ETN vs. NDSN: Eaton vs. Nordson Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN) 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

Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but ETN is classified in Electrical Equipment while NDSN is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Profile Item	ETN	NDSN
Name	Eaton Corporation plc	Nordson Corporation
Country/Region	Ireland	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Electrical Equipment	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Electrical Components & Equipment	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	132.76 billion USD	17.26 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	June 1, 1972	March 18, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ETN

NDSN

GSPC

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN), 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

Calendar-year total returns for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	ETN	NDSN
Total Return (1Y)	-2.33%	40.90%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	19.68%	14.93%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	17.50%	5.48%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ETN

NDSN

GSPC

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN), 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

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	ETN	NDSN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	43.57%	23.53%
Beta (5Y)	1.14	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.46%	-39.15%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.32M	381.48K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ETN and NDSN 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 Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	ETN	NDSN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.15	1.56
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.21	2.43

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Eaton (ETN) at 19.55% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Nordson (NDSN) at 17.76% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for ETN.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

19.55%

Max: 40.55%
ETN: 19.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

17.76%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
NDSN: 17.76%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Eaton (ETN) at 12.18% and Nordson (NDSN) at 18.63% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

12.18%

Max: 27.47%
ETN: 12.18%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

18.63%

Max: 27.47%
NDSN: 18.63%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Nordson (NDSN) at 27.40% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Eaton (ETN) at 17.85%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

17.85%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
ETN: 17.85%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

27.40%

Max: 36.60%
NDSN: 27.40%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	ETN	NDSN
ROE (TTM)	19.55%	17.76%
ROA (TTM)	7.22%	8.47%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.18%	18.63%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.85%	27.40%
Gross Margin (TTM)	35.16%	55.39%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Eaton (ETN) at 10.33% and Nordson (NDSN) at 3.78% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Eaton (ETN) at 10.00% and Nordson (NDSN) at 4.93% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	ETN	NDSN
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.33%	3.78%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.77%	2.53%
EPS Growth (YoY)	10.00%	4.93%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.39%	-1.15%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Nordson (NDSN) at 1.82 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Eaton (ETN) at 1.23 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for ETN.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
ETN: 1.23
Min: 0.36

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

1.82

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
NDSN: 1.82
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 1.00 and Nordson (NDSN) at 0.56 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.00

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
ETN: 1.00
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

0.56

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
NDSN: 0.56
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	ETN	NDSN
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.23	1.82
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.00	0.56
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.85	1.78

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Eaton (ETN) at 1.33% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Nordson (NDSN) at 1.06% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, ETN the richer one.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.33%

Max: 2.66%
ETN: 1.33%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

1.06%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
NDSN: 1.06%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 43.36% and Nordson (NDSN) at 33.20% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

43.36%

Max: 67.39%
ETN: 43.36%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

33.20%

Max: 67.39%
NDSN: 33.20%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	ETN	NDSN
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.33%	1.06%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	43.36%	33.20%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 34.14 and Nordson (NDSN) at 31.36 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

34.14

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
ETN: 34.14
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

31.36

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
NDSN: 31.36
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 4.15 and Nordson (NDSN) at 5.79 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

4.15

Max: 7.54
ETN: 4.15
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

5.79

Max: 7.54
NDSN: 5.79
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 6.33 and Nordson (NDSN) at 5.28 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

6.33

Max: 9.66
ETN: 6.33
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

5.28

Max: 9.66
NDSN: 5.28
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Eaton (ETN) vs. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	ETN	NDSN
P/E Ratio (TTM)	34.14	31.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.15	5.79
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.33	5.28
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.29%	3.56%