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Side-by-side financial comparison of ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC (ESE) and MERCER INTERNATIONAL INC. (MERC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

MERCER INTERNATIONAL INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($449.5M vs $289.7M, roughly 1.6× ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC). ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC runs the higher net margin — 9.9% vs -68.7%, a 78.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (17.3% vs -8.0%). ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($63.0M vs $32.0M). Over the past eight quarters, ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC's revenue compounded faster (7.8% CAGR vs -9.9%).

Esco is a Singaporean brand that develops, manufactures, and sells products and services for laboratories.

Mercer is an American consulting firm founded in 1945. It is one of the four operating subsidiaries of global professional services firm Marsh McLennan. Mercer is headquartered in New York City with offices in 43 countries and operations in 130 countries. The company primarily provides human resources and financial services consulting services to its clients.

ESE vs MERC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MERC
MERC
1.6× larger
MERC
$449.5M
$289.7M
ESE
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ESE
ESE
+25.2% gap
ESE
17.3%
-8.0%
MERC
Higher net margin
ESE
ESE
78.6% more per $
ESE
9.9%
-68.7%
MERC
More free cash flow
ESE
ESE
$31.0M more FCF
ESE
$63.0M
$32.0M
MERC
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ESE
ESE
Annualised
ESE
7.8%
-9.9%
MERC

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Revenue
$289.7M
$449.5M
Net Profit
$28.7M
$-308.7M
Gross Margin
41.4%
Operating Margin
13.2%
-62.0%
Net Margin
9.9%
-68.7%
Revenue YoY
17.3%
-8.0%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
-1947.7%
EPS (diluted)
$1.11
$-4.61

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$289.7M
$449.5M
Q3 25
$286.5M
$458.1M
Q2 25
$296.3M
$453.5M
Q1 25
$265.5M
$507.0M
Q4 24
$247.0M
$488.4M
Q3 24
$298.5M
$502.1M
Q2 24
$260.8M
$499.4M
Q1 24
$249.1M
$553.4M
Net Profit
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$28.7M
$-308.7M
Q3 25
$218.7M
$-80.8M
Q2 25
$26.1M
$-86.1M
Q1 25
$31.0M
$-22.3M
Q4 24
$23.5M
$16.7M
Q3 24
$34.3M
$-17.6M
Q2 24
$29.2M
$-67.6M
Q1 24
$23.2M
$-16.7M
Gross Margin
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
41.4%
Q3 25
45.9%
Q2 25
41.2%
Q1 25
41.1%
Q4 24
39.8%
Q3 24
40.1%
Q2 24
39.6%
Q1 24
38.8%
Operating Margin
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
13.2%
-62.0%
Q3 25
17.2%
-14.8%
Q2 25
11.2%
-12.9%
Q1 25
15.3%
1.3%
Q4 24
11.4%
10.3%
Q3 24
14.8%
1.8%
Q2 24
14.3%
-8.8%
Q1 24
11.7%
-0.1%
Net Margin
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
9.9%
-68.7%
Q3 25
76.3%
-17.6%
Q2 25
8.8%
-19.0%
Q1 25
11.7%
-4.4%
Q4 24
9.5%
3.4%
Q3 24
11.5%
-3.5%
Q2 24
11.2%
-13.5%
Q1 24
9.3%
-3.0%
EPS (diluted)
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$1.11
$-4.61
Q3 25
$8.43
$-1.21
Q2 25
$1.01
$-1.29
Q1 25
$1.20
$-0.33
Q4 24
$0.91
$0.25
Q3 24
$1.32
$-0.26
Q2 24
$1.13
$-1.01
Q1 24
$0.90
$-0.25

