Illinois Tool Works is a diversified industrial manufacturer making components and equipment across automotive parts, welding products, food equipment, construction products and specialty packaging, organized into seven largely independent operating segments. The company built much of its growth through acquiring smaller manufacturers over decades and then applying its own internal management framework, called the ITW Business Model, to improve their pricing discipline and operating efficiency. Rather than chasing the largest possible revenue growth, ITW has historically prioritized profit margins and returns on invested capital, a discipline that has made it one of the more consistently profitable industrial conglomerates. Its diversification across many unrelated end markets, from cars to restaurants to construction sites, means no single industry's downturn typically drives the whole company's results.