BLBD vs DAN vs WM Stock Comparison

Blue Bird, Dana and Waste Management Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BLBD Blue Bird Corp
$58.04 -0.1% 1M +2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.95B
P/E
6.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.61B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
7 wins
DAN DANA Inc
$27.05 -0.3% 1M +36.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.94B
P/E
2.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.66B
Div. yield
0.02%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
3 wins
WM Waste Management Inc
$241.10 +16.5% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$94.51B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.67B
Div. yield
0.02%
Solid Waste Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Blue Bird leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Blue Bird 7, Dana 3, Waste Management 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBLBDDANWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.95B $2.94B $94.51B WM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.9x 2.6x 33.1x DAN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.0x 14.2x 27.9x BLBD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.5% +3.7% +7.2% BLBD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.5% 14.6% 11.1% BLBD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 29.3% 0.0% 10.7% BLBD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 1.8x 3.0x BLBD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.02% DAN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.9% +36.1% +12.3% DAN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.1%/yr +4.0%/yr +9.2%/yr BLBD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.8% 44.2% 21.3% WM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 61/100 57/100 BLBD

Percentile Scorecard

BLBDDANWM

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

AxisBLBDDANWM
Valuation 94 #14 of 203 95 #11 of 203 53 #8 of 16
Growth 93 #15 of 187 82 #35 of 187 69 #5 of 14
Profitability 90 #19 of 185 46 #100 of 185 92 #2 of 14
Financial Health 71 #64 of 219 21 #174 of 219 13 #14 of 16
Shareholder Returns 32 #105 of 153 64 #56 of 153 –
Overall 76 61 57
  • BLBD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • DAN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WM ranked among 16 companies in Waste Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBLBDDANWMSPY
1 month -0.1%-0.3%+16.5% -0.8%
3 months -23.7%-0.7%+1.4% +3.5%
6 months -10.0%-29.7%+6.6% +7.0%
Year to date +23.5%+13.8%+9.7% +12.2%
1 year +2.9%+36.1%+12.3% +13.0%
3 years +211.4%+114.3%+49.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +46.1%+29.0%+14.3% +23.1%
5 years +206.1%+21.8%+55.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +25.1%+4.0%+9.2% +11.0%
10 years +294.6%+78.5%+276.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +14.7%+6.0%+14.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBLBDDANWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.8%44.2%21.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.7%46.1%20.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.131.30-0.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.070.820.58 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.9%-69.7%-18.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.8%-30.5%-2.2% -1.8%
52-week high $81.50$38.93$246.51 $779.14
52-week low $46.59$19.47$196.77 $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.

MultipleBLBDDANWM
P/E now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 26.0x 2.6xmedian 26.0x 33.9xmedian 34.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x 3.8xmedian 3.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 14.0x 7.0xmedian 14.0x 15.9xmedian 15.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 21.4x 20.3xmedian 21.4x 27.0xmedian 18.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.2x 1.5xmedian 2.2x 9.7xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.05median 1.26 0.02median 1.26 4.17median 3.42

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 monthsBLBDDANWM
Revenue $1.61B $7.66B $25.67B
Gross profit $331.66M $725.00M $10.49B
Operating income $189.81M $210.00M $4.51B
Net income $281.81M $1.13B $2.85B
Free cash flow $153.14M $143.00M $3.57B
EPS (diluted) $8.02 $10.18 $7.09
Cash & equivalents $116.82M $331.00M $557.00M
Total debt $86.81M $1.34B $93.65B
Shares (diluted) 35.15M 109.50M 402.40M
Enterprise value $1.08B $1.25B $93.42B

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
MetricBLBDDANWM
P/E 7.1x 2.6x 33.9x
P/FCF 12.0x 20.3x 27.0x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x 6.4x 14.8x
P/S 1.1x 0.4x 3.8x
P/B 2.8x 1.5x 9.7x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 1.5x 15.3x
EV/EBITDA 8.6x 7.0x 15.9x
EV/EBIT 9.5x 18.7x 26.4x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 0.5x 4.6x
EV/FCF 11.8x 27.4x 33.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.0x 8.6x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.05 0.02 4.17

