Which has the lower trailing P/E, CDNL or FSTR?

CDNL has the lower trailing P/E: CDNL trades at 17.19 and FSTR at 35.19. P/E is one valuation measure and does not by itself establish which business is cheaper.

Is CDNL or FSTR more profitable?

CDNL runs the higher net margin — CDNL at 2.74% versus FSTR at 2.04%.

Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. (CDNL) vs L.B. Foster Company (FSTR)

A side-by-side comparison of Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. and L.B. Foster Company across valuation, profitability, dividends, and growth — built entirely from reported fundamentals, as of October 6, 2026. Differences are shown without an overall score or investment verdict.

CDNL

Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc.

$439M

$28.71IndustrialsDelayed quote: Oct 5, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT

FSTR

L.B. Foster Company

$386M

$36.95IndustrialsDelayed quote: Oct 5, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT

Total return — CDNL vs FSTR

growth of $100 · dividends reinvested · last 1y

CDNL +22.2% (+22.2%/yr)FSTR +35.3% (+35.3%/yr)FSTR compounded faster over this window

CDNL FSTR

CDNL vs FSTR: by the numbers

•CDNL is the larger company ($439M vs $386M market cap).
•CDNL trades at the lower trailing earnings multiple (17.19 vs 35.19 P/E), one valuation lens rather than an overall verdict.
•CDNL converts more revenue to profit (2.74% vs 2.04% net margin).

Metrics side by side

Valuation

Metric	CDNL	FSTR
P/E ratio	17.19	35.19
Forward P/E	14.14	22.81
P/S ratio	0.66	0.69
P/B ratio	1.79	2.17
EV / EBITDA	3.63	12.56
FCF yield	0.09%	10.77%

Profitability

Metric	CDNL	FSTR
Gross margin	17.46%	21.36%
Operating margin	7.78%	4.36%
Net margin	2.74%	2.04%
ROE	7.40%	6.39%
ROIC	5.66%	5.30%

Growth (annualized)

Metric	CDNL	FSTR
Revenue CAGR (5Y)	N/A	2.05%
EPS CAGR (5Y)	N/A	0.28%
FCF CAGR (5Y)	N/A	29.02%
Total return CAGR (5Y)	N/A	18.72%

Frequently asked

Which has the lower trailing P/E, CDNL or FSTR?: CDNL has the lower trailing P/E: CDNL trades at 17.19 and FSTR at 35.19. P/E is one valuation measure and does not by itself establish which business is cheaper.
Is CDNL or FSTR more profitable?: CDNL runs the higher net margin — CDNL at 2.74% versus FSTR at 2.04%.

Go deeper

Full CDNL analysis Full FSTR analysis Interactive comparison tool

Dig into the metrics

Cardinal Infrastructure P/E ratio L.B. Foster P/E ratio Cardinal Infrastructure ROE L.B. Foster ROE Cardinal Infrastructure operating margin L.B. Foster operating margin Cardinal Infrastructure revenue growth L.B. Foster revenue growth Cardinal Infrastructure free cash flow L.B. Foster free cash flow

Cardinal Infrastructure & L.B. Foster appear in these rankings

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Figures are sourced from reported fundamentals and the latest end-of-day price. This comparison is informational only and is not investment advice. Past performance does not predict future results. See our methodology. Compiled by TGMCharts Research · data verified October 6, 2026.