ALSN vs CAT vs HWM Stock Comparison

Allison Transmission Holdings, Caterpillar and Howmet Aerospace Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$647.25 -21.7% 1M +10.5% 1Y
Market cap
$291.31B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.77B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
1 win
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$205.71 -10.9% 1M +1.1% 1Y
Market cap
$80.27B
P/E
39.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.73B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Allison Transmission Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Allison Transmission Holdings 5, Howmet Aerospace 5, Caterpillar 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALSNCATHWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.92B $291.31B $80.27B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.9x 24.6x 39.1x ALSN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.4x 25.1x 39.6x ALSN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +37.6% +20.3% +22.0% ALSN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.0% — 21.1% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.7% — 21.5% HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.4x — 1.4x HWM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.9% +10.5% +1.1% ALSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +27.0%/yr +26.0%/yr +47.3%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.3% 40.3% 35.5% ALSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 44/100 73/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

ALSNCATHWM

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisALSNCATHWM
Valuation 75 #52 of 203 29 #144 of 203 40 #60 of 100
Growth 43 #108 of 188 74 #49 of 188 90 #11 of 96
Profitability 89 #21 of 183 77 #43 of 183 99 #2 of 95
Financial Health 15 #183 of 216 8 #199 of 216 47 #56 of 105
Shareholder Returns 70 #47 of 152 31 #105 of 152 88 #9 of 65
Overall 58 44 73
  • ALSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodALSNCATHWMSPY
1 month -2.6%-21.7%-10.9% +0.7%
3 months -4.6%-20.0%-25.8% +3.7%
6 months -18.1%-27.3%-15.4% +7.1%
Year to date +12.4%+13.0%+0.3% +12.8%
1 year +34.9%+10.5%+1.1% +11.9%
3 years +115.7%+167.3%+371.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +29.2%+38.8%+67.8% +22.8%
5 years +229.9%+217.3%+592.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year +27.0%+26.0%+47.3% +10.9%
10 years +275.4%+671.6%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +14.1%+22.7%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureALSNCATHWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.3%40.3%35.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.4%42.5%36.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.051.881.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.110.260.03 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.1%-39.2%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.1%-39.2%-29.7% -1.2%
52-week high $136.00$1,064.90$292.71 $779.14
52-week low $79.27$546.13$185.88 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleALSNCATHWM
P/E now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 25.8x 25.2xmedian 25.8x 39.9xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.9x 3.8xmedian 1.9x 8.4xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 14.6x —median 14.6x 28.2xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.3xmedian 22.2x 42.3xmedian 22.2x 42.4xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 2.2x 13.9xmedian 2.2x 14.2xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median -6.06median 1.45 1.95median 1.45 0.81median 0.93

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsALSNCATHWM
Revenue $4.40B $77.77B $9.73B
Gross profit $1.60B – $3.56B
Operating income $861.00M $14.25B $2.73B
Net income $529.00M $11.83B $2.05B
Free cash flow $737.00M – $1.93B
R&D $197.00M $2.31B $38.00M
EPS (diluted) $6.30 $25.58 $5.13
Cash & equivalents $399.00M $7.93B $507.00M
Total debt $4.14B – $4.83B
Shares (diluted) 84.00M 462.50M 400.00M
Enterprise value $5.82B $291.31B $76.02B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricALSNCATHWM
P/E 17.3x 25.2x 39.9x
P/FCF 12.3x 42.3x 42.4x
P/Operating cash flow 9.7x 21.0x 34.1x
P/S 2.1x 3.8x 8.4x
P/B 4.6x 13.9x 14.2x
P/Tangible book 24.4x 14.1x 16.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.6x – 28.2x
EV/EBIT 14.9x – 31.6x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 3.8x 8.9x
EV/FCF 17.4x – 44.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.7x 21.0x 35.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.06 1.95 0.81

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALSNCATHWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 37.6% 20.3% 22.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.2% 5.3% 14.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 3.5% – 33.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.4% – 26.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -13.9% 24.9% 36.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -0.2% 7.4% 35.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -30.6% 27.6% 41.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -5.4% 9.1% 47.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -29.8% 29.9% 43.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 12.9% 49.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.2% 22.9% 40.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 6.9% 38.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.7% – 50.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.8% – 41.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALSNCATHWM
Gross margin 36.4% – 36.6%
EBITDA margin 25.1% – 31.4%
Operating margin 19.6% – 28.1%
Pretax margin 15.7% – 25.8%
Net margin 12.0% – 21.1%
FCF margin 16.7% – 19.8%
Operating cash flow margin 21.3% 18.2% 24.7%
Return on equity 27.3% 57.9% 35.7%
Return on assets 6.1% 11.3% 15.5%
Return on invested capital 10.7% – 21.5%
Return on capital employed 11.7% – 24.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.7x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% – 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALSNCATHWM
Debt / assets 47.5% – 36.4%
Debt / equity 2.1x – 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.4x – 1.4x
Debt / FCF 5.6x – 2.5x
Liabilities / assets 77.3% 79.9% 56.6%
Equity / assets 22.7% 20.1% 43.4%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.4x 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.0x – 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.81 – 8.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALSNCATHWM
Dividend yield 1.0% 1.0% 0.2%
Net buyback yield 1.4% – 1.6%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 1.0% 1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 9.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 10.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 23.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 43.3%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusALSNCATHWM
Forward P/E 14.4xFY2026 25.1xFY2026 39.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.67FY2026 $25.79FY2026 $5.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.6%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026 +37.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +45.5% +31.4% +31.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.32BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026 $10.37BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +109.9%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% +1.5% +15.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALSNCATHWM
Held by institutions 100.0% 72.3% 91.0%
Institutions holding 567 4,059 1,601
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% +0.5% +0.7%
Institutions buying 258 1,890 908
Institutions selling 230 1,595 484
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.18 1.88

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ALSNCATHWM
ALSN 1.00 0.53 0.32
CAT 0.53 1.00 0.37
HWM 0.32 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALSN, CAT and HWM?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) $8.92B, Caterpillar (CAT) $291.31B, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $80.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALSN, CAT and HWM?

Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 16.9x, Caterpillar (CAT) 24.6x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 39.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) is cheapest (Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 14.4x, Caterpillar (CAT) 25.1x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 39.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +37.6%, Caterpillar (CAT) +20.3%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +22.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 12.0%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.1%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 10.7%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) returned the most: Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +34.9%, Caterpillar (CAT) +10.5%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +1.1%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +27.0%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +26.0%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +47.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.00%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.00%. Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) and Caterpillar (CAT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) has been the steadiest (Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 31.3%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.3%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 35.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALSN, CAT and HWM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.