CAT vs HWM vs BWA Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Howmet Aerospace and Borgwarner Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CAT Caterpillar Inc
$553.47 -35.9% 1M -2.8% 1Y
Market cap
$260.91B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.77B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
1 win
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$200.90 -13.3% 1M -2.6% 1Y
Market cap
$81.25B
P/E
39.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.73B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
7 wins
BWA Borgwarner Inc
$47.54 -24.9% 1M +5.9% 1Y
Market cap
$9.79B
P/E
20.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.24B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Howmet Aerospace leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Howmet Aerospace 7, Borgwarner 4, Caterpillar 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATHWMBWALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $260.91B $81.25B $9.79B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.1x 39.6x 20.5x BWA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.5x 37.7x 8.7x BWA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.3% +22.0% +0.4% HWM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.2% 21.1% 3.4% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.8% 21.5% 5.9% HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 1.4x — HWM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.01% BWA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.8% -2.6% +5.9% BWA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.9%/yr +43.2%/yr +0.3%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.1% 37.2% 41.4% HWM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 72/100 64/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

CATHWMBWA

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

AxisCATHWMBWA
Valuation 37 #129 of 204 39 #62 of 101 96 #10 of 204
Growth 73 #52 of 191 90 #11 of 98 51 #94 of 191
Profitability 92 #16 of 189 99 #2 of 97 47 #100 of 189
Financial Health 19 #180 of 221 47 #57 of 107 43 #127 of 221
Shareholder Returns 64 #58 of 159 87 #9 of 64 84 #27 of 159
Overall 57 72 64
  • CAT ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • HWM ranked among 108 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • BWA ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATHWMBWASPY
1 month -35.9%-13.3%-24.9% -5.9%
3 months -35.4%-30.6%-27.7% -4.6%
6 months -38.2%-26.3%-18.3% +0.2%
Year to date -3.4%-2.0%+5.5% +7.5%
1 year -2.8%-2.6%+5.9% +8.2%
3 years +132.3%+312.3%+44.8% +68.3%
3 years, per year +32.5%+60.4%+13.1% +19.0%
5 years +168.8%+501.5%+1.4% +56.5%
5 years, per year +21.9%+43.2%+0.3% +9.4%
10 years +572.4%+1,381.6%+39.5% +251.5%
10 years, per year +21.0%+30.9%+3.4% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCATHWMBWASPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.1%37.2%41.4% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.3%38.1%35.5% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.771.061.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.07-0.070.14 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.0%-36.5%-51.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -48.0%-31.4%-38.3% -5.9%
52-week high $1,064.90$292.71$77.03 $779.14
52-week low $546.13$185.88$40.96 $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.

MultipleCATHWMBWA
P/E now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 23.4x 38.9xmedian 24.7x 20.0xmedian 23.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.7x 8.2xmedian 2.6x 0.7xmedian 1.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 13.4x 27.6xmedian 14.2x —median 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 21.9x 41.4xmedian 26.3x 8.3xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 2.1x 13.9xmedian 2.4x 1.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.65median 1.02 0.79median 0.89 -2.27median 1.02

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 monthsCATHWMBWA
Revenue $77.77B $9.73B $14.24B
Gross profit $27.05B $3.56B $2.79B
Operating income $14.25B $2.73B $770.00M
Net income $11.83B $2.05B $538.00M
Free cash flow $9.62B $1.93B $1.15B
R&D $2.31B $38.00M –
EPS (diluted) $25.67 $5.13 $2.34
Cash & equivalents $7.93B $507.00M $1.58B
Total debt $45.20B $4.83B $3.01B
Shares (diluted) 460.90M 400.00M 204.60M
Enterprise value $232.21B $77.00B $1.33B

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
MetricCATHWMBWA
P/E 21.5x 38.9x 20.0x
P/FCF 26.3x 41.4x 8.3x
P/Operating cash flow 17.9x 33.3x 5.7x
P/S 3.3x 8.2x 0.7x
P/B 11.8x 13.9x 1.6x
P/Tangible book 12.0x 16.3x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 17.4x 27.6x –
EV/EBIT 20.4x 30.9x 14.2x
EV/Revenue 3.7x 8.7x 0.8x
EV/FCF 30.2x 43.7x 9.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.5x 35.1x 6.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.65 0.79 -2.27

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATHWMBWA
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.3% 22.0% 0.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 14.9% 0.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.1% 33.7% 6.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 26.3% 3.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.9% 36.4% 68.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 35.5% -12.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 27.6% 41.6% 186.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 47.5% -10.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.3% 43.6% 277.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 49.5% -8.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.9% 40.3% -2.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 38.8% 13.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 27.2% 50.9% -7.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 41.0% 53.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATHWMBWA
Gross margin 34.8% 36.6% 19.6%
EBITDA margin 21.4% 31.4% –
Operating margin 18.3% 28.1% 5.4%
Pretax margin 19.3% 25.8% 5.3%
Net margin 15.2% 21.1% 3.4%
FCF margin 12.4% 19.8% 8.1%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 24.7% 11.8%
Return on equity 57.9% 35.7% 9.2%
Return on assets 11.3% 15.5% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 16.8% 21.5% 5.9%
Return on capital employed 22.3% 24.7% 8.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.2x 3.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATHWMBWA
Debt / assets 42.3% 36.4% 22.8%
Debt / equity 2.1x 0.8x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 1.4x –
Debt / FCF 4.7x 2.5x 2.6x
Liabilities / assets 79.9% 56.6% 55.6%
Equity / assets 20.1% 43.4% 44.4%
Interest coverage 7.2x – –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.9x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 4.10 8.56 2.98

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATHWMBWA
Dividend yield 1.1% 0.2% 1.4%
Net buyback yield 3.2% 1.6% 7.6%
Shareholder yield 4.4% 1.9% 9.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 24.1% 9.9% 25.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 29.7% 10.5% 12.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.8% 23.8% 28.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 43.3% -1.4%

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.

ConsensusCATHWMBWA
Forward P/E 21.5xFY2026 37.7xFY2026 8.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.73FY2026 $5.33FY2026 $5.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.0%FY2026 +41.4%FY2026 +10.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +30.7% +30.6% +1.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $83.62BFY2026 $10.55BFY2026 $13.64BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +23.7%FY2026 +27.9%FY2026 -4.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.8% +15.3% +0.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATHWMBWA
Held by institutions 72.3% 91.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 4,063 1,602 817
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +0.7% +3.7%
Institutions buying 1,892 908 420
Institutions selling 1,597 485 296
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.87 1.42

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.

CATHWMBWA
CAT 1.00 0.40 0.56
HWM 0.40 1.00 0.30
BWA 0.56 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, HWM and BWA?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $260.91B, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $81.25B, Borgwarner (BWA) $9.79B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, HWM and BWA?

Borgwarner (BWA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 22.1x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 39.6x, Borgwarner (BWA) 20.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Borgwarner (BWA) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 21.5x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.7x, Borgwarner (BWA) 8.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Caterpillar (CAT) +20.3%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +22.0%, Borgwarner (BWA) +0.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.2%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.1%, Borgwarner (BWA) 3.4%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 16.8%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.5%, Borgwarner (BWA) 5.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Borgwarner (BWA) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) -2.8%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -2.6%, Borgwarner (BWA) +5.9%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +21.9%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +43.2%/yr, Borgwarner (BWA) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Borgwarner (BWA) has the highest dividend yield: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.00%, Borgwarner (BWA) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 41.1%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.2%, Borgwarner (BWA) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.