BWA vs CAT vs WAB Stock Comparison

Borgwarner, Caterpillar and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BWA Borgwarner Inc
$55.12 -10.1% 1M +25.3% 1Y
Market cap
$11.28B
P/E
27.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.34B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$691.78 -15.8% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$327.97B
P/E
30.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 5, Borgwarner 4, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBWACATWABLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.28B $327.97B $46.93B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.2x 30.2x 34.3x BWA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.2x 26.8x 23.9x BWA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.2% +18.4% +13.2% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.9% 14.5% — CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.0% 15.9% — CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.5x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% BWA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.3% +32.3% +40.6% WAB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.3%/yr +28.7%/yr +25.6%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.8% 40.5% 26.3% WAB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 51/100 45/100 BWA

Percentile Scorecard

BWACATWAB

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

AxisBWACATWAB
Valuation 92 #17 of 203 22 #159 of 203 34 #135 of 203
Growth 46 #101 of 187 68 #60 of 187 89 #22 of 187
Profitability 48 #96 of 185 92 #16 of 185 56 #82 of 185
Financial Health 47 #117 of 219 17 #183 of 219 28 #159 of 219
Shareholder Returns 76 #37 of 153 56 #68 of 153 20 #123 of 153
Overall 62 51 45
  • BWA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBWACATWABSPY
1 month -10.1%-15.8%-3.6% -0.8%
3 months -13.4%-20.8%-7.7% +3.5%
6 months -0.5%-16.5%+3.9% +7.0%
Year to date +22.3%+20.8%+30.1% +12.2%
1 year +25.3%+32.3%+40.6% +13.0%
3 years +50.3%+190.0%+167.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +14.6%+42.6%+38.8% +23.1%
5 years +23.3%+252.7%+212.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +4.3%+28.7%+25.6% +11.0%
10 years +55.8%+722.3%+260.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +4.5%+23.5%+13.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBWACATWABSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.8%40.5%26.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.9%39.9%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.301.850.99 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.620.801.54 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.1%-35.5%-23.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.4%-35.0%-9.2% -1.8%
52-week high $77.03$1,064.90$305.87 $779.14
52-week low $40.96$524.47$196.14 $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.

MultipleBWACATWAB
P/E now vs peer median 27.0xmedian 26.0x 29.4xmedian 26.0x 34.3xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.9x 4.3xmedian 1.9x 3.8xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 23.0xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.3xmedian 21.4x 35.4xmedian 21.4x 28.7xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.2x 16.4xmedian 2.2x 4.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.29median 1.26 2.25median 1.26 1.43median 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 monthsBWACATWAB
Revenue $14.34B $74.73B $12.21B
Gross profit $2.79B $25.66B $4.35B
Operating income $716.00M $13.09B $2.10B
Net income $478.00M $10.84B –
Free cash flow $1.21B $8.99B –
R&D – $2.27B $261.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.01 $23.45 $8.07
Cash & equivalents $2.45B $6.71B $489.00M
Total debt $3.87B $45.15B –
Shares (diluted) 206.30M 462.50M 169.60M
Enterprise value $2.23B $299.67B $46.93B

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
MetricBWACATWAB
P/E 27.0x 29.4x 34.3x
P/FCF 9.3x 35.4x 28.7x
P/Operating cash flow 6.5x 23.4x 22.5x
P/S 0.8x 4.3x 3.8x
P/B 1.9x 16.4x 4.1x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 16.8x 6.4x
EV/EBITDA – 23.0x –
EV/EBIT 17.7x 27.2x –
EV/Revenue 0.9x 4.8x 3.8x
EV/FCF 10.4x 39.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 7.3x 26.3x 22.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.29 2.25 1.43

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBWACATWAB
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.2% 18.4% 13.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 4.9% 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.5% 11.7% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 5.6% 15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 49.2% 13.7% 18.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -14.3% 7.7% 20.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 81.1% 14.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -21.1% 9.0% –
EPS growth (1Y) 109.0% 17.1% 17.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -20.8% 13.0% 24.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.5% 19.3% 40.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 10.6% 31.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 2.2% 16.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 43.9% 7.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBWACATWAB
Gross margin 19.5% 34.3% –
EBITDA margin – 20.7% –
Operating margin 5.0% 17.5% –
Pretax margin 4.9% 18.6% –
Net margin 2.9% 14.5% –
FCF margin 8.5% 12.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 12.0% 18.2% 17.1%
Return on equity 8.4% 57.0% 12.2%
Return on assets 3.5% 10.9% 5.9%
Return on invested capital 5.0% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed 6.8% 22.1% –
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.6x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBWACATWAB
Debt / assets 27.8% 44.0% –
Debt / equity 0.7x 2.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.5x –
Debt / FCF 3.2x 5.0x –
Liabilities / assets 58.4% 81.1% 50.9%
Equity / assets 41.6% 18.9% 49.1%
Interest coverage – 6.8x –
Current ratio 2.1x 1.4x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.7x 0.5x –
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score 3.06 4.57 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBWACATWAB
Dividend yield 1.2% 0.9% 0.4%
Net buyback yield 5.8% 2.3% –
Shareholder yield 7.0% 3.2% 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 29.3% 25.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 11.5% 31.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 45.8% 4.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -4.0% 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.

ConsensusBWACATWAB
Forward P/E 10.2xFY2026 26.8xFY2026 23.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.38FY2026 $25.79FY2026 $11.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.6%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026 +29.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.8% +31.4% +5.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.71BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026 $12.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.2%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +1.5% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBWACATWAB
Held by institutions 100.0% 72.3% 92.6%
Institutions holding 815 4,055 1,195
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +0.5% +0.2%
Institutions buying 419 1,886 553
Institutions selling 295 1,595 409
Buyers to sellers 1.42 1.18 1.35

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.

BWACATWAB
BWA 1.00 0.49 0.42
CAT 0.49 1.00 0.66
WAB 0.42 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BWA, CAT and WAB?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Borgwarner (BWA) $11.28B, Caterpillar (CAT) $327.97B, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) $46.93B.

Which stock is cheaper, BWA, CAT and WAB?

Borgwarner (BWA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Borgwarner (BWA) 27.2x, Caterpillar (CAT) 30.2x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 34.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Borgwarner (BWA) is cheapest (Borgwarner (BWA) 10.2x, Caterpillar (CAT) 26.8x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 23.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Caterpillar (CAT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Borgwarner (BWA) +2.2%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +13.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest net margin (Borgwarner (BWA) 2.9%, Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Borgwarner (BWA) 5.0%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) returned the most: Borgwarner (BWA) +25.3%, Caterpillar (CAT) +32.3%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +40.6%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Borgwarner (BWA) +4.3%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +28.7%/yr, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +25.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Borgwarner (BWA) has the highest dividend yield: Borgwarner (BWA) 0.01%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 0.00%. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) has been the steadiest (Borgwarner (BWA) 40.8%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 26.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BWA, CAT and WAB?

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.