Sifting through countless of stocks in the Machinery industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. provides industrial products and equipment in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and South America. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses. The Food Equipment segment provides warewashing, cooking, refrigeration, and food processing equipment; kitchen exhaust, ventilation, and pollution control systems; and food equipment maintenance and repair services. The Test & Measurement and Electronics segment produce and sells test and measurement; and electronic manufacturing and maintenance, repair, and operations solutions. The Welding segment produces arc welding equipment, and metal arc welding consumables and related accessories. The Polymers & Fluids segment produces adhesives, sealants, lubrication and cutting fluids, and fluids and polymers for auto aftermarket maintenance and appearance. The Construction Products segment offers engineered fastening systems and solutions for the residential construction, renovation/remodel, and commercial construction markets. The Specialty Products segment provides beverage packaging equipment and consumables, product coding and marking equipment and consumables, and appliance components and fasteners. The company serves automotive OEM and aftermarket, commercial food equipment, construction, general industrial, industrial capital goods, consumer durables, and other markets, as well as MRO markets. It distributes its products directly to industrial manufacturers, as well as through independent distributors. Illinois Tool Works Inc. was founded in 1912 and is based in Glenview, Illinois.

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. provides hand tools, power tools, outdoor products, and related accessories in the United States, Canada, Other Americas, Europe, and Asia. Its Tools & Outdoor segment offers professional grade corded and cordless electric power tools and equipment, including drills, impact wrenches and drivers, grinders, saws, routers, concrete prep and placement tools, and sanders; pneumatic tools and fasteners, such as nail guns, nails, staplers and staples, and concrete and masonry anchors; corded and cordless electric power tools; household power tools, hand-held vacuums, and small appliances; leveling and layout tools, planes, hammers, demolition tools, clamps, vises, knives, saws, chisels, and industrial and automotive tools; drill, screwdriver, router bits, abrasives, saw blades, and threading products; tool boxes, sawhorses, medical cabinets, and engineered storage solutions; and electric and gas-powered lawn and garden products. This segment sells its products under the DEWALT, CRAFTSMAN, CUB ADET, STANLEY, BLACK+DECKER, and HUSTLER brands through retailers, third-party distributors, independent dealers, and a direct sales force. Its Industrial segment provides threaded fasteners, blind rivets and tools, blind inserts and tools, drawn arc weld studs and systems, engineered plastic and mechanical fasteners, self-piercing riveting systems, precision nut running systems, micro fasteners, high-strength structural fasteners, axel swage, latches, heat shields, pins, couplings, fitting, and other engineered products. This segment sells its products through direct sales force and third-party distributors to the automotive, manufacturing, electronics, construction, aerospace, and other industries. The company was formerly known as The Stanley Works and changed its name to Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. in March 2010. The company was founded in 1843 and is headquartered in New Britain, Connecticut.

Latest Machinery and Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. Stock News

As of June 18, 2026, Illinois Tool Works Inc. had a $76.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Machinery median of $4.0 million. Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s stock is up 7.2% in 2026, up 2.6% in the previous five trading days and up 9.5% in the past year.

Currently, Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 24.5. Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $16.2 billion with a 19.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.337 per share for the current fiscal year. Illinois Tool Works Inc. currently has a 2.4% dividend yield.

As of June 18, 2026, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. had a $13.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 82nd percentile of all stocks. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.’s stock is up 16.8% in 2026, up 3.7% in the previous five trading days and up 35.25% in the past year.

Currently, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 35.6. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $15.2 billion with a 2.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.388 per share for the current fiscal year. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. currently has a 3.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Illinois Tool Works Inc.	ITW	F
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.	SWK	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a Value Score of 19, which is Ultra Expensive. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. has a Value Score of 47, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Illinois Tool Works Inc.	ITW	B
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.	SWK	F

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. has a Growth Score of 17, which is Very Weak.

The Growth Grade Winner: Illinois Tool Works Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Illinois Tool Works Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Illinois Tool Works Inc.	ITW	C
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.	SWK	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 54, which is Neutral. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 75, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Illinois Tool Works Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Illinois Tool Works Inc. stock has a Value Score of 19, Growth Score of 73 and Estimate Revisions Score of 54.

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 47, Growth Score of 17 and Estimate Revisions Score of 75.

Comparing Illinois Tool Works Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.