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EME or FIX or STRL
Which Stock Would AI Choose? EMCOR Group (EME) vs. Comfort Systems USA (FIX) vs. Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- STRL leads with 163% YTD return, followed by FIX at 111% and EME at 53%, all vastly outperforming the S&P 500's 6% YTD gain.
- All three reported record Q1 2026 revenues and backlogs, driven by data center and infrastructure demand, with revenue growth of 20% for EME, 57% for FIX, and 92% for STRL.
- FIX and STRL trade at premium P/E ratios above 50x, reflecting high growth expectations, while EME at 31x offers relative value with scale.
- Backlogs signal multi-year visibility: $15.6B for EME (up 33% YoY), $12.5B for FIX (up 81% YoY), and $3.8B for STRL (up 78% YoY).
- Sector tailwinds from AI data centers and infrastructure spending boost sentiment, with all raising 2026 guidance.
- Tickeron AI bots highlight FIX in trending industrials strategies with strong returns.
Introduction
This stock comparison examines EME, FIX, and STRL, three leaders in electrical, mechanical, and civil construction within the booming infrastructure sector. These firms benefit from surging demand for data centers, electrification, and public projects amid AI expansion and government spending. Traders seeking momentum plays and investors eyeing long-term growth in industrials will find value in analyzing their relative performance, backlogs, and valuations. Recent quarters highlight robust revenue acceleration and backlog records, positioning them strongly in the current market environment.
EME Overview and Recent Performance
EME, or EMCOR Group, Inc., specializes in electrical and mechanical construction, facilities services, and industrial solutions, with key exposure to data centers, energy infrastructure, and building systems. In recent market activity, shares have delivered a 53% YTD return and 114% over one year, outpacing the S&P 500. Q1 2026 marked record revenue of $4.63 billion, up 20% year-over-year (16.8% organic), with diluted EPS at $6.84 (up 30%). Remaining performance obligations (RPOs, or backlog) hit $15.6 billion, up 33% YoY, fueled by network communications and data centers. The company raised 2026 revenue guidance to $18.5-19.25 billion. Sentiment remains positive, supported by analyst price target increases and Zacks Strong Buy ranking, though shares trade at a forward P/E of about 28x.
FIX Overview and Recent Performance
FIX, Comfort Systems USA, Inc., delivers mechanical and electrical installation, renovation, and maintenance, focusing on HVAC, plumbing, and MEP systems for commercial and industrial clients, including data centers. Recent performance has been explosive, with shares up 111% YTD and 353% over one year. Q1 2026 revenue soared 57% to $2.87 billion (51% same-store), with EPS more than doubling to $10.51 and backlog reaching a record $12.45 billion (up 81% YoY). Strong technology sector demand, particularly data centers, drove results, alongside $389 million in operating cash flow. Guidance points to mid-to-high 20% same-store growth. Elevated P/E near 57x reflects growth premium, with bullish Wall Street views amid modular capacity expansions.
STRL Overview and Recent Performance
STRL, Sterling Infrastructure, Inc., provides e-infrastructure, transportation, and building solutions, including site development for data centers and heavy civil projects. Shares have surged 163% YTD and 384% over one year, leading the trio. Q1 2026 revenue jumped 92% to $826 million, with adjusted EPS at $3.59 (up 120%) and gross margins at a record 23.5%. Backlog grew 78% to $3.8 billion (combined $5.15 billion, up 131%), driven by e-infrastructure megaprojects. Full-year guidance raised for over 50% revenue growth. At a P/E of 72x, valuation embeds high expectations, bolstered by Q1 beats and AI data center catalysts.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots page curates the top-performing bots from its library of hundreds of AI trading agents that analyze thousands of tickers across diverse strategies, timeframes from 5 minutes to daily, and styles like trend-following, momentum, and risk-managed corridor trading (e.g., take-profit/stop-loss ratios). Only the most suitable for prevailing volatility and sector rotations—such as industrials and data centers—earn a spot among the 25+ featured. Stats shine: annualized returns up to 169%, win rates 51-88%, profit factors 1.5-11.7, trading 3-18 tickers per bot. Notably, FIX appears in a high-performing industrials bot (+93% annualized, 67% win rate). Explore these for data-driven signals tailored to current conditions.
Head-to-Head Comparison
EME, FIX, and STRL share infrastructure exposure but diverge in focus: EME's scale ($42B market cap) emphasizes electrical/mechanical services with diversified facilities management; FIX ($69B cap) targets MEP for tech-heavy data centers; STRL ($25B cap) leans into e-infrastructure site work. Growth drivers align on AI/data centers, but STRL shows fastest recent momentum (163% YTD) via acquisitions like CEC. Valuation sensitivity favors EME at 31x P/E versus 57x for FIX and 72x for STRL. Risks include labor shortages and project delays, with STRL most volatile (beta 1.5+). Market sentiment tilts to high-growth plays amid backlog surges, though EME offers stability.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI currently favors FIX for its superior trend consistency, explosive backlog growth (81% YoY), and featured role in trending industrials bots with 93% annualized returns. While STRL boasts top YTD gains and e-infrastructure catalysts, elevated valuation introduces volatility risk. EME provides balanced positioning with scale and value, but FIX edges ahead on observable momentum and AI signal alignment in the current data center surge.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer. Disclaimers and Limitations
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
EME’s FA Score shows that 3 FA rating(s) are green whileFIX’s FA Score has 3 green FA rating(s), and STRL’s FA Score reflects 3 green FA rating(s).
