Sifting through countless of stocks in the Building Products 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 Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main 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 Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main and Inc.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water dispensing and filtration products, such as filtered bottle filling stations, water fountains and water dispensers, and filtered faucets under the Elkay and Halsey Taylor brand names; filtered units including water filters; and water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, and thermostatic mixing valves under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names. The company also provides flow systems products comprising point drains, hydrants, fixture carrier systems, and chemical drainage systems; and oil and grease interceptors and separators, acid neutralization systems, and remote monitoring systems under the Zurn, Green Turtle, and Wade brands. In addition, it offers sensor operated flush valves under the Aquaflush, AquaSense, and AquaVantage brands; heavy-duty commercial faucets under the AquaSpec brand; flush valves and faucets under the Hydro X Power brands; water conserving fixtures under the EcoVantage and Zurn One brands; stainless steel, quartz, fireclay-ceramic, and cast iron sinks under the Elkay brand name; stainless steel sinks and plumbing fixtures under the Just brand; restroom partition systems and lockers under the Hadrian brand name; and hand dryers. Further, the company offers its products to institutional, commercial, waterworks, and residential end markets through independent sales representatives, plumbing wholesalers, and industry-specific distributors in the waterworks, foodservice, industrial, janitorial, sanitation, and sitework industries. The company was formerly known as Zurn Water Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation in July 2022. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Core & Main, Inc. engages in the distribution of water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection products and related services in the United States. The company’s products portfolio include pipes, valves, hydrants, fittings, and other products and services used for service, repair and replacement of underground water infrastructure; storm drainage products, such as corrugated HDPE and metal piping systems, retention basins, inline drains, manholes, grates, geosynthetics, erosion control, and other related products; fire protection products, including fire protection pipes, valves, fittings, sprinkler heads and other accessories, as well as fabrication and kitting services; smart meter products; and smart metering solutions which include meter accessories, meter installation, network infrastructure and software installation, training, and long-term services, as well as engineered treatment plant products. Its specialty products and services are used in the maintenance, repair, replacement, and construction of water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection infrastructure. The company serves municipalities, private water companies, and professional contractors in the municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets. Core & Main, Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Latest Building Products and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main, Inc. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation had a $7.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Building Products median of $5.1 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation’s stock is up 2.4% in 2026, down 0.9% in the previous five trading days and up 3.61% in the past year.

Currently, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 29.6. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.8 billion with a 15.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.831 per share for the current fiscal year. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation currently has a 0.9% dividend yield.

As of September 4, 2026, Core & Main, Inc. had a $8.3 billion market cap, putting it in the 75th percentile of all stocks. Core & Main, Inc.’s stock is down 14.7% in 2026, up 3% in the previous five trading days and down 32.7% in the past year.

Currently, Core & Main, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 18.8. Core & Main, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $7.6 billion with a 5.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -0.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.910 per share for the current fiscal year. Core & Main, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main 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 Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main 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

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation	ZWS	A
Core & Main, Inc.	CNM	C

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.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Core & Main, Inc. has a Growth Score of 59, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than Core & Main, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation 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.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation	ZWS	A
Core & Main, Inc.	CNM	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks 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 the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation has a Quality Score of 94, which is Very Strong. Core & Main, Inc. has a Quality Score of 94, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation	ZWS	C
Core & Main, Inc.	CNM	F

Momentum grades help to 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. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation has a Momentum Score of 41, which is Average. Core & Main, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 17, which is Very Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main and Inc. Grades

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

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

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.

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 Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 95, Momentum Score of 41 and Quality Score of 94.

Core & Main, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 59, Momentum Score of 17 and Quality Score of 94.

Comparing Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, Core & Main 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.