Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AIT scored 65.9, GIC scored 64.9 — AIT leads.
Compare another set
AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
65.9
$335.38 · $12.3B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
1.0
AIT leads
GIC
Global Industrial Company
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
64.9
$42.95 · $1.6B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestGIC19.4x
Fastest growthAIT+8.8%
Strongest balance sheetAIT0.26
Highest qualityAIT85 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueGIC-3%
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)
AIT
stronger →← stronger
GIC
85
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
84
70
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
66
48
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
49
AIT and GIC split the three pillars evenly.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AIT
GIC
$461mC
FCF
$87mC-
+8.8%B
Rev
+8.4%B
0.26A-
D/E
0.29A-
30.6xC+
P/E
19.4xB+
2.77C
PEG
1.13B+
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
AIT
GIC
42% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
3% below
~15%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~4%/yr
-34%
1-yr DCF upside
0%
-30%
5-yr DCF upside
+3%
-22%
10-yr DCF upside
+7%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AIT
Why this score
Buying back stock
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
GIC
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
The companies
AITApplied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
Industrial Distribution · $335.38 · beta 0.85
Why now
Industrial Distribution · market cap $12.3b. 11% off the 52-week high of $374.80. 6 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $400.00 (implying +19% upside).
Moat
ROE 22% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 111% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 31x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
GICGlobal Industrial Company
Industrial Distribution · $42.95 · beta 0.76
Why now
Industrial Distribution · market cap $1.6b. 3% off the 52-week high of $44.36.
Moat
ROE 25% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 100% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
The model slightly favors GIC (63.9) over AIT (63.6) due to GIC's stronger Value pillar of 55 compared to AIT's 39. A contrarian, however, might prefer AIT for its significantly higher Growth pillar of 78, indicating more robust business expansion despite its richer valuation. Both stocks trade above our DCF fair value.
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 AIT and GIC diverge
On the headline score the gap is 1.0 points in favor of AIT. The widest single difference is Growth, where AIT leads by 4.0 points.
GrowthAIT 70.2 · GIC 66.2AIT +4.0
ValueAIT 48.0 · GIC 49.0level
QualityAIT 84.8 · GIC 84.3level
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 AIT or GIC the better stock?
AIT scores higher: AIT 65.9, GIC 64.9 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 AIT and GIC differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where AIT leads by 4 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. The other two pillars are close enough to call level, so this is the one place they genuinely separate.
How are AIT and GIC 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.