What is NV5 Global's acquisition strategy?

NV5's acquisition model: NV5 targets small to mid-size engineering, environmental, and technical consulting firms (typically 25-500 employees, $5M-$100M revenue) with proprietary technical expertise in a specific discipline or geography; the company has completed 70+ acquisitions since 2009. Acquisition criteria: technical differentiation (the firm must have expertise, tools, or client relationships that go beyond generic engineering staffing); cultural fit (NV5's operating model requires firms to maintain their client relationships and technical leadership post-acquisition); geographic coverage (filling gaps in NV5's national network); discipline expansion (adding capabilities like environmental remediation, geotechnical, construction quality assurance, or surveying that NV5 doesn't have locally). Integration model: acquired firms typically maintain their operating identity for 1-2 years while being integrated into NV5's back-office systems (accounting, HR, benefits, insurance); technical staff retain relationships with their clients; NV5 adds value through cross-selling (the acquired firm's clients become aware of other NV5 capabilities), shared overhead reduction, and business development resources. Synergies: NV5 targets EBITDA margin expansion of 3-6% from acquired firms through overhead rationalization (centralized CFO, HR, IT functions replacing what each firm independently maintained) without reducing technical headcount.

What is StormTech and why is it important to ADS's growth?

StormTech subsurface chambers: StormTech chambers are large, arch-shaped polypropylene structures placed in trenches and surrounded by gravel to create underground stormwater storage chambers; when it rains, stormwater enters the chamber through perforated pipes and is stored in the gravel/chamber void spaces below grade; the stored water slowly infiltrates into the ground (if the soils allow) or releases through a controlled outlet to a downstream receiving water; the system is invisible on the surface (a parking lot or lawn is built above it). Why municipalities require stormwater management: federal and state stormwater regulations (Clean Water Act NPDES Phase II permits) require that commercial and residential developments control the volume and rate of stormwater runoff; runoff from impervious surfaces (parking lots, roads, rooftops) increases peak flood flows and carries pollutants into streams; municipalities require developers to manage stormwater on-site through retention ponds, bioswales, or subsurface systems. StormTech's value versus ponds: traditional stormwater retention ponds occupy 0.5-2 acres of land per development; in land-constrained commercial and residential projects, dedicating land to stormwater ponds is expensive; StormTech subsurface chambers use the land below a parking lot for stormwater storage, recovering the surface for productive use; the land value recovered often exceeds the cost of the chambers. Importance to ADS: StormTech chambers are the highest-margin ADS product family; they are specified by civil engineers who understand the value versus ponds; the product is growing at rates above commodity pipe; as stormwater regulations tighten and land costs increase, StormTech adoption expands.

How do engineering firms bill clients and what drives professional services margins?

Billing models: time-and-materials (T&M) — clients pay the firm's hourly rates (ranging from ~$100/hour for junior staff to $250-350+/hour for senior engineers and project managers) plus reimbursable expenses (travel, printing, subconsultants); T&M billing is common for open-ended investigations where scope is uncertain. Fixed-fee — the firm bids a lump sum price for a defined scope; firm captures upside if delivered under budget; bears risk if scope expands; common for design projects with well-defined deliverables. Unit-price — payment per deliverable (per soil boring, per sample analyzed, per lineal foot surveyed); common in construction quality assurance. Margin drivers: utilization rate — the percentage of total employee hours billed to clients (direct labor) versus overhead (unbillable management time, training, PTO); engineering firms typically target 65-75% billable utilization; every unbillable hour reduces margins. Multiplier/overhead rate — engineering firms charge clients a multiple of direct labor costs (typically 2.5-3.5x); the multiplier must cover overhead (rent, benefits, insurance, IT, management) and profit; firms with lean operations and high utilization can earn superior margins. Backlog visibility — engineering firms' revenue visibility comes from contracted but uncompleted work (backlog); 6-12 months of backlog is typical for professional services; longer backlogs (from large infrastructure programs) improve planning.

brimindinvest.com / compare / nvee-vs-wmsLIVE

NVEE

NV5 Global, Inc. · Industrials - Engineering & Environmental Consulting

N/A

N/A this month

VERSUS

⟷

COMPARE

WMS

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. · Industrials - Plastic Infrastructure Products / Drainage

$147.12

+11.96% this month

Scoreboard verdict

Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin

NVEE

0

WMS

0

MIXED SETUP

Comparison scoreboard

MIXED SETUP

AI Score

NVEE N/A

WMS 48.0

1Y Return

NVEE N/A

WMS +30.84%

Fwd P/E

NVEE N/A

WMS 20.09

Target Up.

