Sifting through countless of stocks in the Trading Companies & Distributors 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 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings 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 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and Inc.

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Costa Rica. It operates in two segments, Service Center and Engineered Solutions. The Service Center segment distributes industrial bearings, power transmission, fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control, and advanced factory automation solutions, as well as general maintenance products; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, linear motion, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, hoses, and other related supplies. It also installs, modifies, and repairs conveyor belts and rubber linings, as well as hose assemblies. The Engineered Solutions segment is involved in distributing, engineering, designing, integrating, and repairing hydraulic and pneumatic fluid power technologies, engineered flow control products and services, and automation technologies; and provision of fluid power and industrial flow control products. Its fluid power products and solutions are used in off-highway mobile equipment, stationary industrial equipment and machines, marine and offshore equipment, factory automation, food processing equipment, packaging operations, and downstream energy process systems. This segment also offers pumps, valves, fittings, hoses, process instrumentation, actuators, and filtration supplies; and advanced automation technologies for the design, engineering, assembly, integration, and distribution of machine vision, collaborative robots, mobile robots, radio-frequency identification, industrial networking, motion control, and machine learning technologies for OEMs, machine builders, integrators, and other industrial and technology sectors. The company was formerly known as Bearings, Inc. and changed its to name to Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. in 1997. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business under the Sunbelt Rentals brand name in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company operates through North America-General Tool, North America-Specialty, and United Kingdom segments. It provides construction, industrial and general equipment, such as mobile elevating work platforms, skid steers, forklifts, excavators, lighting equipment and small general tools; and power and hvac, climate control, scaffold services, flooring solutions, pump solutions, trench safety, industrial tool, film and television, temporary structures, ground protection, temporary fencing, and temporary walls. The company serves multinational businesses, local contractors, individual do-it-yourselfers, construction and industrial customers, service, repair and facility management businesses, emergency response organizations, event organizers, as well as government entities, including municipalities and specialist contractors. The company was founded in 1947 and is based in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business under the Sunbelt Rentals brand name in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company operates through North America-General Tool, North America-Specialty, and United Kingdom segments. It provides construction, industrial and general equipment, such as mobile elevating work platforms, skid steers, forklifts, excavators, lighting equipment and small general tools; and power and hvac, climate control, scaffold services, flooring solutions, pump solutions, trench safety, industrial tool, film and television, temporary structures, ground protection, temporary fencing, and temporary walls. The company serves multinational businesses, local contractors, individual do-it-yourselfers, construction and industrial customers, service, repair and facility management businesses, emergency response organizations, event organizers, as well as government entities, including municipalities and specialist contractors. The company was founded in 1947 and is based in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Latest Trading Companies & Distributors and Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. had a $12.8 billion market capitalization, compared to the Trading Companies & Distributors median of $4.9 million. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.’s stock is up 34.4% in 2026, down 0.5% in the previous five trading days and up 26.16% in the past year.

Currently, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 32.6. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.8 billion with a 8.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.708 per share for the current fiscal year. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. currently has a 0.6% dividend yield.

Currently, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 22.8. Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $11.2 billion with a 11.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 8.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.090 per share for the current fiscal year. Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. currently has a 1.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings 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 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.	AIT	A
Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc.	SUNB	A
Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc.	SUNB	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.

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong. Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings 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.

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.	AIT	A
Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc.	SUNB	A
Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc.	SUNB	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.

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a Quality Score of 99, which is Very Strong. Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 90, which is Very Strong. Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 90, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings 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.

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.	AIT	D
Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc.	SUNB	F
Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc.	SUNB	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.

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 34, which is Negative. Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 21, which is Negative. Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 21, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings 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 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and Inc. Grades

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

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 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 95, Estimate Revisions Score of 34 and Quality Score of 99.

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 83, Estimate Revisions Score of 21 and Quality Score of 90.

Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 83, Estimate Revisions Score of 21 and Quality Score of 90.

Comparing Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings, Inc., Sunbelt Rentals Holdings 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.