BA vs HWM vs ITW Stock Comparison

Boeing, Howmet Aerospace and Illinois Tool Works Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BA Boeing Co
$167.12 -9.4% 1M -25.2% 1Y
Market cap
$132.43B
P/E
18.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$94.91B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
2 wins
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$195.28 -14.5% 1M -2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$78.11B
P/E
41.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.12B
Div. yield
0.26%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
5 wins
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$276.03 +0.8% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$78.45B
P/E
24.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.65B
Div. yield
2.37%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Illinois Tool Works leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Illinois Tool Works 5, Howmet Aerospace 5, Boeing 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBAHWMITWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $132.43B $78.11B $78.45B BA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.1x 41.8x 24.3x BA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 37.6x 25.9x ITW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.5% +18.1% +4.8% HWM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.7% 20.5% 19.4% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.2% 19.4% 27.1% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 1.4x 1.8x HWM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.26% 2.37% ITW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -25.2% -2.9% +12.3% ITW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.2%/yr +45.8%/yr +3.9%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.2% 35.2% 21.2% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 73/100 50/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

BAHWMITW

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

AxisBAHWMITW
Valuation 65 #36 of 100 40 #60 of 100 29 #145 of 203
Growth 87 #14 of 97 91 #10 of 97 34 #124 of 188
Profitability 65 #34 of 96 98 #3 of 96 100 #2 of 184
Financial Health 13 #92 of 105 49 #54 of 105 26 #160 of 217
Shareholder Returns – 86 #10 of 65 62 #59 of 153
Overall 57 73 50
  • BA ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBAHWMITWSPY
1 month -9.4%-14.5%+0.8% +0.9%
3 months -21.9%-28.4%-5.6% +5.9%
6 months -25.4%-17.4%+3.9% +8.5%
Year to date -23.0%-4.8%+12.1% +13.3%
1 year -25.2%-2.9%+12.3% +12.4%
3 years -7.0%+353.2%+23.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year -2.4%+65.5%+7.3% +23.5%
5 years -19.3%+557.7%+21.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year -4.2%+45.8%+3.9% +11.0%
10 years +16.9%—+142.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year +1.6%—+9.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureBAHWMITWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.2%35.2%21.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.4%36.5%20.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.181.100.47 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.70-0.080.58 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.3%-36.5%-28.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.7%-33.3%-7.9% -0.9%
52-week high $252.15$292.71$299.60 $779.14
52-week low $167.12$185.88$241.07 $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.

MultipleBAHWMITW
P/E now vs peer median 18.1xmedian 26.4x 41.8xmedian 26.4x 24.3xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 3.0x 8.6xmedian 3.0x 4.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 14.5x 29.3xmedian 14.5x 18.0xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8,277xmedian 26.1x 43.6xmedian 26.1x 27.4xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 20.2xmedian 2.5x 13.6xmedian 2.5x 25.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.31median 0.90 0.77median 0.90 8.41median 1.41

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 monthsBAHWMITW
Revenue $94.91B $9.12B $16.65B
Gross profit $8.94B $3.29B $7.38B
Operating income $9.74B $2.50B $4.43B
Net income $7.66B $1.87B $3.23B
Free cash flow $16.00M $1.79B $2.87B
R&D $3.62B $37.00M –
EPS (diluted) $9.22 $4.65 $11.31
Cash & equivalents $9.50B $563.00M $809.00M
Total debt $45.92B $4.50B $9.37B
Shares (diluted) 792.90M 402.00M 285.30M
Enterprise value $41.41B $73.71B $75.12B

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
MetricBAHWMITW
P/E 18.1x 41.8x 24.3x
P/FCF 8,277x 43.6x 27.4x
P/Operating cash flow 33.0x 35.2x 24.0x
P/S 1.4x 8.6x 4.7x
P/B 20.2x 13.6x 25.0x
P/Tangible book 25.1x 16.1x 30.2x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 29.3x 18.0x
EV/EBIT 16.2x 32.9x 19.6x
EV/Revenue 1.7x 9.0x 5.2x
EV/FCF 9,853x 45.8x 30.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 39.3x 36.9x 26.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.31 0.77 8.41

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBAHWMITW
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.5% 18.1% 4.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 13.7% 1.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 906.6% 30.2% 5.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 25.3% 2.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 217.8% 32.6% 6.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 107.6% 34.8% 3.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 177.7% 33.9% 6.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.1% 52.1% 0.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 168.9% 35.4% 9.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 58.4% 54.1% 2.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 208.0% 56.1% -0.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.7% 42.2% -0.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 100.3% 75.9% 0.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -84.9% 45.6% 0.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBAHWMITW
Gross margin 9.4% 36.0% 44.3%
EBITDA margin 12.7% 30.7% 29.0%
Operating margin 10.3% 27.4% 26.6%
Pretax margin 8.3% 25.0% 25.2%
Net margin 7.7% 20.5% 19.4%
FCF margin 0.0% 19.6% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 4.2% 24.4% 19.6%
Return on equity 121.0% 33.3% 106.9%
Return on assets 4.6% 14.2% 19.6%
Return on invested capital 18.2% 19.4% 27.1%
Return on capital employed 17.9% 23.0% 38.9%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.2x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 1.0% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBAHWMITW
Debt / assets 26.9% 34.0% 56.8%
Debt / equity 7.0x 0.8x 3.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 1.4x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 2,870x 2.5x 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 96.2% 56.7% 81.0%
Equity / assets 3.8% 43.3% 19.0%
Interest coverage 4.0x – 14.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.8x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.7x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.47 8.25 8.17

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBAHWMITW
Dividend yield – 0.3% 2.4%
Net buyback yield – 1.3% 2.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 1.5% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 10.4% 57.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.9% 64.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 30.0% 5.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 47.3% 5.1%

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.

ConsensusBAHWMITW
Forward P/E – 37.6xFY2026 25.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.99FY2026 $5.19FY2026 $10.67FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -183.2%FY2026 +37.7%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +31.2% +19.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $91.05BFY2026 $10.37BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.8%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.5% +15.9% +11.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBAHWMITW
Held by institutions 75.6% 91.0% 84.9%
Institutions holding 2,627 1,600 1,969
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +0.7% +0.8%
Institutions buying 1,328 907 846
Institutions selling 843 484 750
Buyers to sellers 1.58 1.87 1.13

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.

BAHWMITW
BA 1.00 0.39 0.23
HWM 0.39 1.00 0.29
ITW 0.23 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BA, HWM and ITW?

Boeing (BA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Boeing (BA) $132.43B, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $78.11B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $78.45B.

Which stock is cheaper, BA, HWM and ITW?

Boeing (BA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Boeing (BA) 18.1x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 41.8x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is cheapest (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.6x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Boeing (BA) +17.5%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +18.1%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Boeing (BA) 7.7%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 20.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Boeing (BA) 18.2%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 19.4%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illinois Tool Works (ITW) returned the most: Boeing (BA) -25.2%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -2.9%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +12.3%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Boeing (BA) -4.2%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +45.8%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest dividend yield: Boeing (BA) 0.00%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.26%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 2.37%. Boeing (BA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Boeing (BA) 36.2%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 35.2%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BA, HWM and ITW?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 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.