BW vs CAT vs HUBB Stock Comparison

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Caterpillar and Hubbell Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$713.64 -13.1% 1M +35.4% 1Y
Market cap
$326.07B
P/E
30.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins
HUBB Hubbell Inc
$434.48 -6.8% 1M +0.1% 1Y
Market cap
$22.68B
P/E
25.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.59B
Div. yield
–
Electrical Equipment Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionBWCATHUBBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $635.51M $326.07B $22.68B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -19.1x 30.1x 25.0x HUBB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.5x 27.7x 21.6x HUBB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.6% +18.4% +16.0% 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 +39.6% +35.4% +0.1% BW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.6%/yr +28.5%/yr +17.1%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 114.7% 40.5% 32.6% HUBB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 51/100 50/100 CAT

Percentile Scorecard

BWCATHUBB

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

AxisBWCATHUBB
Valuation 63 #23 of 61 21 #160 of 203 31 #140 of 203
Growth 70 #18 of 58 67 #63 of 188 73 #51 of 188
Profitability 72 #16 of 55 92 #15 of 183 75 #46 of 183
Financial Health 37 #45 of 71 17 #180 of 217 15 #184 of 217
Shareholder Returns 10 #27 of 30 56 #68 of 153 55 #69 of 153
Overall 51 51 50
  • BW ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • HUBB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBWCATHUBBSPY
1 month -27.5%-13.1%-6.8% -0.2%
3 months -48.4%-15.2%-10.3% +3.9%
6 months -68.9%-12.7%-20.2% +8.2%
Year to date -28.2%+24.6%-2.2% +12.9%
1 year +39.6%+35.4%+0.1% +12.3%
3 years +93.6%+199.1%+54.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +24.7%+44.1%+15.6% +23.3%
5 years -32.8%+249.7%+119.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year -7.6%+28.5%+17.1% +10.9%
10 years -97.1%+759.7%+314.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year -29.7%+24.0%+15.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBWCATHUBBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 114.7%40.5%32.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 103.5%39.9%35.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.331.851.20 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.340.870.00 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -97.4%-35.5%-33.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -79.2%-33.0%-22.1% -1.2%
52-week high $21.85$1,064.90$557.85 $779.14
52-week low $3.16$524.47$407.36 $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.

MultipleBWCATHUBB
P/E now vs peer median -19.5xmedian 27.2x 30.3xmedian 25.2x 25.3xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.4x 4.4xmedian 1.9x 3.5xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 18.4x 23.7xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -11.7xmedian 28.6x 36.5xmedian 21.7x 26.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 1.7x 16.9xmedian 2.3x 5.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -0.79median 0.79 2.32median 1.32 2.51median 1.32

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 monthsBWCATHUBB
Revenue $821.95M $74.73B $6.59B
Gross profit $160.14M $25.66B $2.33B
Operating income $22.49M $13.09B $1.33B
Net income -$18.35M $10.84B –
Free cash flow -$58.17M $8.99B –
R&D – $2.27B –
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $23.45 $17.12
Cash & equivalents $308.63M $6.71B $334.50M
Total debt $209.43M $45.15B –
Shares (diluted) 154.51M 462.50M 53.10M
Enterprise value $106.48M $297.77B $22.68B

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
MetricBWCATHUBB
P/E -19.5x 30.3x 25.3x
P/FCF -11.7x 36.5x 26.9x
P/Operating cash flow -19.5x 24.2x 20.7x
P/S 0.8x 4.4x 3.5x
P/B 11.8x 16.9x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 15.4x 17.3x 23.6x
EV/EBITDA 16.1x 23.7x –
EV/EBIT 25.7x 28.0x –
EV/Revenue 0.7x 4.9x 3.5x
EV/FCF -9.9x 40.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow -16.7x 27.0x 20.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.79 2.32 2.51

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBWCATHUBB
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.6% 18.4% 16.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 4.9% 7.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 11.7% 17.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 5.6% 9.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 879.4% 13.7% 15.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 7.7% 10.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 87.7% 14.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.3% 9.0% –
EPS growth (1Y) 87.1% 17.1% 6.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.6% 13.0% 10.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 72.4% 19.3% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.7% 10.6% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 57.3% 16.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -120.7% 7.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBWCATHUBB
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% 16.8%
Return on equity – 57.0% 22.8%
Return on assets -8.9% 10.9% 7.7%
Return on invested capital 14.3% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed 5.9% 22.1% –
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBWCATHUBB
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% 65.4%
Equity / assets 5.7% 18.9% 34.6%
Interest coverage 0.9x 6.8x –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.4x 1.5x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.5x –
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score -0.88 4.64 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBWCATHUBB
Dividend yield – 0.9% 1.3%
Net buyback yield -56.7% 2.2% –
Shareholder yield -56.7% 3.1% 1.3%
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.

ConsensusBWCATHUBB
Forward P/E 32.5xFY2026 27.7xFY2026 21.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.14FY2026 $25.79FY2026 $20.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +35.3%FY2026 +10.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +221.4% +31.4% +21.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.01BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026 $7.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +71.1%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026 +25.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +35.9% +1.5% +9.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBWCATHUBB
Held by institutions 88.0% 72.3% 96.1%
Institutions holding 200 4,057 1,015
Change in shares held, QoQ +24.0% +0.5% -0.4%
Institutions buying 146 1,888 511
Institutions selling 41 1,595 318
Buyers to sellers 3.56 1.18 1.61

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.

BWCATHUBB
BW 1.00 0.43 0.28
CAT 0.43 1.00 0.61
HUBB 0.28 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BW, CAT and HUBB?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $635.51M, Caterpillar (CAT) $326.07B, Hubbell (HUBB) $22.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, BW, CAT and HUBB?

Hubbell (HUBB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -19.1x, Caterpillar (CAT) 30.1x, Hubbell (HUBB) 25.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Hubbell (HUBB) is cheapest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 32.5x, Caterpillar (CAT) 27.7x, Hubbell (HUBB) 21.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

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%, Hubbell (HUBB) +16.0%.

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 Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) returned the most: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +39.6%, Caterpillar (CAT) +35.4%, Hubbell (HUBB) +0.1%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -7.6%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +28.5%/yr, Hubbell (HUBB) +17.1%/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%, Hubbell (HUBB) 0.00%. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) and Hubbell (HUBB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Hubbell (HUBB) has been the steadiest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 114.7%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%, Hubbell (HUBB) 32.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.