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Side-by-side financial comparison of MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC (MSM) and STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP (SF). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.1B vs $965.7M, roughly 1.2× MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC). STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP runs the higher net margin — 23.5% vs 5.4%, a 18.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (23.0% vs 4.0%). STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP produced more free cash flow last quarter ($369.0M vs $7.4M). Over the past eight quarters, STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP's revenue compounded faster (21.1% CAGR vs -3.4%).

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc (MSC), through its subsidiaries, primarily MSC Industrial Supply Co., is one of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the United States, distributing more than 1.5 million metalworking and other industrial products.

Stifel Financial Corp. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company created under the Stifel name in July 1983 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 24, 1986. Its predecessor company was founded in 1890 as the Altheimer and Rawlings Investment Company and is headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

MSM vs SF — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SF
SF
1.2× larger
SF
$1.1B
$965.7M
MSM
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SF
SF
+19.0% gap
SF
23.0%
4.0%
MSM
Higher net margin
SF
SF
18.1% more per $
SF
23.5%
5.4%
MSM
More free cash flow
SF
SF
$361.6M more FCF
SF
$369.0M
$7.4M
MSM
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SF
SF
Annualised
SF
21.1%
-3.4%
MSM

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Revenue
$965.7M
$1.1B
Net Profit
$51.8M
$264.4M
Gross Margin
40.7%
Operating Margin
7.9%
27.3%
Net Margin
5.4%
23.5%
Revenue YoY
4.0%
23.0%
Net Profit YoY
11.1%
8.3%
EPS (diluted)
$0.93
$2.30

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
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$965.7M
$1.1B
Q3 25
$978.2M
$962.6M
Q2 25
$971.1M
$838.9M
Q1 25
$842.5M
Q4 24
$928.5M
$916.0M
Q3 24
$810.9M
Q2 24
$979.4M
$798.9M
Q1 24
$935.3M
$768.1M
Net Profit
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$51.8M
$264.4M
Q3 25
$56.5M
$211.4M
Q2 25
$56.8M
$155.1M
Q1 25
$53.0M
Q4 24
$46.6M
$244.0M
Q3 24
$158.5M
Q2 24
$71.7M
$165.3M
Q1 24
$61.8M
$163.6M
Gross Margin
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
40.7%
Q3 25
40.4%
Q2 25
41.0%
Q1 25
Q4 24
40.7%
Q3 24
Q2 24
40.9%
Q1 24
41.5%
Operating Margin
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
7.9%
27.3%
Q3 25
8.6%
29.7%
Q2 25
8.5%
25.5%
Q1 25
7.5%
Q4 24
7.8%
29.1%
Q3 24
26.7%
Q2 24
10.9%
28.4%
Q1 24
9.7%
28.5%
Net Margin
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
5.4%
23.5%
Q3 25
5.8%
22.0%
Q2 25
5.9%
18.5%
Q1 25
6.3%
Q4 24
5.0%
26.6%
Q3 24
19.5%
Q2 24
7.3%
20.7%
Q1 24
6.6%
21.3%
EPS (diluted)
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$0.93
$2.30
Q3 25
$1.02
$1.84
Q2 25
$1.02
$1.34
Q1 25
$0.39
Q4 24
$0.83
$2.10
Q3 24
$1.34
Q2 24
$1.27
$1.41
Q1 24
$1.10
$1.40

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$40.3M
$2.3B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$214.1M
$617.4M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.4B
$6.0B
Total Assets
$2.5B
$41.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.16×
0.10×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$40.3M
$2.3B
Q3 25
$56.2M
$3.2B
Q2 25
$71.7M
$1.9B
Q1 25
$2.7B
Q4 24
$57.3M
$2.6B
Q3 24
$1.9B
Q2 24
$25.9M
$2.6B
Q1 24
$22.2M
$3.4B
Total Debt
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$214.1M
$617.4M
Q3 25
$168.8M
$617.2M
Q2 25
$285.0M
$617.0M
Q1 25
$616.8M
Q4 24
$289.9M
$616.6M
Q3 24
$616.4M
Q2 24
$299.8M
$1.1B
Q1 24
$294.5M
$1.1B
Stockholders' Equity
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$1.4B
$6.0B
Q3 25
$1.4B
$5.8B
Q2 25
$1.4B
$5.6B
Q1 25
$5.5B
Q4 24
$1.4B
$5.7B
Q3 24
$5.6B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$5.4B
Q1 24
$1.4B
$5.3B
Total Assets
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$2.5B
$41.3B
Q3 25
$2.5B
$41.7B
Q2 25
$2.5B
$39.9B
Q1 25
$40.4B
Q4 24
$2.5B
$39.9B
Q3 24
$38.9B
Q2 24
$2.5B
$37.8B
Q1 24
$2.5B
$38.3B
Debt / Equity
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
0.16×
0.10×
Q3 25
0.12×
0.11×
Q2 25
0.21×
0.11×
Q1 25
0.11×
Q4 24
0.21×
0.11×
Q3 24
0.11×
Q2 24
0.21×
0.21×
Q1 24
0.21×
0.21×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$29.4M
$382.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$7.4M
$369.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
0.8%
32.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.3%
1.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.57×
1.45×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.1B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$29.4M
$382.4M
Q3 25
$338.3M
Q2 25
$151.6M
$607.5M
Q1 25
$-211.2M
Q4 24
$101.9M
$694.6M
Q3 24
$198.3M
Q2 24
$143.5M
$207.2M
Q1 24
$78.7M
$-609.7M
Free Cash Flow
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
$7.4M
$369.0M
Q3 25
$321.1M
Q2 25
$100.7M
$592.7M
Q1 25
$-227.8M
Q4 24
$81.7M
$677.2M
Q3 24
$185.6M
Q2 24
$114.0M
$173.3M
Q1 24
$53.4M
$-619.4M
FCF Margin
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
0.8%
32.7%
Q3 25
33.4%
Q2 25
10.4%
70.6%
Q1 25
-27.0%
Q4 24
8.8%
73.9%
Q3 24
22.9%
Q2 24
11.6%
21.7%
Q1 24
5.7%
-80.6%
Capex Intensity
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
2.3%
1.2%
Q3 25
1.8%
Q2 25
5.2%
1.8%
Q1 25
2.0%
Q4 24
2.2%
1.9%
Q3 24
1.6%
Q2 24
3.0%
4.2%
Q1 24
2.7%
1.3%
Cash Conversion
MSM
MSM
SF
SF
Q4 25
0.57×
1.45×
Q3 25
1.60×
Q2 25
2.67×
3.92×
Q1 25
-3.99×
Q4 24
2.18×
2.85×
Q3 24
1.25×
Q2 24
2.00×
1.25×
Q1 24
1.27×
-3.73×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

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