Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. POOL scored 54.1, GIC scored 64.9 — GIC leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. GIC'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.
POOL
Pool Corporation
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
54.1
$159.54 · $5.8B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
10.8
GIC 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
CheapestPOOL14.7x
Fastest growthGIC+8.4%
Strongest balance sheetGIC0.29
Highest qualityGIC84 / 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)
POOL
stronger →← stronger
GIC
79
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
84
38
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
66
53
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
49
GIC is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
POOL
GIC
$313mC
FCF
$87mC-
+1.8%C
Rev
+8.4%B
1.35C
D/E
0.29A-
14.7xA-
P/E
19.4xB+
1.60C+
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
POOL
GIC
23% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
3% below
~10%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~4%/yr
-21%
1-yr DCF upside
0%
-19%
5-yr DCF upside
+3%
-15%
10-yr DCF upside
+7%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
POOL
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
GIC
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
The companies
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.
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
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 POOL and GIC diverge
On the headline score the gap is 10.8 points in favor of GIC. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
GrowthPOOL 38.1 · GIC 66.2GIC +28.1
QualityPOOL 78.6 · GIC 84.3GIC +5.7
ValuePOOL 53.0 · GIC 49.0POOL +4.0
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 GIC or POOL the better stock?
GIC scores higher: GIC 64.9, 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 GIC and POOL differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where GIC 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 GIC 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.