NVEE N/A

WMS +22.15%

Op. Margin

NVEE N/A

WMS N/A

Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026

Quick take

NVEE vs WMS Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside

NVEE (NV5 Global) and WMS (Advanced Drainage Systems) are both infrastructure-adjacent companies but with fundamentally different business models — NV5 is a technology-enabled engineering and environmental consulting firm growing through acquisitions of specialized technical firms serving government and utility clients, while ADS is the manufacturing scale leader in HDPE drainage pipe benefiting from secular material substitution against concrete and metal pipe in construction markets.

NVEE vs WMS is technology-differentiated engineering consulting platform with government client stability (NV5's 70+ acquisition-built national presence, public agency and utility client mix, and data analytics differentiation — managing integration complexity across a large acquired portfolio) versus the dominant domestic HDPE drainage pipe manufacturer with secular material substitution tailwinds (Advanced Drainage Systems' manufacturing scale, StormTech stormwater chamber growth, and market share gains from concrete pipe — exposed to residential and commercial construction cycles and resin cost volatility) — professional services consolidation compounder versus industrial manufacturing market leader.

Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026

NVEE and WMS are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.

Normalized 1Y performance

NVEE

WMS

Not enough data to chart yet.

Recent returns

NVEE

WMS

Analyst price targets & sentiment

NVEE

Price target data unavailable

N/A

WMS · 10 analysts

STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL

Strong Buy (1.2/5.0)

Price target range

analyst low$150.00
analyst high$205.00
analyst mean$179.70
current price$147.12

+22.1% upside to analyst mean

Who should consider this stock?

NVEE may suit investors who:

→Value NV5's technology-differentiated positioning (GIS, data analytics, digital infrastructure) as creating pricing power beyond commodity engineering staffing rates
→See the government and utility client mix as providing revenue stability through economic cycles that pure private-sector engineering firms don't enjoy
→Believe NV5's acquisition engine — having successfully integrated 70+ firms — represents a repeatable compounding mechanism for adding technical capabilities and geographic coverage

WMS may suit investors who:

→See Advanced Drainage Systems' dominant HDPE pipe manufacturing position as benefiting from a multi-decade secular market share gain from concrete and metal pipe across new construction and infrastructure replacement projects
→Value StormTech chambers as a higher-margin, faster-growing product within the ADS portfolio driven by municipal stormwater management regulation
→Believe that housing construction and commercial development recovery will drive multi-year pipe volume growth for ADS's largest customer segment

Performance & AI score

Metric	NVEE	WMS
AI score	N/A	48.0
AI rank	N/A	#583
Latest close	N/A	$147.12
1M return	N/A	+11.96%
6M return	N/A	+1.93%
1Y return	N/A	+30.84%

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)

How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?

Period	NVEE	WMS
1Y ago	N/A	$13.15K (+31.5%) started 2025-06-18
5Y ago	N/A	$15.05K (+50.5%) started 2021-06-18
10Y ago	N/A	$67K (+570.0%) started 2016-06-20

Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.

Valuation & upside potential

Metric	NVEE	WMS
Market cap	N/A	$11.27B
Trailing P/E	N/A	26.95
Forward P/E	N/A	20.09
Price/Sales	1.61	3.69
EV/Revenue	N/A	4.16
Analyst target	N/A	$179.70
Target upside	N/A	+22.15%

Growth, profitability & risk

Metric	NVEE	WMS
Revenue growth	N/A	9.90%
Earnings growth	N/A	-58.00%
EPS growth	N/A	-58.00%
FCF margin	N/A	+11.03%
Operating margin	N/A	N/A
Profit margin	N/A	13.98%
ROIC proxy	N/A	25.10%
Return on equity	N/A	25.10%
Dividend yield	N/A	0.56%
Beta	-0.43	1.29
Debt/equity	N/A	98.08
Current ratio	N/A	2.42
Quick ratio	N/A	1.20

Drawdown & downside risk

Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.