- EME’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
- FIX’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
- STRL’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
EME’s TA Score shows that 3 TA indicator(s) are bullish while FIX’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s), and STRL’s TA Score reflects 6 bullish TA indicator(s).
- EME’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 3 bearish.
- FIX’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 4 bearish.
- STRL’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
EME (@Engineering & Construction) experienced а -0.90% price change this week, while FIX (@Engineering & Construction) price change was +2.49% , and STRL (@Engineering & Construction) price fluctuated +5.63% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Engineering & Construction industry was -1.79%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +7.90%, and the average quarterly price growth was +26.18%.
Reported Earning Dates
EME is expected to report earnings on Jul 23, 2026.
FIX is expected to report earnings on Jul 29, 2026.
STRL is expected to report earnings on Aug 10, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Engineering & Construction (-1.79% weekly)Engineering & Construction includes companies that engage in non-residential construction and contract services, including ventilation, heating and air conditioning (HVAC) services. The level/value of construction & engineering activity is one of the potentially relevant indicators of the health of businesses, and hence of the overall economy. Some of the large-cap U.S. companies in this industry include Jacobs Engineering Group Inc,, AECOM and Quanta Services, Inc.
| EME | FIX | STRL | |
| Capitalization | 41.1B | 71B | 26.1B |
| EBITDA | 2.02B | 1.72B | 590M |
| Gain YTD | 51.345 | 116.155 | 178.010 |
| P/E Ratio | 31.07 | 58.21 | 76.08 |
| Revenue | 17.7B | 10.1B | 2.89B |
| Total Cash | 916M | 1.05B | 512M |
| Total Debt | 510M | 339M | 342M |
EME | FIX | STRL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 22 | 24 | 26 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 76 Overvalued | 88 Overvalued | 93 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 6 | 2 | 2 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 23 | 19 | 27 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 38 | 35 | 34 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 16 | 9 | 4 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
EME's Valuation (76) in the Engineering And Construction industry is in the same range as FIX (88) and is in the same range as STRL (93). This means that EME's stock grew similarly to FIX’s and similarly to STRL’s over the last 12 months.
FIX's Profit vs Risk Rating (2) in the Engineering And Construction industry is in the same range as STRL (2) and is in the same range as EME (6). This means that FIX's stock grew similarly to STRL’s and similarly to EME’s over the last 12 months.
FIX's SMR Rating (19) in the Engineering And Construction industry is in the same range as EME (23) and is in the same range as STRL (27). This means that FIX's stock grew similarly to EME’s and similarly to STRL’s over the last 12 months.
STRL's Price Growth Rating (34) in the Engineering And Construction industry is in the same range as FIX (35) and is in the same range as EME (38). This means that STRL's stock grew similarly to FIX’s and similarly to EME’s over the last 12 months.
STRL's P/E Growth Rating (4) in the Engineering And Construction industry is in the same range as FIX (9) and is in the same range as EME (16). This means that STRL's stock grew similarly to FIX’s and similarly to EME’s over the last 12 months.
| EME | FIX | STRL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 64% | 1 day ago 65% | 1 day ago 66% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | N/A | 1 day ago 61% | 1 day ago 68% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | N/A | N/A | 1 day ago 77% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | N/A | 6 days ago 86% | 1 day ago 76% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 55% | 1 day ago 81% | 1 day ago 80% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 71% | 1 day ago 80% | 1 day ago 79% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 8 days ago 70% | 3 days ago 78% | 3 days ago 82% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 46% | 28 days ago 65% | 15 days ago 70% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 57% | 1 day ago 51% | 1 day ago 61% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 73% | 1 day ago 82% | 1 day ago 80% |
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| 1 Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ETFs / NAME | Price $ | Chg $ | Chg % |
| MCDS | 64.38 | N/A | N/A |
| JPMorgan Fundamental Data Sci Md Cor ETF | |||
| VABS | 24.20 | N/A | -0.02% |
| Virtus Newfleet Securitized Income ETF | |||
| DYNB | 39.31 | -0.10 | -0.25% |
| Hartford Dynamic Bond ETF | |||
| EAD | 6.55 | -0.02 | -0.30% |
| Allspring Income Opportunities Fund | |||
| REMX | 108.03 | -1.50 | -1.37% |
| VanEck Rare Earth & Strat Mtls ETF | |||
FIX and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, FIX has been closely correlated with EME. These tickers have moved in lockstep 79% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if FIX jumps, then EME could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To FIX | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIX | 100% | -0.82% | ||
| EME - FIX | 79% Closely correlated | -0.71% | ||
| PWR - FIX | 75% Closely correlated | -1.99% | ||
| MTZ - FIX | 73% Closely correlated | -0.25% | ||
| IESC - FIX | 73% Closely correlated | +0.10% | ||
| MYRG - FIX | 68% Closely correlated | -0.69% | ||
More | ||||
STRL and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, STRL has been closely correlated with FIX. These tickers have moved in lockstep 78% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if STRL jumps, then FIX could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To STRL | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRL | 100% | -1.94% | ||
| FIX - STRL | 78% Closely correlated | -0.82% | ||
| PWR - STRL | 76% Closely correlated | -1.99% | ||
| IESC - STRL | 73% Closely correlated | +0.10% | ||
| MTZ - STRL | 63% Loosely correlated | -0.25% | ||
| ECG - STRL | 62% Loosely correlated | -2.69% | ||
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