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 A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco 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 A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco and Inc.

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, homes, apartments, and condominiums, and other large commercial buildings; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices. It also provides commercial water treatment and filtration products; expansion tanks, commercial solar water heating systems, swimming pool and spa heaters, and related products and parts; and electric wall-hung, gas tankless, combi-boiler, and heat pump and solar water heaters. The company offers its products under the A. O. Smith, State, Lochinvar, Hague, Water-Right, Master Water, Atlantic Filter, Impact, and Water Tec brands. It distributes its products through independent wholesale plumbing distributors, as well as to retail channels consisting of hardware and home center chains, and manufacturer representative firms, as well as offers Aquasana branded products directly to consumers through e-commerce channels; and A. O. Smith branded water treatment products through dealer network and Amazon. A. O. Smith Corporation was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Watsco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment. The company also offers parts comprising replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors, and other component parts; and supplies, such as thermostats, insulation materials, refrigerants, ductworks, grills, registers, sheet metals, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tapes, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies, as well as plumbing and bathroom remodeling supplies. It serves contractors and dealers that service the replacement and new construction markets for residential and light commercial central air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration systems. Watsco, Inc. was incorporated in 1956 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Latest Building Products and A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco, Inc. Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, A. O. Smith Corporation had a $8.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Building Products median of $5.6 million. A. O. Smith Corporation’s stock is down 10.1% in 2026, down 1.1% in the previous five trading days and down 15.11% in the past year.

Currently, A. O. Smith Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 16.8. A. O. Smith Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.8 billion with a 13.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -0.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.758 per share for the current fiscal year. A. O. Smith Corporation currently has a 2.4% dividend yield.

As of July 31, 2026, Watsco, Inc. had a $12.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 80th percentile of all stocks. Watsco, Inc.’s stock is down 8.2% in 2026, down 14.6% in the previous five trading days and down 30.12% in the past year.

Currently, Watsco, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 25.4. Watsco, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $7.2 billion with a 6.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 0.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.173 per share for the current fiscal year. Watsco, Inc. currently has a 4.3% dividend yield.

How We Compare A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco 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 A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
A. O. Smith Corporation	AOS	C
Watsco, Inc.	WSO	D

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.

A. O. Smith Corporation has a Value Score of 54, which is Average. Watsco, Inc. has a Value Score of 29, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco 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 A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
A. O. Smith Corporation	AOS	A
Watsco, Inc.	WSO	A

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.

A. O. Smith Corporation has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Watsco, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
A. O. Smith Corporation	AOS	D
Watsco, Inc.	WSO	D

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.

A. O. Smith Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 28, which is Negative. Watsco, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 26, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco 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 A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco 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 A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco or Inc. Stock?

Overall, A. O. Smith Corporation stock has a Value Score of 54, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 28.

Watsco, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 29, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 26.

Comparing A. O. Smith Corporation, Watsco 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.