FLS vs ITT: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: FLS is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. FLS and ITT share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined FLS and ITT exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Flowserve Corporation is one of the world's largest suppliers of flow-control equipment. It designs, makes, and services pumps, valves, actuators, and mechanical seals used to move and control liquids and gases in demanding industrial settings. The business runs through two segments: Flowserve Pumps and Engineered Solutions (its larger unit, including seals) and Flow Control (valves and automation). A defining feature is its large installed base, which drives a high-margin aftermarket business of spare parts, repairs, and service that generates recurring revenue even when new-project orders slow. Its end markets skew to oil and gas, chemicals, general industries, power generation, and increasingly water.

Full FLS guide

ITT Inc. makes precision components for machines that are not allowed to fail: brake pads, industrial pumps and valves, and electrical connectors for aircraft and defense platforms. It reports three segments. Flow Technologies, renamed from Industrial Process after the SPX FLOW acquisition closed, sells pumps, valves, mixers and food and beverage process equipment, and produced ~$792 million of revenue in the second quarter of 2026. Motion Technologies (~$386 million) supplies friction material, shock absorbers and rail damping under the ITT Friction, KONI and Axtone brands. Connect & Control Technologies (~$296 million) builds connectors and actuation components for aerospace, defense, industrial and medical customers. Roughly ~65% of revenue comes from outside the United States, and the company employed about ~11,600 people before the acquisition.

Full ITT guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• FLS drivers: Aftermarket and installed base; 3D growth strategy and new end markets.
• ITT drivers: SPX FLOW reshapes the flow business; Defense and aerospace demand at Connect & Control.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Flowserve's orders are cyclical and tied to capital spending in oil and gas, chemicals, and power, which can fall sharply when commodity prices or industrial demand weaken. For ITT, the balance sheet changed character in a single quarter, from net cash at the end of 2025 to ~$3.1 billion of net debt, and goodwill of ~$3.87 billion now sits against ~$4.81 billion of equity, so a disappointing integration would surface as an impairment rather than a slow fade.

Pick FLS if you believe its drivers more; ITT if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the FLS and ITT guides.

FLS. Flowserve trades as a mid-cap industrial at roughly 18 times normalized earnings and around 1.9 times sales, valuations that embed expectations for margin expansion and its 3D growth push. The Chart merger termination left the balance sheet flush, with cash near $792 million reported in early 2026. Figures are approximate and as of July 2026; actual results move with each quarterly report.

ITT. At a share price near ~$219 and a market capitalization of ~$19.6 billion, ITT trades at roughly ~27 times the midpoint of its own 2026 adjusted EPS guidance and about ~44 times trailing GAAP earnings, a spread created almost entirely by SPX FLOW purchase accounting. Enterprise value of roughly ~$22.7 billion works out near ~4.1 times the revenue implied by full-year growth guidance of ~38% to ~41%. The dividend, ~$0.386 per quarter for a yield around ~0.7%, is a small component of the return case.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): FLS shows revenue (fy2025) ~$4.7 billion, revenue (q1 2026) ~$1.07 billion (down ~7% YoY), adjusted eps (fy2025) ~$3.64, backlog (year-end 2025) ~$2.9 billion; ITT shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.74B, up from ~$3.94B in FY2025, q2 2026 revenue ~$1.47B, up ~51% total and ~13% organic, q2 2026 operating margin ~12.2% reported, ~20.0% adjusted, fy2026 guidance (adjusted eps) ~$8.12 to ~$8.32, with reported EPS of ~$4.47 to ~$4.67.

FLS and ITT are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined FLS and ITT exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.