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$103.8M
$186.8M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$145.5M
$1.6B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.6B
$68.1M
Total Assets
$2.4B
$2.0B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.09×
23.58×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$103.8M
$186.8M
Q3 25
$101.3M
$98.1M
Q2 25
$78.7M
$146.5M
Q1 25
$57.4M
$181.5M
Q4 24
$71.3M
$184.9M
Q3 24
$66.0M
$239.0M
Q2 24
$63.0M
$263.2M
Q1 24
$59.4M
$274.3M
Total Debt
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$145.5M
$1.6B
Q3 25
$186.0M
$1.5B
Q2 25
$525.0M
$1.5B
Q1 25
$88.0M
$1.5B
Q4 24
$112.0M
$1.5B
Q3 24
$122.0M
$1.6B
Q2 24
$173.0M
$1.6B
Q1 24
$191.0M
$1.6B
Stockholders' Equity
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$1.6B
$68.1M
Q3 25
$1.5B
$359.5M
Q2 25
$1.3B
$446.5M
Q1 25
$1.3B
$437.4M
Q4 24
$1.2B
$429.8M
Q3 24
$1.2B
$516.8M
Q2 24
$1.2B
$487.7M
Q1 24
$1.2B
$573.6M
Total Assets
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$2.4B
$2.0B
Q3 25
$2.4B
$2.3B
Q2 25
$2.5B
$2.4B
Q1 25
$1.8B
$2.3B
Q4 24
$1.8B
$2.3B
Q3 24
$1.8B
$2.5B
Q2 24
$1.8B
$2.5B
Q1 24
$1.8B
$2.6B
Debt / Equity
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
0.09×
23.58×
Q3 25
0.12×
4.30×
Q2 25
0.40×
3.42×
Q1 25
0.07×
3.44×
Q4 24
0.09×
3.43×
Q3 24
0.10×
3.09×
Q2 24
0.14×
3.22×
Q1 24
0.16×
2.82×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$68.9M
$46.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$63.0M
$32.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
21.7%
7.1%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.0%
3.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.40×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$239.6M
$-80.0M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$68.9M
$46.2M
Q3 25
$109.9M
$-30.1M
Q2 25
$73.7M
$-4.5M
Q1 25
$24.1M
$-3.0M
Q4 24
$34.2M
$71.2M
Q3 24
$72.1M
$-13.9M
Q2 24
$36.2M
$62.2M
Q1 24
$10.5M
$-29.2M
Free Cash Flow
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
$63.0M
$32.0M
Q3 25
$97.8M
$-60.1M
Q2 25
$64.9M
$-28.9M
Q1 25
$14.0M
$-23.1M
Q4 24
$29.0M
$50.4M
Q3 24
$60.9M
$-41.2M
Q2 24
$27.6M
$44.3M
Q1 24
$2.0M
$-47.7M
FCF Margin
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
21.7%
7.1%
Q3 25
34.1%
-13.1%
Q2 25
21.9%
-6.4%
Q1 25
5.3%
-4.6%
Q4 24
11.7%
10.3%
Q3 24
20.4%
-8.2%
Q2 24
10.6%
8.9%
Q1 24
0.8%
-8.6%
Capex Intensity
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
2.0%
3.1%
Q3 25
4.2%
6.6%
Q2 25
3.0%
5.4%
Q1 25
3.8%
4.0%
Q4 24
2.1%
4.2%
Q3 24
3.8%
5.4%
Q2 24
3.3%
3.6%
Q1 24
3.4%
3.3%
Cash Conversion
ESE
ESE
MERC
MERC
Q4 25
2.40×
Q3 25
0.50×
Q2 25
2.83×
Q1 25
0.78×
Q4 24
1.46×
4.26×
Q3 24
2.10×
Q2 24
1.24×
Q1 24
0.45×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ESE
ESE

US Government$98.0M34%
Utility Solutions Group$87.5M30%
RF Shielding And Test$58.3M20%
Commercial$45.8M16%
Related Party$1.3M0%

MERC
MERC

Other$215.3M48%
Solid Wood$110.2M25%
Lumber$54.9M12%
Pallets$23.7M5%
Energyandchemicals$18.7M4%
Manufactured Products$14.1M3%
Biofuels$10.0M2%
Wood Residuals$2.6M1%

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