AER vs. ITW: AerCap vs. Illinois Tool Works Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but AER is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while ITW is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Profile Item	AER	ITW
Name	AerCap Holdings N.V.	Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Country/Region	Ireland	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	25.76 billion USD	79.85 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	November 21, 2006	March 13, 1973
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AER

ITW

GSPC

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Metric	AER	ITW
Total Return (1Y)	32.17%	20.29%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	39.43%	10.62%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	21.06%	6.67%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AER

ITW

GSPC

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Metric	AER	ITW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	26.10%	22.16%
Beta (5Y)	0.95	0.91
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-44.81%	-28.05%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.13M	1.27M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AER and ITW are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Metric	AER	ITW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.07	0.72
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.59	1.12

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 101.65% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than AerCap (AER) at 17.00%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

17.00%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
AER: 17.00%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

101.65%

ITW: 101.65%
Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

AerCap (AER) at 34.47% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 19.39% also retains a top-quartile share.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

34.47%

AER: 34.47%
Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

19.39%

Max: 27.47%
ITW: 19.39%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

AerCap (AER) at 62.55% shows unusually strong operating efficiency — above its industry’s operating margin range — and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 28.05% also operates in the top quartile.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

62.55%

AER: 62.55%
Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

28.05%

Max: 36.60%
ITW: 28.05%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Metric	AER	ITW
ROE (TTM)	17.00%	101.65%
ROA (TTM)	4.52%	17.13%
Net Margin (TTM)	34.47%	19.39%
Operating Margin (TTM)	62.55%	28.05%
Gross Margin (TTM)	63.02%	44.32%

Growth

Revenue Growth

AerCap (AER) at 6.50% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 0.92% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

AerCap (AER) at 97.41% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at -10.42% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for AER.

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Metric	AER	ITW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	6.50%	0.92%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.69%	0.23%
EPS Growth (YoY)	97.41%	-10.42%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	2.40%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

AerCap (AER) at 1.45 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 1.29 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for ITW.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

1.45

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
AER: 1.45
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

1.29

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
ITW: 1.29
Min: 0.36

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both balance sheets lean debt-heavy versus peers, but ITW is more stretched: AerCap (AER) at 2.33 sits in the higher-leverage quartile and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 2.98 is above its industry benchmark range.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

2.33

AER: 2.33
Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

2.98

ITW: 2.98
Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Metric	AER	ITW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.45	1.29
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	2.33	2.98
Net Debt / EBITDA	7.77	1.76

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 2.29% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while AerCap (AER) at 0.96% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, ITW the richer one.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

0.96%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
AER: 0.96%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

2.29%

Max: 2.66%
ITW: 2.29%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

AerCap (AER) at 7.52% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 58.43% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

7.52%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
AER: 7.52%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

58.43%

Max: 67.39%
ITW: 58.43%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Metric	AER	ITW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.96%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	7.52%	58.43%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

AerCap (AER) at 8.67 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 25.06 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for AER, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

8.67

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
AER: 8.67
Min: 3.03

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

25.06

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
ITW: 25.06
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

AerCap (AER) at 2.84 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 4.80 sits in the pricier quartile — ITW costs more per dollar of sales.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

2.84

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
AER: 2.84
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

4.80

Max: 7.54
ITW: 4.80
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

AerCap (AER) at 1.36 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile relative to book while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 25.42 prices above its industry range — a wide valuation gap against assets.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

1.36

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
AER: 1.36
Min: -1.08

ITW

Capital Goods industry group

25.42

ITW: 25.42
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

AerCap (AER) vs. Illinois Tool Works (ITW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for AerCap (AER) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Metric	AER	ITW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	8.67	25.06
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.84	4.80
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.36	25.42
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-6.60%	2.89%