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

ERII has the lower trailing P/E: ERII trades at 24.69 and FSTR at 35.15. P/E is one valuation measure and does not by itself establish which business is cheaper.

Which has grown faster, ERII or FSTR?

Over the past five years, ERII grew revenue faster — ERII at a 3.08% CAGR versus FSTR at 2.05%.

Is ERII or FSTR more profitable?

ERII runs the higher net margin — ERII at 12.75% versus FSTR at 2.04%.

How have ERII and FSTR total returns compared?

Over the past 10 years, ERII delivered -8.05% and FSTR delivered 11.50% annualized total return. Past performance doesn't predict future results.

Energy Recovery, Inc. (ERII) vs L.B. Foster Company (FSTR)

A side-by-side comparison of Energy Recovery, 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.

ERII

Energy Recovery, Inc.

$360M

$6.98IndustrialsDelayed quote: Oct 6, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

FSTR

L.B. Foster Company

$386M

$36.91IndustrialsDelayed quote: Oct 6, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

Total return — ERII vs FSTR

growth of $100 · dividends reinvested · last 10y

ERII -56.8% (-8.0%/yr)FSTR +196.3% (+11.5%/yr)FSTR compounded faster over this window

Log scale — wide-divergence pair

ERII FSTR

ERII vs FSTR: by the numbers

•FSTR is the larger company ($386M vs $360M market cap).
•ERII trades at the lower trailing earnings multiple (24.69 vs 35.15 P/E), one valuation lens rather than an overall verdict.
•ERII converts more revenue to profit (12.75% vs 2.04% net margin).
•ERII grew revenue faster over the past five years (3.08% vs 2.05% CAGR).

Metrics side by side

Valuation

Metric	ERII	FSTR
P/E ratio	24.69	35.15
Forward P/E	N/A	22.78
P/S ratio	2.99	0.69
P/B ratio	2.08	2.17
EV / EBITDA	9.91	12.55
FCF yield	10.74%	10.78%

Profitability

Metric	ERII	FSTR
Gross margin	65.39%	21.36%
Operating margin	16.40%	4.36%
Net margin	12.75%	2.04%
ROE	8.89%	6.39%
ROIC	9.61%	5.30%

Growth (annualized)

Metric	ERII	FSTR
Revenue CAGR (5Y)	3.08%	2.05%
EPS CAGR (5Y)	-1.76%	0.28%
FCF CAGR (5Y)	10.08%	29.02%
Total return CAGR (5Y)	-18.87%	18.72%

Frequently asked

Which has the lower trailing P/E, ERII or FSTR?: ERII has the lower trailing P/E: ERII trades at 24.69 and FSTR at 35.15. P/E is one valuation measure and does not by itself establish which business is cheaper.
Which has grown faster, ERII or FSTR?: Over the past five years, ERII grew revenue faster — ERII at a 3.08% CAGR versus FSTR at 2.05%.
Is ERII or FSTR more profitable?: ERII runs the higher net margin — ERII at 12.75% versus FSTR at 2.04%.
How have ERII and FSTR total returns compared?: Over the past 10 years, ERII delivered -8.05% and FSTR delivered 11.50% annualized total return. Past performance doesn't predict future results.

Go deeper

Full ERII analysis Full FSTR analysis Interactive comparison tool

Dig into the metrics

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

Energy Recovery & 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.