IEX vs. XYL: IDEX vs. Xylem Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL) 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

IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL) are both classified in the Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components sub-industry within the broader Machinery industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Profile Item	IEX	XYL
Name	IDEX Corporation	Xylem Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Machinery	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	16.67 billion USD	22.44 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 2, 1989	October 13, 2011
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

IEX

XYL

GSPC

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL), 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 IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	IEX	XYL
Total Return (1Y)	42.33%	-33.10%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	8.92%	2.29%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.31%	-4.47%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

IEX

XYL

GSPC

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL), 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 IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	IEX	XYL
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	22.98%	30.74%
Beta (5Y)	0.95	0.96
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.60%	-44.89%
Avg. Volume (3M)	666.74K	2.60M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IEX and XYL 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 IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	IEX	XYL
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.66	-1.22
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.64	-1.48

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 13.35% and Xylem (XYL) at 9.76% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

13.35%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
IEX: 13.35%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

9.76%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
XYL: 9.76%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

IDEX (IEX) at 14.65% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Xylem (XYL) at 11.94%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

14.65%

Max: 27.47%
IEX: 14.65%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

11.94%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
XYL: 11.94%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

IDEX (IEX) at 22.33% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Xylem (XYL) at 15.95%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

22.33%

Max: 36.60%
IEX: 22.33%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

15.95%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
XYL: 15.95%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	IEX	XYL
ROE (TTM)	13.35%	9.76%
ROA (TTM)	7.06%	5.07%
Net Margin (TTM)	14.65%	11.94%
Operating Margin (TTM)	22.33%	15.95%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.91%	39.32%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both IDEX (IEX) at 5.77% and Xylem (XYL) at 5.52% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both IDEX (IEX) at -3.46% and Xylem (XYL) at 7.40% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	IEX	XYL
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.77%	5.52%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	2.81%	17.84%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-3.46%	7.40%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-5.97%	25.99%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

IDEX (IEX) at 2.78 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Xylem (XYL) at 1.39 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for XYL.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

2.78

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
IEX: 2.78
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

1.39

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
XYL: 1.39
Min: 0.36

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 0.44 and Xylem (XYL) at 0.29 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

0.44

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
IEX: 0.44
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

0.29

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

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	IEX	XYL
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.78	1.39
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.44	0.29
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.18	1.18

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 1.30% and Xylem (XYL) at 1.69% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

1.30%

Max: 2.66%
IEX: 1.30%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

1.69%

Max: 2.66%
XYL: 1.69%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 50.14% and Xylem (XYL) at 37.47% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

50.14%

Max: 67.39%
IEX: 50.14%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

37.47%

Max: 67.39%
XYL: 37.47%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	IEX	XYL
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.30%	1.69%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	50.14%	37.47%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 31.53 and Xylem (XYL) at 21.69 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

31.53

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
IEX: 31.53
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

21.69

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
XYL: 21.69
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Xylem (XYL) at 2.48 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while IDEX (IEX) at 4.56 sits in the pricier quartile — IEX costs more per dollar of sales.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

4.56

Max: 7.54
IEX: 4.56
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

2.48

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
XYL: 2.48
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both IDEX (IEX) at 4.17 and Xylem (XYL) at 2.19 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

4.17

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
IEX: 4.17
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

2.19

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
XYL: 2.19
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

IDEX (IEX) vs. Xylem (XYL): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	IEX	XYL
P/E Ratio (TTM)	31.53	21.69
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.56	2.48
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.17	2.19
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.50%	5.39%