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VRT vs. WSO.B: Vertiv vs. Watsco Stock Comparison

How do Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B) 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

Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but VRT is classified in Electrical Equipment while WSO.B is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors.

Company profile comparison for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
Profile ItemVRTWSO.B
NameVertiv Holdings Co Class A Common StockWatsco Inc. Class B Common Stock
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorIndustrialsIndustrials
GICS Industry GroupCapital GoodsCapital Goods
GICS IndustryElectrical EquipmentTrading Companies & Distributors
GICS Sub-IndustryElectrical Components & EquipmentTrading Companies & Distributors
Market Capitalization70.41 billion USD12.92 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateAugust 2, 2018March 17, 1980
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

VRT
WSO.B
GSPC
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B), 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 Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
MetricVRTWSO.B
Total Return (1Y)11.12%-11.21%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)71.14%-3.05%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)49.38%4.30%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

VRT
WSO.B
GSPC
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B), 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 Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Vertiv (VRT) has a highly aggressive beta of 2.15, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Watsco (WSO.B) is defensive at 0.64 and tends to be less market-sensitive — a wide gap in beta profiles.

Vertiv (VRT) trades around 5.90M shares per day on average, while Watsco (WSO.B) sees only 74 — a volume gap that can matter for position sizing, exit liquidity, and order execution.

Risk profile metrics for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
MetricVRTWSO.B
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)71.11%40.28%
Beta (5Y)2.150.64
Max Drawdown (5Y)-69.52%-43.41%
Avg. Volume (3M)5.90M74

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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VRT and WSO.B 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 Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
MetricVRTWSO.B
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.10-0.38
Sortino Ratio (1Y)0.14-0.57

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Vertiv (VRT) at 46.57% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Watsco (WSO.B) at 16.21%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

46.57%

VRT
46.57%
Max
40.55%
Q3
19.29%
Median
12.12%
Q1
4.08%
Min
-17.12%

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

16.21%

Max
40.55%
Q3
19.29%
WSO.B
16.21%
Median
12.12%
Q1
4.08%
Min
-17.12%
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Vertiv (VRT) at 16.00% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Watsco (WSO.B) at 6.31%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

16.00%

Max
27.47%
VRT
16.00%
Q3
12.10%
Median
6.30%
Q1
1.40%
Min
-12.89%

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

6.31%

Max
27.47%
Q3
12.10%
WSO.B
6.31%
Median
6.30%
Q1
1.40%
Min
-12.89%
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Vertiv (VRT) at 23.77% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Watsco (WSO.B) at 10.14%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

23.77%

Max
36.60%
VRT
23.77%
Q3
18.33%
Median
11.12%
Q1
5.14%
Min
-12.63%

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

10.14%

Max
36.60%
Q3
18.33%
Median
11.12%
WSO.B
10.14%
Q1
5.14%
Min
-12.63%
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
MetricVRTWSO.B
ROE (TTM)46.57%16.21%
ROA (TTM)11.94%8.27%
Net Margin (TTM)16.00%6.31%
Operating Margin (TTM)23.77%10.14%
Gross Margin (TTM)38.12%27.18%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Vertiv (VRT) at 27.69% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Watsco (WSO.B) at -4.98% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Vertiv (VRT) at 166.41% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than Watsco (WSO.B) at -7.47%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
MetricVRTWSO.B
Revenue Growth (YoY)27.69%-4.98%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)21.59%-0.16%
EPS Growth (YoY)166.41%-7.47%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)340.11%-6.89%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Watsco (WSO.B) at 3.15 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while Vertiv (VRT) at 1.39 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

1.39

Max
5.22
Q3
2.95
Median
2.08
Q1
1.43
VRT
1.39
Min
0.36

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

3.15

Max
5.22
WSO.B
3.15
Q3
2.95
Median
2.08
Q1
1.43
Min
0.36
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Watsco (WSO.B) at 0.16 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Vertiv (VRT) at 0.61 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

0.61

Max
2.33
Q3
1.12
VRT
0.61
Median
0.60
Q1
0.29
Min
0.00

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

0.16

Max
2.33
Q3
1.12
Median
0.60
Q1
0.29
WSO.B
0.16
Min
0.00
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
MetricVRTWSO.B
Current Ratio (MRQ)1.393.15
Debt / Equity (MRQ)0.610.16
Net Debt / EBITDA-0.11-0.14

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Vertiv (VRT) at 0.11% pays an industry-typical yield; Watsco (WSO.B) at 4.02% is above its entire peer range — the higher number, but one that calls for a look at payout sustainability before treating it as an advantage.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

0.11%

Max
2.66%
Q3
1.14%
Median
0.24%
VRT
0.11%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

4.02%

WSO.B
4.02%
Max
2.66%
Q3
1.14%
Median
0.24%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Watsco (WSO.B) reports payout ratio above 100% at 109.66%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Vertiv (VRT) reports 4.67%, ranking against industry peers normally.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

4.67%

Max
67.39%
Q3
28.02%
Median
6.86%
VRT
4.67%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

109.66%

WSO.B
109.66%
Max
67.39%
Q3
28.02%
Median
6.86%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
MetricVRTWSO.B
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.11%4.02%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)4.67%109.66%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Vertiv (VRT) at 34.18 and Watsco (WSO.B) at 27.26 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

34.18

Max
59.38
Q3
35.92
VRT
34.18
Median
25.41
Q1
19.47
Min
3.03

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

27.26

Max
59.38
Q3
35.92
WSO.B
27.26
Median
25.41
Q1
19.47
Min
3.03
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Watsco (WSO.B) at 1.74 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Vertiv (VRT) at 5.37 sits in the pricier quartile — VRT costs more per dollar of sales.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

5.37

Max
7.54
VRT
5.37
Q3
3.76
Median
2.15
Q1
1.03
Min
0.03

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

1.74

Max
7.54
Q3
3.76
Median
2.15
WSO.B
1.74
Q1
1.03
Min
0.03
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Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Watsco (WSO.B) at 3.99 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Vertiv (VRT) at 12.80 prices above its benchmark range — VRT looks rich relative to book.

VRT

Capital Goods industry group

12.80

VRT
12.80
Max
9.66
Q3
5.00
Median
3.12
Q1
1.81
Min
-1.08

WSO.B

Capital Goods industry group

3.99

Max
9.66
Q3
5.00
WSO.B
3.99
Median
3.12
Q1
1.81
Min
-1.08
Loading chart…
Vertiv (VRT) vs. Watsco (WSO.B): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Vertiv (VRT) and Watsco (WSO.B)
MetricVRTWSO.B
P/E Ratio (TTM)34.1827.26
P/S Ratio (TTM)5.371.74
P/B Ratio (MRQ)12.803.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)4.21%3.50%