WOR vs WTS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of September 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: WOR 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. WOR and WTS 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 WOR and WTS 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.

Worthington Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1955 as a value-added steel processor and spent most of its life as Worthington Industries. On December 1, 2023 it distributed its steel processing business to shareholders as a separate NYSE company, Worthington Steel (WS), renamed itself, and kept the WOR ticker. What stayed behind is two reportable segments. Building Products, about 62 percent of fiscal 2026 net sales at ~$861.5 million, makes pressurized containment products (LPG and refrigerant cylinders, well water and expansion tanks under Well-X-Trol, composite cylinders under Ragasco), HVAC ductwork and framing through Elgen, and standing-seam metal roof clips through LSI and Roof Hugger. Consumer Products, ~$519.8 million or 38 percent, sells handheld torches and fuel under Bernzomatic, helium balloon kits under Balloon Time, drywall and precision tools under Level5 and General, and grills and pizza ovens under Halo and a licensed Coleman brand, largely through mass retailers. Sitting outside all of that are the unconsolidated joint ventures accounted for on the equity method: WAVE, a 50 percent interest with Armstrong World Industries in ceiling suspension systems, and ClarkDietrich, a 25 percent interest in light gauge steel framing, plus smaller stakes in SES (49 percent, with Hexagon Composites) and Workhorse (20 percent). About 3,800 people work at the consolidated operations, which run 12 Building Products facilities and five Consumer Products facilities across the US, Norway and Portugal.

Full WOR guide

Watts Water Technologies supplies products that manage the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings: backflow preventers, pressure regulators, temperature and pressure relief valves, thermostatic mixing valves, leak-detection systems, commercial washroom and hydration solutions, and increasingly smart, connected water controls. It sells across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa, largely into the plumbing, HVAC, and building-safety channels, where much of the demand is non-discretionary repair, replacement, and code-driven installation.

Full WTS guide

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

• WOR drivers: WAVE is the earnings engine and it never appears in revenue; ClarkDietrich is the swing factor, and management called it a trough.
• WTS drivers: Non-discretionary replacement and code demand; Data-center and smart-water tailwinds.

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: The most structural risk is that roughly two thirds of pretax earnings come from ventures Worthington does not control, at 50 percent and 25 percent ownership, so an operating decision, a distribution policy change or a partner dispute at WAVE or ClarkDietrich would move reported results without any change at the company's own plants. For WTS, watts is exposed to commercial and residential construction and renovation activity, so a downturn in building spend or higher-for-longer interest rates could pressure volumes.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick WOR if you believe its drivers more; WTS 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 WOR and WTS guides.

WOR. The ~$1.38 billion trailing revenue figure understates the economics, so a price-to-sales ratio computed from it (near 2x) is not a meaningful comparison to a fully consolidated manufacturer. WAVE and ClarkDietrich are equity-method investments, which means none of WAVE's ~$518.9 million or ClarkDietrich's ~$1,160.7 million of fiscal 2026 sales flows through Worthington's top line while their combined ~$134.6 million of attributed profit flows straight to pretax earnings. Adding Worthington's ownership share of those two revenue bases would put look-through sales closer to ~$1.9 billion, and enterprise value of roughly ~$3.1 billion against ~$295.8 million of adjusted EBITDA works out near 10x, though that EBITDA itself includes equity income the company collects as distributions (~$140.0 million in fiscal 2026) rather than as operating cash.

WTS. Watts posted record first-quarter 2026 results with revenue near $677 million, up about 21 percent year over year, and diluted EPS of roughly $2.97, both ahead of estimates on data-center demand and pricing. For full-year 2026 the company guided to reported sales growth of about 8 to 12 percent, organic growth of 2 to 6 percent, and adjusted operating margin near 19 to 20 percent. At a mid-20s trailing P/E and a sub-1 percent yield, the shares are priced as a quality compounder rather than a value name.

Headline figures (approximate, September 2026): WOR shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.38 billion for fiscal 2026 (ended May 31, 2026), up ~19.7%, equity income from joint ventures ~$134.6 million, about two thirds of ~$201.3 million pretax earnings, fy2026 profitability adjusted EBITDA ~$295.8 million, diluted EPS ~$3.14, adjusted EPS ~$3.37, q4 fy2026 (reported june 23, 2026) net sales ~$371.5 million and adjusted EPS ~$0.97, both below consensus; WTS shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.6B, q1 2026 revenue ~$677M (up ~21% YoY), q1 2026 diluted eps ~$2.97 (adj ~$3.04), market cap ~$10B.

WOR and WTS 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 WOR and WTS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.