Nordson has followed the market’s trajectory closely, rising in tandem with the S&P 500 over the past six months. The stock has climbed by 10.5% to $236.52 per share while the index has gained 13.9%.

Is now the time to buy Nordson, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? See what our analysts have to say in our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members.

Why Is Nordson Not Exciting?

We're sitting this one out for now. Here are three reasons we avoid NDSN and a stock we'd rather own.

1. Core Business Falling Behind as Demand Declines

In addition to reported revenue, organic revenue is a useful data point for analyzing Professional Tools and Equipment companies. This metric gives visibility into Nordson’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, Nordson’s organic revenue averaged 2.6% 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 Nordson 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. Recent EPS Growth Below Our Standards

Although long-term earnings trends give us the big picture, we like to analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business.

Nordson’s weak 2% annual EPS growth over the last two years aligns with its revenue trend. On the bright side, this tells us its incremental sales were profitable.

3. New Investments Fail to Bear Fruit as ROIC Declines

ROIC, or return on invested capital, is a metric showing how much operating profit a company generates relative to the money it has raised (debt and equity).

We like to invest in businesses with high returns, but the trend in a company’s ROIC is what often surprises the market and moves the stock price. Unfortunately, Nordson’s ROIC has decreased over the last few years. We like what management has done in the past, but its declining returns are perhaps a symptom of fewer profitable growth opportunities.

Final Judgment

Nordson’s business quality ultimately falls short of our standards. That said, the stock currently trades at 21.1× forward P/E (or $236.52 per share). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we don’t really see a big opportunity at the moment. We're fairly confident there are better stocks to buy right now. We’d suggest looking at a top digital advertising platform riding the creator economy.

Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Nordson

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-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.