BW vs CAT vs AMSC Stock Comparison

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Caterpillar and American Superconductor Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$691.78 -15.8% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$328.70B
P/E
30.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 8, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBWCATAMSCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $646.89M $328.70B $1.27B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -19.5x 30.3x — –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.7x 26.8x 28.2x CAT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.6% +18.4% — BW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% 14.5% — CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.3% 15.9% — CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 2.5x — BW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.2% +32.3% -57.4% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.3%/yr +28.7%/yr +8.2%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 114.6% 40.5% 85.6% CAT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 51/100 — CAT

Percentile Scorecard

BWCATAMSC

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

AxisBWCATAMSC
Valuation 62 #24 of 61 22 #159 of 203 –
Growth 70 #18 of 58 68 #60 of 187 –
Profitability 72 #16 of 55 92 #16 of 185 –
Financial Health 37 #45 of 71 17 #183 of 219 76 #18 of 71
Shareholder Returns 7 #27 of 29 56 #68 of 153 –
Overall 50 51 –
  • BW ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • AMSC 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

PeriodBWCATAMSCSPY
1 month -33.8%-15.8%-15.4% -0.8%
3 months -55.7%-20.8%-16.8% +3.5%
6 months -73.1%-16.5%-48.8% +7.0%
Year to date -34.4%+20.8%-11.7% +12.2%
1 year +20.2%+32.3%-57.4% +13.0%
3 years +77.0%+190.0%+309.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +21.0%+42.6%+60.0% +23.1%
5 years -35.2%+252.7%+48.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year -8.3%+28.7%+8.2% +11.0%
10 years -97.3%+722.3%+261.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year -30.3%+23.5%+13.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBWCATAMSCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 114.6%40.5%85.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 103.5%39.9%98.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.311.853.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.180.80-0.67 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -97.4%-35.5%-82.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -81.0%-35.0%-59.7% -1.8%
52-week high $21.85$1,064.90$63.01 $779.14
52-week low $3.16$524.47$25.01 $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.

MultipleBWCATAMSC
P/E now vs peer median -17.8xmedian 25.4x 29.4xmedian 26.0x —median 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.1x 4.3xmedian 1.9x —median 2.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 17.5x 23.0xmedian 14.0x —median 17.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median -10.7xmedian 27.3x 35.4xmedian 21.4x —median 27.3x
P/B now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 1.7x 16.4xmedian 2.2x 2.2xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -0.73median 0.77 2.25median 1.26 —median 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 monthsBWCATAMSC
Revenue $821.95M $74.73B –
Gross profit $160.14M $25.66B –
Operating income $22.49M $13.09B –
Net income -$18.35M $10.84B –
Free cash flow -$58.17M $8.99B –
R&D – $2.27B –
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $23.45 –
Cash & equivalents $308.63M $6.71B $140.69M
Total debt $209.43M $45.15B –
Shares (diluted) 154.51M 462.50M 44.94M
Enterprise value $117.87M $300.40B $565.36M

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
MetricBWCATAMSC
P/E -17.8x 29.4x –
P/FCF -10.7x 35.4x –
P/Operating cash flow -17.8x 23.4x –
P/S 0.8x 4.3x –
P/B 10.8x 16.4x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 14.1x 16.8x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA 14.5x 23.0x –
EV/EBIT 23.1x 27.2x –
EV/Revenue 0.6x 4.8x –
EV/FCF -8.9x 39.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow -15.0x 26.3x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.73 2.25 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBWCATAMSC
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.6% 18.4% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 4.9% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 11.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 5.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 879.4% 13.7% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 7.7% –
Net income growth (1Y) 87.7% 14.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.3% 9.0% –
EPS growth (1Y) 87.1% 17.1% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.6% 13.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 72.4% 19.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.7% 10.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 57.3% 16.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -120.7% 7.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBWCATAMSC
Gross margin 19.5% 34.3% –
EBITDA margin 4.4% 20.7% –
Operating margin 2.7% 17.5% –
Pretax margin -8.8% 18.6% –
Net margin -4.0% 14.5% –
FCF margin -7.1% 12.0% –
Operating cash flow margin -4.2% 18.2% –
Return on equity – 57.0% –
Return on assets -8.9% 10.9% –
Return on invested capital 14.3% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed 5.9% 22.1% –
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBWCATAMSC
Debt / assets 21.0% 44.0% –
Debt / equity 3.7x 2.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 2.5x –
Debt / FCF -3.6x 5.0x –
Liabilities / assets 94.3% 81.1% 24.9%
Equity / assets 5.7% 18.9% 75.1%
Interest coverage 0.9x 6.8x –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.4x 2.4x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.5x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x 1.0x
Altman Z-score -0.91 4.57 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBWCATAMSC
Dividend yield – 0.9% –
Net buyback yield -62.0% 2.3% –
Shareholder yield -62.0% 3.2% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – 25.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 31.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.1% –

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.

ConsensusBWCATAMSC
Forward P/E 29.7xFY2026 26.8xFY2026 28.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.14FY2026 $25.79FY2026 $0.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +35.3%FY2026 -75.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +221.4% +31.4% +40.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.01BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026 $383.43MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +71.1%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +35.9% +1.5% +15.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBWCATAMSC
Held by institutions 88.0% 72.3% 73.7%
Institutions holding 200 4,055 277
Change in shares held, QoQ +24.0% +0.5% +6.4%
Institutions buying 146 1,886 173
Institutions selling 41 1,595 77
Buyers to sellers 3.56 1.18 2.25

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.

BWCATAMSC
BW 1.00 0.42 0.29
CAT 0.42 1.00 0.50
AMSC 0.29 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BW, CAT and AMSC?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $646.89M, Caterpillar (CAT) $328.70B, American Superconductor (AMSC) $1.27B.

Which company is growing faster?

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +42.6%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest net margin (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -4.0%, Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 14.3%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +20.2%, Caterpillar (CAT) +32.3%, American Superconductor (AMSC) -57.4%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -8.3%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +28.7%/yr, American Superconductor (AMSC) +8.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, American Superconductor (AMSC) 0.00%. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) and American Superconductor (AMSC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Caterpillar (CAT) has been the steadiest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 114.6%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%, American Superconductor (AMSC) 85.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BW, CAT and AMSC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Caterpillar (CAT) leads on 8. 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.