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 Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource 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 Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.
About Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource and Inc.
Armstrong World Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of ceiling and wall solutions in the Americas. It operates through Mineral Fiber and Architectural Specialties segments. The company offers mineral fiber, fiberglass, metal, wood, felt, architectural resin and glass, wood fiber, and glass-reinforced-gypsum; and ceiling component products, such as ceiling perimeters and trims, as well as grid products that support drywall ceiling systems. It also designs, produces, and sources specialty ceilings, walls, and other interior and exterior architectural applications primarily for use in commercial settings; and manufactures ceiling suspension system (grid) products. It serves commercial and residential construction markets, as well as renovation of existing buildings sectors. The company sells its products to resale distributors, ceiling system contractors, wholesalers, and retailers comprising large home centers. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Builders FirstSource, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials for professional builders in new residential construction and repair, and remodeling in the United States. It offers manufactured products, such as factory-built substitutes for job-site framing, wood floor and roof trusses, wall panels, and engineered wood; Ready-Frame, a whole house framing solution; manufactured and semi-custom modular homes, and built in a temperature-controlled facility under its Pine Grove Homes and Pleasant Valley Homes brand names; manufactured housing plans including ranch, community, and single-section homes; manufacturing, assembly, and distribution of windows; and the assembly and distribution of interior and exterior door units. The company also provides millwork, including interior trim and custom features under the Synboard brand name; specialty building products and services comprising vinyl, composite and wood siding, exterior trim, metal studs, cement, roofing, insulation, wallboard, ceilings, cabinets, and hardware; turn-key framing, shell construction, design assistance, and professional installation of products. In addition, it offers drafting, estimating, quoting, and virtual home design services to retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and homebuilders; dimensional lumber, plywood, and oriented strand board products used in on-site house framing. The company was formerly known as BSL Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Builders FirstSource, Inc. in October 1999. Builders FirstSource, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Irving, Texas.
Latest Building Products and Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource, Inc. Stock News
As of September 2, 2026, Armstrong World Industries, Inc. had a $7.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Building Products median of $5.0 million. Armstrong World Industries, Inc.’s stock is down 12.1% in 2026, down 4.4% in the previous five trading days and down 13.18% in the past year.
Currently, Armstrong World Industries, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 23.2. Armstrong World Industries, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.7 billion with a 18.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 11.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.436 per share for the current fiscal year. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.
As of September 2, 2026, Builders FirstSource, Inc. had a $6.8 billion market cap, putting it in the 72nd percentile of all stocks. Builders FirstSource, Inc.’s stock is down 38.8% in 2026, down 6.3% in the previous five trading days and down 54.07% in the past year.
Currently, Builders FirstSource, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 67.9. Builders FirstSource, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $14.4 billion with a 0.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -8.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.156 per share for the current fiscal year. Builders FirstSource, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.
How We Compare Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource 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 Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.
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Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource and Inc. Stock Value Grades
| Company | Ticker | Value |
| Armstrong World Industries, Inc. | AWI | D |
| Builders FirstSource, Inc. | BLDR | 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.
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. has a Value Score of 26, which is Expensive.
Builders FirstSource, Inc. has a Value Score of 52, which is Average.
The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner
Neither Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource 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 Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.
Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource and Inc.’s Quality Grades
| Company | Ticker | Quality |
| Armstrong World Industries, Inc. | AWI | A |
| Builders FirstSource, Inc. | BLDR | B |
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.
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. has a Quality Score of 90, which is Very Strong.
Builders FirstSource, Inc. has a Quality Score of 75, which is Strong.
The Quality Grade Winner: Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Armstrong World Industries, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Builders FirstSource, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Armstrong World Industries, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.
Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades
| Company | Ticker | Earnings Estimate |
| Armstrong World Industries, Inc. | AWI | C |
| Builders FirstSource, Inc. | BLDR | F |
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.
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 41, which is Neutral.
Builders FirstSource, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 17, which is Very Negative.
The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner
Neither Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could 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 Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.
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Other Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource and Inc. Grades
In addition to Value, Estimate Revisions and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.
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.
Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.
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 Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.
So, Which Is the Better Investment, Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource or Inc. Stock?
Overall, Armstrong World Industries, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 26, Estimate Revisions Score of 41 and Quality Score of 90.
Builders FirstSource, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 52, Estimate Revisions Score of 17 and Quality Score of 75.
Comparing Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Builders FirstSource 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.
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