1Y risk snapshot

NVEE max drawdownN/A

WMS max drawdown25.98%

NVEE max wkly dropN/A

WMS max wkly drop14.64%

5Y risk snapshot

NVEE max drawdownN/A

WMS max drawdown50.12%

NVEE max wkly dropN/A

WMS max wkly drop31.52%

10Y risk snapshot

NVEE max drawdownN/A

WMS max drawdown53.58%

NVEE max wkly dropN/A

WMS max wkly drop38.36%

Performance metrics by period

Period	Metric	NVEE	WMS
1Y	Growth	N/A	+30.84%
	CAGR	N/A	+30.86%
	Sharpe ratio	N/A	0.76
	Max drawdown	N/A	25.98%
	Max daily drop	N/A	7.49%
	Max wkly drop	N/A	14.64%
5Y	Growth	N/A	+47.06%
	CAGR	N/A	+8.02%
	Sharpe ratio	N/A	0.29
	Max drawdown	N/A	50.12%
	Max daily drop	N/A	25.02%
	Max wkly drop	N/A	31.52%
10Y	Growth	N/A	+499.11%
	CAGR	N/A	+19.62%
	Sharpe ratio	N/A	0.53
	Max drawdown	N/A	53.58%
	Max daily drop	N/A	25.02%
	Max wkly drop	N/A	38.36%

Business comparison

Category	NVEE	WMS
Company	NV5 Global, Inc.	Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.
Sector	Industrials - Engineering & Environmental Consulting	Industrials - Plastic Infrastructure Products / Drainage
Industry	N/A	N/A
Core business	NV5 Global is a technology-driven engineering, environmental science, and technology solutions firm providing services to public agencies (municipal governments, state DOTs, federal agencies), utilities (electric, water, wastewater), and private sector clients across infrastructure, environmental, geotechnical, and construction quality assurance disciplines. NV5's service lines include infrastructure (civil/structural engineering, transportation planning, surveying/geospatial), environmental (site assessment, remediation, regulatory compliance), geotechnical (soil investigations, foundation engineering), construction quality assurance (materials testing, inspection), and technology (GIS/data analytics, modeling). NV5 has grown rapidly through 70+ acquisitions since its founding in 2009, building a national platform from regional engineering firms.	Advanced Drainage Systems is the largest manufacturer of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) corrugated pipe and polypropylene pipe for drainage, stormwater management, and sewage infrastructure in the United States. ADS's core products include N-12 HDPE pipe (for agricultural, highway, and commercial site drainage), StormTech chambers (subsurface stormwater retention and detention systems for site development), and Nyloplast fittings and inlets. ADS manufactures at approximately 60+ facilities across the U.S. and international markets. HDPE pipe replaces traditional concrete and corrugated metal pipe in drainage applications — it is lighter (easier to install), more flexible (survives ground movement), corrosion-resistant, and offers superior hydraulic performance.
Investor focus	Investors track NV5's organic revenue growth (net of acquisitions), EBITDA margin expansion, acquisition pipeline and integration success, backlog growth, and the mix between government/public (more stable) and private sector (more cyclical) revenue.	Investors track ADS's residential and non-residential construction end-market volumes, infrastructure (highway drainage) spending, gross margins (resin cost vs. pipe pricing), new product penetration (StormTech chambers, Allied Products), and market share gains against concrete pipe.

