Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. IESC scored 65.2, STRL scored 75.4 — STRL leads.
Compare another set
IESC
IES Holdings, Inc.
Engineering & Construction · Quality-Growth
65.2
$297.52 · $12.6B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
10.2
STRL leads
STRL
Sterling Infrastructure, Inc.
Engineering & Construction · Quality-Growth
75.4
$513.00 · $15.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestIESC26.4x
Fastest growthSTRL+60.8%
Strongest balance sheetIESC0.06
Highest qualitySTRL84 / 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)
IESC
stronger →← stronger
STRL
81
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
84
86
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
96
39
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
53
STRL is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
IESC
STRL
$228mC
FCF
$482mC
+16.9%B+
Rev
+60.8%A
0.06A
D/E
0.24A-
26.4xB
P/E
37.0xC
—
PEG
0.64A-
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
IESC
STRL
326% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
129% above
~55%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~39%/yr
-81%
1-yr DCF upside
-66%
-77%
5-yr DCF upside
-56%
-70%
10-yr DCF upside
-39%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
IESC
Why this score
Durable high returns
STRL
Why this score
Durable high returns
The companies
IESCIES Holdings, Inc.
Engineering & Construction · $297.52 · beta 1.77
Why now
Engineering & Construction · market cap $12.6b. Down 27% from 52-week high of $408.25 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +17%, comfortably above the S&P median.
Moat
ROE 45% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which.
Risk
Beta 1.77 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return.
STRLSterling Infrastructure, Inc.
Engineering & Construction · $513.00 · beta 1.86
Why now
Engineering & Construction · market cap $15.7b. Down 49% from 52-week high of $1005.68 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +61% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.64 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 7 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $836.57 (implying +63% upside).
Moat
Net margin 13% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 32% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 112% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Down 49% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Beta 1.86 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return. Trailing P/E 37x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
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 IESC and STRL diverge
On the headline score the gap is 10.2 points in favor of STRL. The widest single difference is Value, where STRL leads by 13.3 points.
ValueIESC 39.5 · STRL 52.8STRL +13.3
GrowthIESC 86.1 · STRL 96.0STRL +9.9
QualityIESC 81.3 · STRL 84.4STRL +3.1
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 STRL or IESC the better stock?
STRL scores higher: STRL 75.4, IESC 65.2 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 STRL and IESC differ most?
The widest gap is value, where STRL leads by 13 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. STRL leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are STRL and IESC 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.