BW vs CECO vs CAT Stock Comparison

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Ceco Environmental and Caterpillar Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CECO Ceco Environmental Corp
$48.77 -35.0% 1M -4.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.09B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$903.17M
Div. yield
–
Pollution Control Equipment Industrials
2 wins
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$686.82 -15.5% 1M +32.0% 1Y
Market cap
$318.29B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 5, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 3, Ceco Environmental 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBWCECOCATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $588.54M $2.09B $318.29B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -17.7x -68.3x 29.4x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.6x 20.2x 26.6x CECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.6% +37.6% +18.4% BW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% -3.4% 14.5% CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.3% -0.3% 15.9% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 23.5x 2.5x BW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.7% -4.1% +32.0% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.6%/yr +48.1%/yr +27.9%/yr CECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 114.6% 67.3% 40.4% CAT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 49/100 50/100 BW

Percentile Scorecard

BWCECOCAT

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

AxisBWCECOCAT
Valuation 62 #24 of 61 70 #7 of 21 22 #159 of 203
Growth 70 #18 of 58 28 #14 of 19 68 #61 of 188
Profitability 72 #16 of 55 56 #8 of 17 91 #17 of 187
Financial Health 37 #45 of 71 43 #13 of 22 16 #186 of 222
Shareholder Returns 10 #28 of 31 – 53 #72 of 153
Overall 50 49 50
  • BW ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • CECO ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBWCECOCATSPY
1 month -37.7%-35.0%-15.5% -1.0%
3 months -56.9%-35.5%-22.7% +2.9%
6 months -71.4%-24.8%-17.3% +6.4%
Year to date -34.7%-18.5%+19.9% +11.4%
1 year +20.7%-4.1%+32.0% +13.1%
3 years +69.0%+214.0%+175.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +19.1%+46.5%+40.2% +21.5%
5 years -36.3%+612.0%+242.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -8.6%+48.1%+27.9% +10.9%
10 years -97.4%+364.0%+695.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year -30.5%+16.6%+23.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureBWCECOCATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 114.6%67.3%40.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 103.4%72.6%39.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.231.971.83 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.18-0.060.79 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -97.4%-51.1%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -81.1%-51.1%-35.5% -2.5%
52-week high $21.85$99.67$1,064.90 $779.14
52-week low $3.16$47.44$520.50 $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.

MultipleBWCECOCAT
P/E now vs peer median -17.7xmedian 24.1x -69.0xmedian 25.9x 29.2xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.2x 2.3xmedian 2.5x 4.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.4xmedian 17.4x 98.0xmedian 19.3x 22.9xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -10.6xmedian 27.4x -97.8xmedian 25.4x 35.1xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 10.7xmedian 1.8x 1.0xmedian 2.0x 16.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -0.72median 0.76 1.31median 1.53 2.24median 1.19

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 monthsBWCECOCAT
Revenue $821.95M $903.17M $74.73B
Gross profit $160.14M $290.34M $25.66B
Operating income $22.49M -$5.38M $13.09B
Net income -$18.35M -$28.18M $10.84B
Free cash flow -$58.17M -$21.60M $8.99B
R&D – – $2.27B
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $-0.71 $23.45
Cash & equivalents $308.63M $61.10M $6.71B
Total debt $209.43M $1.41B $173.08B
Shares (diluted) 154.51M 43.31M 462.50M
Enterprise value $59.51M $1.92B $289.99B

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
MetricBWCECOCAT
P/E -17.7x -69.0x 29.2x
P/FCF -10.6x -97.8x 35.1x
P/Operating cash flow -17.8x -293.3x 23.3x
P/S 0.8x 2.3x 4.2x
P/B 10.7x 1.0x 16.3x
P/Tangible book 14.0x 2.0x 16.6x
EV/EBITDA 14.4x 98.0x 22.9x
EV/EBIT 23.0x -517.0x 27.1x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 3.1x 4.7x
EV/FCF -8.9x -128.7x 39.4x
EV/Operating cash flow -14.9x -385.8x 26.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.72 1.31 2.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBWCECOCAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.6% 37.6% 18.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 24.6% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 25.6% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 26.1% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 879.4% -105.5% 13.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% -30.3% 7.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 87.7% -152.2% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.3% -53.8% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 87.1% -149.3% 17.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.6% -52.7% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 72.4% -196.9% 19.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.7% -29.1% 10.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 57.3% -27.1% 16.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -120.7% -36.0% 7.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBWCECOCAT
Gross margin 19.5% 32.1% 34.3%
EBITDA margin 4.4% 3.1% 20.7%
Operating margin 2.7% -0.6% 17.5%
Pretax margin -8.8% -3.9% 18.6%
Net margin -4.0% -3.4% 14.5%
FCF margin -7.1% -2.4% 12.0%
Operating cash flow margin -4.2% -0.8% 18.2%
Return on equity – -2.3% 57.0%
Return on assets -8.9% -1.2% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 14.3% -0.3% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 5.9% -0.3% 22.1%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.4x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 0.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 2.2% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBWCECOCAT
Debt / assets 21.0% 19.5% 44.0%
Debt / equity 3.7x 0.3x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 23.5x 2.5x
Debt / FCF -3.6x -33.7x 5.0x
Liabilities / assets 94.3% 44.3% 81.1%
Equity / assets 5.7% 55.7% 18.9%
Interest coverage 0.9x -0.2x 6.8x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.5x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score -0.92 1.12 4.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBWCECOCAT
Dividend yield – – 0.7%
Net buyback yield -62.3% – 2.3%
Shareholder yield -62.3% 0.0% 3.0%
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.

ConsensusBWCECOCAT
Forward P/E 29.6xFY2026 20.2xFY2026 26.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.14FY2026 $2.41FY2026 $25.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +167.8%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +221.4% +27.4% +31.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.01BFY2026 $1.43BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +71.1%FY2026 +84.9%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +35.9% +31.3% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBWCECOCAT
Held by institutions 88.0% 88.3% 72.3%
Institutions holding 200 345 4,055
Change in shares held, QoQ +24.0% +64.8% +0.5%
Institutions buying 146 246 1,886
Institutions selling 41 71 1,595
Buyers to sellers 3.56 3.46 1.18

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.

BWCECOCAT
BW 1.00 0.35 0.42
CECO 0.35 1.00 0.45
CAT 0.42 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BW, CECO and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $588.54M, Ceco Environmental (CECO) $2.09B, Caterpillar (CAT) $318.29B.

Which company is growing faster?

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +42.6%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) +37.6%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest net margin (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -4.0%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) -3.4%, Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 14.3%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) -0.3%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +20.7%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) -4.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) +32.0%. Over five years, Ceco Environmental (CECO) compounded fastest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -8.6%/yr, Ceco Environmental (CECO) +48.1%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +27.9%/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%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) and Ceco Environmental (CECO) 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%, Ceco Environmental (CECO) 67.3%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.