BW vs HWM vs GNRC Stock Comparison

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Howmet Aerospace and Generac Holdings Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$205.71 -10.9% 1M +1.1% 1Y
Market cap
$81.87B
P/E
39.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.73B
Div. yield
0.24%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
6 wins
GNRC Generac Holdings Inc.
$203.37 -4.2% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$12.00B
P/E
39.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.62B
Div. yield
–
Power Equipment Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Howmet Aerospace leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Howmet Aerospace 6, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 3, Generac Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBWHWMGNRCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $679.27M $81.87B $12.00B HWM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -19.5x 39.9x 39.7x GNRC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.6x 39.6x 21.8x GNRC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.6% +22.0% +6.1% BW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% 21.1% — HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.3% 21.5% — HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 1.4x — BW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.24% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +38.2% +1.1% +12.4% BW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.8%/yr +47.3%/yr -16.4%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 114.6% 35.5% 57.0% HWM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 73/100 59/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

BWHWMGNRC

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

AxisBWHWMGNRC
Valuation 62 #24 of 62 40 #60 of 100 61 #25 of 62
Growth 69 #19 of 59 90 #11 of 96 40 #36 of 59
Profitability 72 #16 of 55 99 #2 of 95 87 #8 of 55
Financial Health 38 #45 of 72 47 #56 of 105 48 #38 of 72
Shareholder Returns 11 #26 of 29 88 #9 of 65 –
Overall 50 73 59
  • BW ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • GNRC ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBWHWMGNRCSPY
1 month -21.6%-10.9%-4.2% +0.7%
3 months -51.8%-25.8%+6.0% +3.7%
6 months -70.9%-15.4%-21.5% +7.1%
Year to date -28.1%+0.3%+49.1% +12.8%
1 year +38.2%+1.1%+12.4% +11.9%
3 years +83.9%+371.8%+147.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +22.5%+67.8%+35.3% +22.8%
5 years -33.2%+592.9%-59.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year -7.8%+47.3%-16.4% +10.9%
10 years -97.1%—+430.4% +262.0%
10 years, per year -29.8%—+18.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBWHWMGNRCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 114.6%35.5%57.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 103.8%36.5%54.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.331.092.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.330.030.22 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -97.4%-36.5%-83.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -79.1%-29.7%-31.2% -1.2%
52-week high $21.85$292.71$295.54 $779.14
52-week low $3.30$185.88$136.37 $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.

MultipleBWHWMGNRC
P/E now vs peer median -19.5xmedian 26.6x 39.9xmedian 26.9x 39.7xmedian 26.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.6x 8.4xmedian 3.0x 2.6xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 18.9x 28.2xmedian 15.0x —median 18.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median -11.7xmedian 30.1x 42.4xmedian 27.2x 33.0xmedian 30.1x
P/B now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 1.9x 14.2xmedian 2.5x 4.0xmedian 1.9x
PEG now vs peer median -0.80median 0.97 0.81median 0.93 2.16median 0.97

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 monthsBWHWMGNRC
Revenue $821.95M $9.73B $4.62B
Gross profit $160.14M $3.56B $1.84B
Operating income $22.49M $2.73B $478.99M
Net income -$18.35M $2.05B $301.14M
Free cash flow -$58.17M $1.93B –
R&D – $38.00M $253.28M
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $5.13 $5.05
Cash & equivalents $308.63M $507.00M $393.67M
Total debt $209.43M $4.83B –
Shares (diluted) 154.51M 400.00M 59.64M
Enterprise value $150.24M $77.63B $12.00B

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
MetricBWHWMGNRC
P/E -19.5x 39.9x 39.7x
P/FCF -11.7x 42.4x 33.0x
P/Operating cash flow -19.6x 34.1x 20.0x
P/S 0.8x 8.4x 2.6x
P/B 11.8x 14.2x 4.0x
P/Tangible book 15.4x 16.7x 4.3x
EV/EBITDA 16.2x 28.2x –
EV/EBIT 25.8x 31.6x –
EV/Revenue 0.7x 8.9x 2.6x
EV/FCF -10.0x 44.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow -16.7x 35.9x 20.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.80 0.81 2.16

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBWHWMGNRC
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.6% 22.0% 6.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 14.9% 4.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.7% 33.7% 7.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 26.3% 11.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 879.4% 36.4% -3.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 35.5% 11.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 87.7% 41.6% -0.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.3% 47.5% 15.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 87.1% 43.6% -0.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.6% 49.5% 18.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 72.4% 40.3% 2.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -73.7% 38.8% 25.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 57.3% 50.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -120.7% 41.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBWHWMGNRC
Gross margin 19.5% 36.6% –
EBITDA margin 4.4% 31.4% –
Operating margin 2.7% 28.1% –
Pretax margin -8.8% 25.8% –
Net margin -4.0% 21.1% –
FCF margin -7.1% 19.8% –
Operating cash flow margin -4.2% 24.7% 13.0%
Return on equity – 35.7% 10.2%
Return on assets -8.9% 15.5% 5.1%
Return on invested capital 14.3% 21.5% –
Return on capital employed 5.9% 24.7% –
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.7x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.2x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 1.0% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBWHWMGNRC
Debt / assets 21.0% 36.4% –
Debt / equity 3.7x 0.8x –
Net debt / EBITDA -2.8x 1.4x –
Debt / FCF -3.6x 2.5x –
Liabilities / assets 94.3% 56.6% 50.9%
Equity / assets 5.7% 43.4% 49.1%
Interest coverage 0.9x – –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.9x 2.0x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score -0.88 8.71 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBWHWMGNRC
Dividend yield – 0.2% –
Net buyback yield -56.5% 1.6% –
Shareholder yield -56.5% 1.8% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 9.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 23.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 43.3% –

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.

ConsensusBWHWMGNRC
Forward P/E 32.6xFY2026 39.6xFY2026 21.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.14FY2026 $5.19FY2026 $9.31FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +37.7%FY2026 +46.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +221.4% +31.2% +42.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.01BFY2026 $10.37BFY2026 $4.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +71.1%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +35.9% +15.9% +48.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBWHWMGNRC
Held by institutions 88.0% 91.0% 89.4%
Institutions holding 200 1,601 999
Change in shares held, QoQ +24.0% +0.7% -1.0%
Institutions buying 146 908 532
Institutions selling 41 484 321
Buyers to sellers 3.56 1.88 1.66

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.

BWHWMGNRC
BW 1.00 0.19 0.34
HWM 0.19 1.00 0.28
GNRC 0.34 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BW, HWM and GNRC?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $679.27M, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $81.87B, Generac Holdings (GNRC) $12.00B.

Which stock is cheaper, BW, HWM and GNRC?

Generac Holdings (GNRC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -19.5x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 39.9x, Generac Holdings (GNRC) 39.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Generac Holdings (GNRC) is cheapest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 32.6x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 39.6x, Generac Holdings (GNRC) 21.8x). 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) +22.0%, Generac Holdings (GNRC) +6.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -4.0%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.1%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 14.3%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) returned the most: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +38.2%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +1.1%, Generac Holdings (GNRC) +12.4%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -7.8%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +47.3%/yr, Generac Holdings (GNRC) -16.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.24%, Generac Holdings (GNRC) 0.00%. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) and Generac Holdings (GNRC) 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) 35.5%, Generac Holdings (GNRC) 57.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BW, HWM and GNRC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads on 6. 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.