Top 10 — Industrials — 1 Oct 2026
The ten as they stood on 1 Oct 2026. Scores, pillars and reasons are the ones recorded that day; nothing here is recomputed. Each bar is a percentile: how this company ranked against every company the score ranked, 0–100.
The Top 10 score is a published weighted sum of percentile ranks, rebalanced on the first trading day of each month. A list is a published formula and its output, not a recommendation. Method version 4.
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The ten
| # | Company | Why it was here | Sector | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | nVent Electric (NVT) | Growth 88th (revenue growth year over year 46.2%, 3-year revenue CAGR 19.3%).Growth 88th (revenue growth year over year 46.2%, 3-year revenue CAGR 19.3%) and trend 84th (a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day); weakest is valuation (28th, price to earnings 45.4, price to book 4.4). |
Industrials | 67.9 |
| 2 | Mueller Industries (MLI) | Profitability 80th (return on equity 23.8%, operating margin 22.9%).Profitability 80th (return on equity 23.8%, operating margin 22.9%) and financial health 78th (debt to equity 0, free cash flow margin 16.4%); weakest is growth (47th, 3-year revenue CAGR 1.6%, revenue growth year over year 14.8%). |
Industrials | 66.3 |
| 3 | Emcor (EME) | Capital return 84th (consecutive years of dividend increases 13 years, net share count bought back over the year 3.6).Capital return 84th (consecutive years of dividend increases 13 years, net share count bought back over the year 3.6) and growth 75th (3-year revenue CAGR 15.3%, revenue growth year over year 18.9%); weakest is valuation (42nd, price to book 8.3, price to earnings 23.9). |
Industrials | 65.8 |
| 4 | WATTS WATER TECHNOLOGIES INC (WTS) | Trend 80th (a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day).Trend 80th (a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day) and financial health 74th (debt to equity 0, free cash flow margin 14.6%); weakest is valuation (39th, price to book 4.5, price to earnings 31.4). |
Industrials | 65.8 |
| 5 | Allison Transmission (ALSN) | Profitability 89th (operating margin 29.2%, return on equity 33.4%).Profitability 89th (operating margin 29.2%, return on equity 33.4%) and capital return 69th (net share count bought back over the year 3.4, consecutive years of dividend increases 4 years); weakest is financial health (47th, debt to equity 2.1, free cash flow margin 22%). |
Industrials | 64.7 |
| 7 | ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC (ESE) | Financial health 77th (debt to equity 0.1, free cash flow margin 18.8%).Financial health 77th (debt to equity 0.1, free cash flow margin 18.8%) and profitability 68th (return on equity 19.4%, operating margin 15.6%); weakest is valuation (54th, price to book 4.3, price to earnings 22.8). |
Industrials | 63.6 |
| 8 | MCGRATH RENT (MGRC) | Valuation 73rd (price to earnings 18.5, price to book 2.3).Valuation 73rd (price to earnings 18.5, price to book 2.3) and profitability 70th (operating margin 25.8%, return on equity 12.6%); weakest is growth (43rd, revenue growth year over year -0.9%, 3-year revenue CAGR 14.1%). |
Industrials | 63.4 |
| 10 | Nordson Corporation (NDSN) | Trend 87th (it is 3.0% below its highest point of the past year).Trend 87th (it is 3.0% below its highest point of the past year) and capital return 77th (consecutive years of dividend increases 17 years, net share count bought back over the year 1.2); weakest is valuation (30th, price to earnings 35.1, price to book 5.6). |
Industrials | 61.9 |
| 13 | BRADY CORP (BRC) | Financial health 70th (debt to equity 0, free cash flow margin 11.6%).Financial health 70th (debt to equity 0, free cash flow margin 11.6%) and valuation 66th (price to earnings 19.2, price to book 2.8); weakest is capital return (51st, consecutive years of dividend increases 2 years, net share count bought back over the year 0.7). |
Industrials | 61.3 |
| 14 | Delta Air Lines (DAL) | Trend 81st (over the past 12 months this stock beat the market by 35.6 percentage points).Trend 81st (over the past 12 months this stock beat the market by 35.6 percentage points) and valuation 77th (price to earnings 14, price to book 2.5); weakest is capital return (40th, net share count bought back over the year -0.9, consecutive years of dividend increases 3 years). |
Industrials | 61.2 |
Entered on 1 Oct 2026
Allison Transmission (ALSN) — Entered 1 Oct 2026: score 64.7, rank 5 (not compared with 1 Sep 2026 — those rows were scored under method version 3, this pass under 4, and the formula changed between them, so a score is only comparable within one version).
MCGRATH RENT (MGRC) — Entered 1 Oct 2026: score 63.4, rank 8 (not compared with 1 Sep 2026 — those rows were scored under method version 3, this pass under 4, and the formula changed between them, so a score is only comparable within one version).
Nordson Corporation (NDSN) — Entered 1 Oct 2026: score 61.9, rank 10 (not compared with 1 Sep 2026 — those rows were scored under method version 3, this pass under 4, and the formula changed between them, so a score is only comparable within one version).
BRADY CORP (BRC) — Entered 1 Oct 2026: score 61.3, rank 13 (not compared with 1 Sep 2026 — those rows were scored under method version 3, this pass under 4, and the formula changed between them, so a score is only comparable within one version).
Delta Air Lines (DAL) — Entered 1 Oct 2026: score 61.2, rank 14 (not compared with 1 Sep 2026 — those rows were scored under method version 3, this pass under 4, and the formula changed between them, so a score is only comparable within one version).
Left on 1 Oct 2026
ARGAN INC (AGX) — Left 1 Oct 2026: score 57.2, rank 46 (not compared with 1 Sep 2026 — those rows were scored under method version 3, this pass under 4, and the formula changed between them, so a score is only comparable within one version) (a member leaves above rank 15).
Andersen Group Inc. (ANDG) — Left 1 Oct 2026: score 57.2, rank 45 (not compared with 1 Sep 2026 — those rows were scored under method version 3, this pass under 4, and the formula changed between them, so a score is only comparable within one version) (a member leaves above rank 15).
Paychex (PAYX) — Left 1 Oct 2026: score 60.8, rank 18 (not compared with 1 Sep 2026 — those rows were scored under method version 3, this pass under 4, and the formula changed between them, so a score is only comparable within one version) (a member leaves above rank 15).
Passed over on 1 Oct 2026
Ametek (AME) — Not selected 1 Oct 2026 despite rank 6: it moves too closely with companies this list already holds (NVT, WTS, EME, MLI, ESE, ALSN), 0.53 against a cap of 0.34.
KENNAMETAL INC (KMT) — Not selected 1 Oct 2026 despite rank 9: it moves too closely with companies this list already holds (MGRC, WTS, ESE, MLI, ALSN), 0.38 against a cap of 0.34.
ITT Inc. (ITT) — Not selected 1 Oct 2026 despite rank 11: it moves too closely with companies this list already holds (WTS, NVT, ESE, MLI), 0.39 against a cap of 0.34.
Johnson Controls (JCI) — Not selected 1 Oct 2026 despite rank 12: it moves too closely with companies this list already holds (NVT, EME, ESE, WTS, MLI), 0.42 against a cap of 0.34.
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Informational only — NOT financial advice.