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBLBDDANWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.5% 3.7% 7.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.0% -9.9% 8.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.9% 79.0% -18.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 57.8% -6.4% 11.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 33.3% 307.9% 7.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 598.6% 6.3% 9.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 143.2% 28,400% 4.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 160.8% 83.0% 7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 125.4% 6,201% 5.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 155.1% 108.3% 8.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.4% 49.3% 15.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.5% -8.6% 14.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.0% 180.4% 65.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 5.2% 33.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBLBDDANWM
Gross margin 20.6% 9.5% 40.9%
EBITDA margin 13.1% 7.3% 29.3%
Operating margin 11.8% 2.7% 17.6%
Pretax margin 20.0% 1.0% 14.1%
Net margin 17.5% 14.6% 11.1%
FCF margin 9.5% 1.9% 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin 11.2% 6.0% 25.4%
Return on equity 58.9% 56.6% 28.6%
Return on assets 30.2% 18.6% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 29.3% 0.0% 10.7%
Return on capital employed 30.9% 5.3% 11.2%
Asset turnover 1.7x 1.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 0.4x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.5% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBLBDDANWM
Debt / assets 7.4% 22.0% 50.3%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.7x 2.4x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 1.8x 3.0x
Debt / FCF 0.6x 9.4x 6.5x
Liabilities / assets 43.9% 67.6% 78.6%
Equity / assets 56.1% 32.4% 21.4%
Interest coverage 27.9x 1.5x –
Current ratio 1.6x 1.5x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.9x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.66 2.29 2.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBLBDDANWM
Dividend yield – 1.7% 1.5%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 19.3% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 0.4% 21.0% 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 4.5% 50.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 35.7% 40.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -12.1% 12.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -4.2% 8.9%

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.

ConsensusBLBDDANWM
Forward P/E 13.0xFY2026 14.2xFY2026 27.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.48FY2026 $1.90FY2026 $8.65FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.3%FY2026 +413.5%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.9% +128.4% +9.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.64BFY2026 $8.05BFY2026 $25.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.4% +34.2% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBLBDDANWM
Held by institutions 94.5% 99.2% 82.3%
Institutions holding 303 342 2,348
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% +1.8% +0.8%
Institutions buying 169 168 1,094
Institutions selling 100 126 901
Buyers to sellers 1.69 1.33 1.21

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.

BLBDDANWM
BLBD 1.00 0.27 -0.06
DAN 0.27 1.00 -0.11
WM -0.06 -0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BLBD, DAN and WM?

Waste Management (WM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Blue Bird (BLBD) $1.95B, Dana (DAN) $2.94B, Waste Management (WM) $94.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, BLBD, DAN and WM?

Dana (DAN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Blue Bird (BLBD) 6.9x, Dana (DAN) 2.6x, Waste Management (WM) 33.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Blue Bird (BLBD) is cheapest (Blue Bird (BLBD) 13.0x, Dana (DAN) 14.2x, Waste Management (WM) 27.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Blue Bird (BLBD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Blue Bird (BLBD) +13.5%, Dana (DAN) +3.7%, Waste Management (WM) +7.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Blue Bird (BLBD) has the highest net margin (Blue Bird (BLBD) 17.5%, Dana (DAN) 14.6%, Waste Management (WM) 11.1%). On return on invested capital, Blue Bird (BLBD) leads (Blue Bird (BLBD) 29.3%, Dana (DAN) 0.0%, Waste Management (WM) 10.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Dana (DAN) returned the most: Blue Bird (BLBD) +2.9%, Dana (DAN) +36.1%, Waste Management (WM) +12.3%. Over five years, Blue Bird (BLBD) compounded fastest (Blue Bird (BLBD) +25.1%/yr, Dana (DAN) +4.0%/yr, Waste Management (WM) +9.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Dana (DAN) has the highest dividend yield: Blue Bird (BLBD) 0.00%, Dana (DAN) 0.02%, Waste Management (WM) 0.02%. Blue Bird (BLBD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Waste Management (WM) has been the steadiest (Blue Bird (BLBD) 42.8%, Dana (DAN) 44.2%, Waste Management (WM) 21.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BLBD, DAN and WM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Blue Bird (BLBD) leads on 7. 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.