AIT vs. SYM: Applied Industrial vs. Symbotic Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM) 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

Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but AIT is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while SYM is classified in Machinery.

Applied Industrial (AIT) has more than two decades of public-market history since March 17, 1980, whereas Symbotic (SYM) listed on March 9, 2021 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Company profile comparison for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Profile Item	AIT	SYM
Name	Applied Industrial Technologies Inc.	Symbotic Inc. Class A Common Stock
Country/Region	United States	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	10.35 billion USD	22.29 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	March 9, 2021
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AIT

SYM

GSPC

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM), 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 Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	AIT	SYM
Total Return (1Y)	15.62%	-44.66%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	24.49%	6.78%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	24.56%	30.90%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AIT

SYM

GSPC

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM), 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 Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Symbotic (SYM) carries a highly aggressive beta of 2.05, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, whereas Applied Industrial (AIT) is closer to market-like at 0.86 — a noticeable difference in market-sensitivity profile.

Risk profile metrics for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	AIT	SYM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	28.72%	78.15%
Beta (5Y)	0.86	2.05
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-26.42%	-72.46%
Avg. Volume (3M)	295.41K	1.61M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AIT and SYM 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 Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	AIT	SYM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.39	-0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.53	-0.93

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Applied Industrial (AIT) at 22.51% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Symbotic (SYM) at 4.39% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for AIT.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

22.51%

Max: 40.55%
AIT: 22.51%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

4.39%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
SYM: 4.39%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Applied Industrial (AIT) at 8.39% keeps about the industry-typical share of revenue as profit, while Symbotic (SYM) at 0.31% retains only a bottom-quartile share.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

8.39%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
AIT: 8.39%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

0.31%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
SYM: 0.31%
Min: -12.89%

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Applied Industrial (AIT) at 11.12% runs core operations around its industry’s norm, while Symbotic (SYM) at 4.59% operates in the bottom quartile.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

11.12%

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

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

4.59%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
SYM: 4.59%
Min: -12.63%

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	AIT	SYM
ROE (TTM)	22.51%	4.39%
ROA (TTM)	11.43%	0.32%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.39%	0.31%
Operating Margin (TTM)	11.12%	4.59%
Gross Margin (TTM)	30.40%	21.27%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Symbotic (SYM) at 25.65% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Applied Industrial (AIT) at 8.84% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for SYM.

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Neither Applied Industrial (AIT) nor Symbotic (SYM) reports a EPS growth value for this period, so a direct comparison isn't possible.

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	AIT	SYM
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.84%	25.65%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.02%	55.87%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	--
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.40%	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Applied Industrial (AIT) at 2.89 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Symbotic (SYM) at 1.33 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for SYM.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

2.89

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
AIT: 2.89
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

1.33

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
SYM: 1.33
Min: 0.36

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Applied Industrial (AIT) at 0.15 and Symbotic (SYM) at 0.02 keep leverage in the lower quartile of their industries, with less balance-sheet debt relative to equity than most peers.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

0.15

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
AIT: 0.15
Min: 0.00

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

0.02

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
SYM: 0.02
Min: 0.00

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	AIT	SYM
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.89	1.33
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.15	0.02
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.27	-30.44

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Symbotic (SYM) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Applied Industrial (AIT) reports a yield of 0.71%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

0.71%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
AIT: 0.71%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
SYM: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Symbotic (SYM) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Applied Industrial (AIT) reports a payout of 17.63%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

17.63%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
AIT: 17.63%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
SYM: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	AIT	SYM
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.71%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	17.63%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Applied Industrial (AIT) at 25.10 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Symbotic (SYM) at 460.25 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for SYM’s trailing earnings.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

25.10

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
AIT: 25.10
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

460.25

SYM: 460.25
Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Applied Industrial (AIT) at 2.05 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Symbotic (SYM) at 8.42 clears its benchmark range — SYM looks notably rich on sales.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

2.05

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
AIT: 2.05
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

8.42

SYM: 8.42
Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both Applied Industrial (AIT) at 5.50 and Symbotic (SYM) at 6.70 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

AIT

Capital Goods industry group

5.50

Max: 9.66
AIT: 5.50
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

6.70

Max: 9.66
SYM: 6.70
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Applied Industrial (AIT) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Applied Industrial (AIT) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	AIT	SYM
P/E Ratio (TTM)	25.10	460.25
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.05	8.42
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	5.50	6.70
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.24%	2.46%