Ingersoll Rand has been treading water for the past six months, recording a small loss of 2.4% while holding steady at $85.51. The stock also fell short of the S&P 500’s 10.4% gain during that period.
Is now the time to buy Ingersoll Rand, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Get the full stock story straight from our expert analysts, it’s free.
Why Is Ingersoll Rand Not Exciting?
We're swiping left on Ingersoll Rand for now. Here are three reasons we avoid IR and a stock we'd rather own.
1. Core Business Falling Behind as Demand Declines
We can better understand Gas and Liquid Handling companies by analyzing their organic revenue. This metric gives visibility into Ingersoll Rand’s core business because it excludes one-time events such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures along with foreign currency fluctuations - non-fundamental factors that can manipulate the income statement.
Over the last two years, Ingersoll Rand’s organic revenue averaged 1.2% year-on-year declines. This performance was underwhelming and implies it may need to improve its products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy. It also suggests Ingersoll Rand might have to lean into acquisitions to grow, which isn’t ideal because M&A can be expensive and risky (integrations often disrupt focus). 
2. Projected Revenue Growth Is Slim
Forecasted revenues by Wall Street analysts signal a company’s potential. Predictions may not always be accurate, but accelerating growth typically boosts valuation multiples and stock prices while slowing growth does the opposite.
Over the next 12 months, sell-side analysts expect Ingersoll Rand’s revenue to rise by 5.8%, close to its 6.4% annualized growth for the past five years. This projection is underwhelming and implies its newer products and services will not catalyze better top-line performance yet.
3. Previous Growth Initiatives Haven’t Impressed
Growth gives us insight into a company’s long-term potential, but how capital-efficient was that growth? Enter ROIC, a metric showing how much operating profit a company generates relative to the money it has raised (debt and equity).
Ingersoll Rand historically did a mediocre job investing in profitable growth initiatives. Its five-year average ROIC was 5.6%, somewhat low compared to the best industrials companies that consistently pump out 20%+.
Final Judgment
Ingersoll Rand isn’t a terrible business, but it doesn’t pass our quality test. With its shares trailing the market in recent months, the stock trades at 24.3× forward P/E (or $85.51 per share). While this valuation is reasonable, we don’t really see a big opportunity at the moment. We're pretty confident there are superior stocks to buy right now. We’d suggest looking at one of our top digital advertising picks.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
If your portfolio success hinges on just 4 stocks, your wealth is built on fragile ground. You have a small window to secure high-quality assets before the market widens and these prices disappear.
Don’t wait for the next volatility shock. Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
