QualityADT 68.9 · MSA 81.2MSA +12.3
ValueADT 70.4 · MSA 63.5ADT +6.9
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is MSA or ADT the better stock?
MSA scores higher: MSA 69.8, ADT 57.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do MSA and ADT differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where MSA leads by 28 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are MSA and ADT scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.