NVEE strengths

→Technology-differentiated positioning distinguishes NV5 from pure engineering staffing firms — NV5 invests in data analytics, GIS platforms, AI-enabled environmental assessment, and digital infrastructure tools that allow it to command premium pricing beyond commodity engineering labor rates
→Government and utility client mix provides revenue stability through economic cycles — municipal infrastructure, water utility, and federal agency projects are funded through bond issuances and appropriations that are relatively insulated from economic downturns; this client mix provides backlog visibility
→Acquisition engine adds diverse technical capabilities and geographic coverage — NV5's 70+ acquisitions have assembled specialists in environmental remediation, geotechnical, construction quality assurance, and surveying that individually could not achieve NV5's scale; combined, the platform serves complex multi-discipline projects

WMS strengths

→ADS is the dominant U.S. HDPE pipe manufacturer with substantial scale advantages — ADS operates approximately 60+ plants nationally; this density allows local delivery and JIT service that regional competitors cannot match; manufacturing scale enables the lowest-cost HDPE pipe production in each regional market
→Secular market share gain from concrete pipe and corrugated metal pipe — as engineers increasingly specify HDPE pipe for its performance advantages (corrosion resistance, weight, flexibility), ADS gains market share from the installed base of concrete pipe replacements; HDPE pipe penetration of the drainage market is still growing
→StormTech chambers and stormwater management products are high-growth, higher-margin segments — StormTech subsurface chambers allow stormwater to be retained in a gravel bed below grade (replacing ponds); increasingly required by municipal stormwater regulations; chamber products carry higher margins than commodity drainage pipe

Risks to watch — NVEE

→Government budget pressures and funding uncertainty create revenue visibility risk — municipal infrastructure projects can be delayed when bond markets tighten or tax revenues decline; federal funding (infrastructure bill) is a significant tailwind but disbursement timing is uncertain
→Acquisition integration across 70+ companies creates cultural and operational complexity — each acquired firm has its own culture, billing systems, and client relationships; retaining the technical talent that makes acquired firms valuable post-acquisition is an ongoing challenge
→Competition from large engineering firms (AECOM, WSP, Jacobs) for major public agency contracts — NV5 competes against larger, better-capitalized engineering firms for large infrastructure contracts; winning against AECOM requires demonstrating differentiated technical capability

Risks to watch — WMS

→Housing construction and commercial site development are significant demand drivers that are cyclical — drainage pipe sales correlate with new residential and commercial construction permits; an extended homebuilding slowdown reduces pipe demand
→Resin costs (HDPE and polypropylene) are the primary cost variable — when polyethylene resin prices spike (due to ethylene feedstock or supply disruptions), ADS's gross margins compress if pricing cannot be raised proportionally
→Competition from regional plastic pipe manufacturers and concrete pipe in price-sensitive government contracts — state DOT highway projects often award by low bid; competitive bidding in cost-sensitive government contracts limits pricing power

Frequently asked questions

HDPE (high-density polyethylene) corrugated pipe: a plastic pipe with a corrugated exterior (ribbed for strength) and smooth interior (for hydraulic efficiency) used for drainage applications — storm sewers, culverts, agricultural drainage, highway edge drains, and utility conduit. Why HDPE is replacing concrete: weight — HDPE pipe weighs approximately 90-95% less than concrete pipe of the same diameter (a 60-inch diameter HDPE pipe weighs approximately 1,000 lbs per 20-foot section versus approximately 10,000 lbs for concrete); lighter pipe installs faster (smaller equipment, less labor), reducing installed cost; corrosion resistance — HDPE does not rust (corrugated metal pipe) or spall (concrete pipe can experience hydrogen sulfide corrosion in sewage applications); HDPE is chemically inert to most drainage applications; flexibility — HDPE pipe can flex without cracking (it yields slightly under load rather than fracturing); concrete pipe is rigid and cracks under ground movement or frost heave; hydraulics — smooth interior HDPE provides lower Manning roughness (higher flow capacity at equivalent diameter) than corrugated metal or rough concrete; cost — HDPE pipe total installed cost is typically lower than concrete when labor and equipment are included. Market transition: approximately 40-50% of drainage pipe specifications still use concrete or metal; the ongoing transition to HDPE provides ADS with a structural market share gain opportunity independent of construction market growth.

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