Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AIT scored 65.9, POOL scored 54.1 — AIT leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. AIT's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but POOL's are as of March 2026 — a 3-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
65.9
$335.38 · $12.3B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
11.8
AIT leads
POOL
Pool Corporation
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
54.1
$159.54 · $5.8B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestPOOL14.7x
Fastest growthAIT+8.8%
Strongest balance sheetAIT0.26
Highest qualityAIT85 / 100
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
POOL
85
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
79
70
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
38
48
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
53
AIT is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AIT
POOL
$461mC
FCF
$313mC
+8.8%B
Rev
+1.8%C
0.26A-
D/E
1.35C
30.6xC+
P/E
14.7xA-
2.77C
PEG
1.60C+
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
POOL
42% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
23% above
~15%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~10%/yr
-34%
1-yr DCF upside
-21%
-30%
5-yr DCF upside
-19%
-22%
10-yr DCF upside
-15%
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
POOL
Why this score
Buying back stock
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.
POOLPool Corporation
Industrial Distribution · $159.54 · beta 1.04
Why now
Industrial Distribution · market cap $5.8b. Down 48% from 52-week high of $305.63 — deep drawdown territory. 12 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $215.50 (implying +35% upside).
Moat
ROE 36% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which.
Risk
Down 48% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
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 AIT and POOL diverge
On the headline score the gap is 11.8 points in favor of AIT. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
GrowthAIT 70.2 · POOL 38.1AIT +32.1
QualityAIT 84.8 · POOL 78.6AIT +6.2
ValueAIT 48.0 · POOL 53.0POOL +5.0
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 POOL the better stock?
AIT scores higher: AIT 65.9, POOL 54.1 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 POOL differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where AIT leads by 32 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 AIT and POOL 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.