BLDP vs PLUG vs BW Stock Comparison

Ballard Power Systems, Plug Power and Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PLUG Plug Power Inc
$1.37 -30.8% 1M -53.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.96B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$744.09M
Div. yield
–
Hydrogen Energy
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 5, Ballard Power Systems 3, Plug Power 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBLDPPLUGBWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $465.24M $1.96B $643.34M PLUG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -5.8x -1.2x -19.4x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 29.7x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +46.4% +10.6% +42.6% BLDP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -75.7% -220.6% -4.0% BW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -188.4% 14.3% BW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.1x -2.8x BW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -58.4% -53.6% +20.2% BW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -38.4%/yr -47.5%/yr -8.3%/yr BW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 73.1% 78.2% 114.6% BLDP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 23/100 50/100 BLDP

Percentile Scorecard

BLDPPLUGBW

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

AxisBLDPPLUGBW
Valuation 58 #26 of 61 0 #11 of 11 62 #24 of 61
Growth 81 #12 of 58 70 #4 of 11 70 #18 of 58
Profitability 48 #29 of 55 0 #9 of 9 72 #16 of 55
Financial Health 80 #15 of 71 20 #9 of 11 37 #45 of 71
Shareholder Returns – – 7 #27 of 29
Overall 67 23 50
  • BLDP ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • PLUG ranked among 11 companies in Renewable Fuels
  • BW ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBLDPPLUGBWSPY
1 month -32.9%-30.8%-33.8% -0.8%
3 months -50.2%-33.5%-55.7% +3.5%
6 months -56.0%-55.5%-73.1% +7.0%
Year to date -43.7%-30.5%-34.4% +12.2%
1 year -58.4%-53.6%+20.2% +13.0%
3 years -54.7%-76.8%+77.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year -23.2%-38.6%+21.0% +23.1%
5 years -91.1%-96.0%-35.2% +68.6%
5 years, per year -38.4%-47.5%-8.3% +11.0%
10 years -35.3%-13.3%-97.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year -4.3%-1.4%-30.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBLDPPLUGBWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 73.1%78.2%114.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.9%70.0%103.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.752.253.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.80-0.680.18 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -94.7%-98.4%-97.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -77.6%-66.9%-81.0% -1.8%
52-week high $6.38$4.14$21.85 $779.14
52-week low $1.43$1.37$3.16 $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.

MultipleBLDPPLUGBW
P/E now vs peer median -5.3xmedian 25.4x -1.2xmedian 10.9x -17.8xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 2.1x 2.6xmedian 1.2x 0.8xmedian 2.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 17.5x -1.4xmedian 14.0x 14.5xmedian 17.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median -8.2xmedian 27.3x -3.4xmedian 14.0x -10.7xmedian 27.3x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.7x 3.3xmedian 1.2x 10.8xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -0.33median 0.77 -0.21median 0.19 -0.73median 0.77

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 monthsBLDPPLUGBW
Revenue $106.16M $744.09M $821.95M
Gross profit $17.41M -$138.00M $160.14M
Operating income -$31.41M -$1.29B $22.49M
Net income -$77.27M -$1.71B -$18.35M
Free cash flow -$52.66M -$560.50M -$58.17M
R&D $42.19M $53.94M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.52 $-1.18 $-0.21
Cash & equivalents $502.10M $161.90M $308.63M
Total debt – $314.00K $209.43M
Shares (diluted) 155.19M 1.39B 154.51M
Enterprise value -$1.62B $1.04B $114.31M

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
MetricBLDPPLUGBW
P/E -5.3x -1.2x -17.8x
P/FCF -8.2x -3.4x -10.7x
P/Operating cash flow -10.9x -4.0x -17.8x
P/S 4.1x 2.6x 0.8x
P/B 0.8x 3.3x 10.8x
P/Tangible book 0.8x 3.4x 14.1x
EV/EBITDA 6.4x -1.4x 14.5x
EV/EBIT 2.4x -1.4x 23.1x
EV/Revenue -0.7x 2.4x 0.6x
EV/FCF 1.4x -3.1x -8.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 1.9x -3.6x -15.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.33 -0.21 -0.73

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBLDPPLUGBW
Revenue growth (1Y) 46.4% 10.6% 42.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.8% -5.4% 3.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 272.0% 70.1% 20.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 48.9% 20.4% -2.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 81.6% 31.3% 879.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 39.2% -15.4% 17.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 74.0% 13.3% 87.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.2% -26.9% 17.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 73.0% 32.5% 87.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.3% 5.5% 24.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -107.5% 20.0% 72.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 22.8% -73.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -110.5% 31.6% 57.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 30.6% -120.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBLDPPLUGBW
Gross margin 16.4% -18.5% 19.5%
EBITDA margin -11.0% -168.2% 4.4%
Operating margin -29.6% -172.8% 2.7%
Pretax margin -11.8% -229.0% -8.8%
Net margin -75.7% -220.6% -4.0%
FCF margin -49.6% -75.3% -7.1%
Operating cash flow margin -37.3% -64.9% -4.2%
Return on equity -14.0% -251.3% –
Return on assets -12.2% -75.0% -8.9%
Return on invested capital – -188.4% 14.3%
Return on capital employed -5.2% -72.0% 5.9%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.3x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 0.3x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 18.7% 7.2% 2.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBLDPPLUGBW
Debt / assets – 0.0% 21.0%
Debt / equity – 0.0x 3.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.1x -2.8x
Debt / FCF – 0.0x -3.6x
Liabilities / assets 13.1% 73.2% 94.3%
Equity / assets 86.9% 26.8% 5.7%
Interest coverage -36.4x -17.9x 0.9x
Current ratio 11.2x 2.3x 1.5x
Quick ratio 10.3x 0.8x 1.1x
Cash ratio 9.9x 0.3x 0.6x
Altman Z-score -0.71 -6.08 -0.91

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBLDPPLUGBW
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – -2.5% -62.0%
Shareholder yield – -2.5% -62.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusBLDPPLUGBW
Forward P/E – – 29.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.18FY2026 $-0.41FY2026 $0.14FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – +221.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $115.35MFY2026 $799.33MFY2026 $1.01BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.0%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +71.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +40.4% +28.0% +35.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBLDPPLUGBW
Held by institutions 34.7% 58.3% 88.0%
Institutions holding 170 508 200
Change in shares held, QoQ +16.3% +8.0% +24.0%
Institutions buying 101 276 146
Institutions selling 40 105 41
Buyers to sellers 2.53 2.63 3.56

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.

BLDPPLUGBW
BLDP 1.00 0.55 0.37
PLUG 0.55 1.00 0.36
BW 0.37 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BLDP, PLUG and BW?

Plug Power (PLUG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) $465.24M, Plug Power (PLUG) $1.96B, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $643.34M.

Which company is growing faster?

Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) +46.4%, Plug Power (PLUG) +10.6%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +42.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) has the highest net margin (Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) -75.7%, Plug Power (PLUG) -220.6%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -4.0%). On return on invested capital, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) leads (Plug Power (PLUG) -188.4%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 14.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) returned the most: Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) -58.4%, Plug Power (PLUG) -53.6%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +20.2%. Over five years, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) compounded fastest (Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) -38.4%/yr, Plug Power (PLUG) -47.5%/yr, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -8.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) has been the steadiest (Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) 73.1%, Plug Power (PLUG) 78.2%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 114.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BLDP, PLUG and BW?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 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.