Comparing Reliance (NYSE:RS) & Rexel (OTCMKTS:RXEEY)

Reliance (NYSE:RS) and Rexel (OTCMKTS:RXEEY) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Reliance and Rexel, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Reliance	1	5	2	1	2.33
Rexel	0	1	4	0	2.80

Reliance presently has a consensus price target of $378.67, suggesting a potential downside of 10.74%. Given Reliance’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Reliance is more favorable than Rexel.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Reliance and Rexel”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Reliance	$14.29 billion	1.52	$739.40 million	$17.20	24.66
Rexel	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Reliance has higher revenue and earnings than Rexel.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.3% of Reliance shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Reliance shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Reliance and Rexel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Reliance	5.65%	12.51%	8.47%
Rexel	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Reliance beats Rexel on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Reliance

Reliance, Inc. operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries. It sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers, which primarily include small machine shops and fabricators. The company was formerly known as Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and changed its name to Reliance, Inc. in February 2024. Reliance, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

About Rexel

Rexel S.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in distribution of low and ultra-low voltage electrical products and services for the residential, commercial, and industrial markets in France, Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. The company offers smart cameras, sensors, controllers, and monitoring software; light sources, lights, and control switches; climate control products, including heat pumps, air conditioning, and water heaters; fire alarms, surveillance equipment, access controls devices, and emergency lightings; and connection cables, and switches and routers, as well as enclosures, mounts, and racks. It also provides solar modules and inverters; connected lighting, intelligent home system, home control touch screen, and smart thermostat products; residential chargers, commercial stations, and charging cables for electric vehicles; electric motors, variable speed drives, programmable logic controllers, and computers and operator interface; and fastening systems, electrical power and control, and valves and instrumentation products. The company offers products, services, and solutions in the fields of technical supply, automation, and energy management related to the construction, renovation, maintenance, and production. It operates in 21 countries. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Paris, France.