BW vs HWM vs CAT Stock Comparison

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Howmet Aerospace and Caterpillar Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$194.35 -16.4% 1M -2.1% 1Y
Market cap
$76.41B
P/E
40.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.12B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
5 wins
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$691.78 -15.8% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$328.03B
P/E
30.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionBWHWMCATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $633.37M $76.41B $328.03B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -19.1x 40.9x 30.2x CAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.7x 37.4x 26.8x CAT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.6% +18.1% +18.4% BW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% 20.5% 14.5% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.3% 19.4% 15.9% HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 1.4x 2.5x BW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% CAT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.2% -2.1% +32.3% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.3%/yr +46.0%/yr +28.7%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 114.6% 35.2% 40.5% HWM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 74/100 51/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

BWHWMCAT

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

AxisBWHWMCAT
Valuation 62 #24 of 61 41 #59 of 100 22 #159 of 203
Growth 70 #18 of 58 91 #10 of 97 68 #60 of 187
Profitability 72 #16 of 55 98 #3 of 96 92 #16 of 185
Financial Health 37 #45 of 71 49 #54 of 105 17 #183 of 219
Shareholder Returns 7 #27 of 29 89 #8 of 64 56 #68 of 153
Overall 50 74 51
  • BW ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBWHWMCATSPY
1 month -33.8%-16.4%-15.8% -0.8%
3 months -55.7%-32.5%-20.8% +3.5%
6 months -73.1%-19.6%-16.5% +7.0%
Year to date -34.4%-5.2%+20.8% +12.2%
1 year +20.2%-2.1%+32.3% +13.0%
3 years +77.0%+351.0%+190.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +21.0%+65.3%+42.6% +23.1%
5 years -35.2%+561.5%+252.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year -8.3%+46.0%+28.7% +11.0%
10 years -97.3%—+722.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year -30.3%—+23.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBWHWMCATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 114.6%35.2%40.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 103.5%36.5%39.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.311.101.85 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.18-0.060.80 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -97.4%-36.5%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -81.0%-33.6%-35.0% -1.8%
52-week high $21.85$292.71$1,064.90 $779.14
52-week low $3.16$185.88$524.47 $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.

MultipleBWHWMCAT
P/E now vs peer median -17.8xmedian 25.4x 41.6xmedian 26.8x 29.4xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.1x 8.5xmedian 2.9x 4.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 17.5x 29.2xmedian 15.2x 23.0xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -10.7xmedian 27.3x 43.4xmedian 25.5x 35.4xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 1.7x 13.6xmedian 2.5x 16.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.73median 0.77 0.77median 0.94 2.25median 1.26

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 monthsBWHWMCAT
Revenue $821.95M $9.12B $74.73B
Gross profit $160.14M $3.29B $25.66B
Operating income $22.49M $2.50B $13.09B
Net income -$18.35M $1.87B $10.84B
Free cash flow -$58.17M $1.79B $8.99B
R&D – $37.00M $2.27B
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $4.65 $23.45
Cash & equivalents $308.63M $563.00M $6.71B
Total debt $209.43M $4.50B $45.15B
Shares (diluted) 154.51M 402.00M 462.50M
Enterprise value $104.34M $72.01B $299.73B

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
MetricBWHWMCAT
P/E -17.8x 41.6x 29.4x
P/FCF -10.7x 43.4x 35.4x
P/Operating cash flow -17.8x 35.0x 23.4x
P/S 0.8x 8.5x 4.3x
P/B 10.8x 13.6x 16.4x
P/Tangible book 14.1x 16.0x 16.8x
EV/EBITDA 14.5x 29.2x 23.0x
EV/EBIT 23.1x 32.7x 27.2x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 9.0x 4.8x
EV/FCF -8.9x 45.6x 39.6x
EV/Operating cash flow -15.0x 36.8x 26.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.73 0.77 2.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBWHWMCAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.6% 18.1% 18.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 13.7% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 30.2% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 25.3% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 879.4% 32.6% 13.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 34.8% 7.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 87.7% 33.9% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.3% 52.1% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 87.1% 35.4% 17.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.6% 54.1% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 72.4% 56.1% 19.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.7% 42.2% 10.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 57.3% 75.9% 16.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -120.7% 45.6% 7.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBWHWMCAT
Gross margin 19.5% 36.0% 34.3%
EBITDA margin 4.4% 30.7% 20.7%
Operating margin 2.7% 27.4% 17.5%
Pretax margin -8.8% 25.0% 18.6%
Net margin -4.0% 20.5% 14.5%
FCF margin -7.1% 19.6% 12.0%
Operating cash flow margin -4.2% 24.4% 18.2%
Return on equity – 33.3% 57.0%
Return on assets -8.9% 14.2% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 14.3% 19.4% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 5.9% 23.0% 22.1%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.7x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 1.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBWHWMCAT
Debt / assets 21.0% 34.0% 44.0%
Debt / equity 3.7x 0.8x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 1.4x 2.5x
Debt / FCF -3.6x 2.5x 5.0x
Liabilities / assets 94.3% 56.7% 81.1%
Equity / assets 5.7% 43.3% 18.9%
Interest coverage 0.9x – 6.8x
Current ratio 1.5x 1.8x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score -0.91 8.22 4.57

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBWHWMCAT
Dividend yield – 0.3% 0.9%
Net buyback yield -62.0% 1.3% 2.3%
Shareholder yield -62.0% 1.5% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 10.4% 25.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.9% 31.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 30.0% 4.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 47.3% 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.

ConsensusBWHWMCAT
Forward P/E 29.7xFY2026 37.4xFY2026 26.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.14FY2026 $5.19FY2026 $25.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +37.7%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +221.4% +31.2% +31.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.01BFY2026 $10.37BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +71.1%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +35.9% +15.9% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBWHWMCAT
Held by institutions 88.0% 91.0% 72.3%
Institutions holding 200 1,600 4,055
Change in shares held, QoQ +24.0% +0.7% +0.5%
Institutions buying 146 907 1,886
Institutions selling 41 484 1,595
Buyers to sellers 3.56 1.87 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.

BWHWMCAT
BW 1.00 0.20 0.42
HWM 0.20 1.00 0.43
CAT 0.42 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BW, HWM and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $633.37M, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $76.41B, Caterpillar (CAT) $328.03B.

Which stock is cheaper, BW, HWM and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -19.1x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 40.9x, Caterpillar (CAT) 30.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Caterpillar (CAT) is cheapest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 29.7x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.4x, Caterpillar (CAT) 26.8x). 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%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +18.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -4.0%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 20.5%, Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 14.3%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 19.4%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +20.2%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -2.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) +32.3%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -8.3%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +46.0%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +28.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest dividend yield: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 0.00%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has been the steadiest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 114.6%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 35.2%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BW, HWM 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.