CECO vs BW vs FTEK Stock Comparison

Ceco Environmental, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises and Fuel Tech Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CECO Ceco Environmental Corp
$54.65 -24.4% 1M +12.7% 1Y
Market cap
$2.45B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$903.17M
Div. yield
–
Pollution Control Equipment Industrials
5 wins
FTEK Fuel Tech, Inc.
$1.56 -5.5% 1M -42.6% 1Y
Market cap
$47.71M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$27.30M
Div. yield
–
Pollution Control Equipment Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Ceco Environmental leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ceco Environmental 5, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 4, Fuel Tech 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCECOBWFTEKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.45B $652.59M $47.71M CECO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -79.9x -19.7x -13.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.7x 32.5x — CECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +37.6% +42.6% +8.9% BW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.4% -4.0% -12.7% CECO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -0.3% 14.3% — BW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 23.5x -2.8x — BW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.7% +44.0% -42.6% BW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +51.4%/yr -7.8%/yr -5.4%/yr CECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 67.3% 114.7% 69.1% CECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 50/100 62/100 FTEK

Percentile Scorecard

CECOBWFTEK

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

AxisCECOBWFTEK
Valuation 70 #7 of 21 62 #24 of 61 75 #6 of 21
Growth 28 #14 of 19 70 #18 of 58 33 #13 of 19
Profitability 56 #8 of 17 72 #16 of 55 63 #7 of 17
Financial Health 48 #12 of 22 37 #45 of 71 91 #3 of 22
Shareholder Returns – 11 #26 of 29 50 #5 of 9
Overall 50 50 62
  • CECO ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • BW ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • FTEK ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCECOBWFTEKSPY
1 month -24.4%-21.0%-5.5% +0.9%
3 months -8.6%-42.6%+13.0% +5.9%
6 months -24.6%-69.2%-6.0% +8.5%
Year to date -8.7%-28.2%0.0% +13.3%
1 year +12.7%+44.0%-42.6% +12.4%
3 years +249.0%+93.6%+59.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +51.7%+24.7%+16.8% +23.5%
5 years +694.3%-33.4%-24.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year +51.4%-7.8%-5.4% +11.0%
10 years +440.0%-97.1%+22.8% +263.4%
10 years, per year +18.4%-29.9%+2.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCECOBWFTEKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 67.3%114.7%69.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 71.4%103.8%66.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.993.331.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.190.38-0.62 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -52.1%-97.4%-67.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -45.2%-79.2%-42.6% -0.9%
52-week high $99.67$21.85$2.72 $779.14
52-week low $47.44$3.16$1.19 $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.

MultipleCECOBWFTEK
P/E now vs peer median -77.3xmedian 25.5x -19.5xmedian 29.4x -14.0xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 2.4x 0.8xmedian 2.6x 1.8xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 106.9xmedian 19.0x 16.1xmedian 18.4x -7.6xmedian 19.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -109.6xmedian 23.0x -11.7xmedian 24.4x -41.1xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 2.0x 11.8xmedian 1.8x 1.3xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 1.47median 1.69 -0.79median 1.07 0.47median 1.69

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 monthsCECOBWFTEK
Revenue $903.17M $821.95M $27.30M
Gross profit $290.34M $160.14M $12.21M
Operating income -$5.38M $22.49M -$4.58M
Net income -$28.18M -$18.35M -$3.48M
Free cash flow -$21.60M -$58.17M -$1.18M
R&D – – $2.12M
EPS (diluted) $-0.71 $-0.21 $-0.11
Cash & equivalents $61.10M $308.63M $7.62M
Total debt $727.71M $209.43M –
Shares (diluted) 43.31M 154.51M 31.18M
Enterprise value $2.27B $123.56M -$44.22M

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
MetricCECOBWFTEK
P/E -77.3x -19.5x -14.0x
P/FCF -109.6x -11.7x -41.1x
P/Operating cash flow -328.7x -19.5x -229.7x
P/S 2.6x 0.8x 1.8x
P/B 1.1x 11.8x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 15.4x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 106.9x 16.1x -7.6x
EV/EBIT -564.4x 25.7x -6.3x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 0.7x 1.1x
EV/FCF -140.4x -9.9x -24.6x
EV/Operating cash flow -421.2x -16.7x -137.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.47 -0.79 0.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCECOBWFTEK
Revenue growth (1Y) 37.6% 42.6% 8.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 24.6% 3.5% -0.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 25.6% 20.7% 9.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 26.1% -2.8% 2.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -105.5% 879.4% -0.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -30.3% 17.5% -30.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -152.2% 87.7% -7.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -53.8% 17.3% -31.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -149.3% 87.1% -6.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -52.7% 24.6% -29.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -196.9% 72.4% -129.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -29.1% -73.7% 35.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -27.1% 57.3% -367.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -36.0% -120.7% -6.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCECOBWFTEK
Gross margin 32.1% 19.5% 44.7%
EBITDA margin 3.1% 4.4% -14.0%
Operating margin -0.6% 2.7% -16.8%
Pretax margin -3.9% -8.8% -12.7%
Net margin -3.4% -4.0% -12.7%
FCF margin -2.4% -7.1% -4.3%
Operating cash flow margin -0.8% -4.2% -0.8%
Return on equity -2.3% – -9.2%
Return on assets -1.2% -8.9% -7.9%
Return on invested capital -0.3% 14.3% –
Return on capital employed -0.3% 5.9% -11.8%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.9x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.3x 1.9x 0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 2.2% 2.0% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCECOBWFTEK
Debt / assets 19.5% 21.0% –
Debt / equity 0.3x 3.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 23.5x -2.8x –
Debt / FCF -33.7x -3.6x –
Liabilities / assets 44.3% 94.3% 13.5%
Equity / assets 55.7% 5.7% 86.5%
Interest coverage -0.2x 0.9x –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.5x 5.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.1x 5.0x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.6x 4.0x
Altman Z-score 1.21 -0.88 1.82

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCECOBWFTEK
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – -56.7% 0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% -56.7% 0.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusCECOBWFTEK
Forward P/E 22.7xFY2026 32.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $2.41FY2026 $0.14FY2026 $-0.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +167.8%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +27.4% +221.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.43BFY2026 $1.01BFY2026 $27.36MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +84.9%FY2026 +71.1%FY2026 +2.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +31.3% +35.9% +28.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCECOBWFTEK
Held by institutions 88.3% 88.0% 23.6%
Institutions holding 345 200 43
Change in shares held, QoQ +64.8% +24.0% -2.7%
Institutions buying 246 146 17
Institutions selling 71 41 9
Buyers to sellers 3.46 3.56 1.89

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.

CECOBWFTEK
CECO 1.00 0.36 0.23
BW 0.36 1.00 0.10
FTEK 0.23 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CECO, BW and FTEK?

Ceco Environmental (CECO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ceco Environmental (CECO) $2.45B, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $652.59M, Fuel Tech (FTEK) $47.71M.

Which company is growing faster?

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ceco Environmental (CECO) +37.6%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +42.6%, Fuel Tech (FTEK) +8.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ceco Environmental (CECO) has the highest net margin (Ceco Environmental (CECO) -3.4%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -4.0%, Fuel Tech (FTEK) -12.7%). On return on invested capital, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) leads (Ceco Environmental (CECO) -0.3%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 14.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) returned the most: Ceco Environmental (CECO) +12.7%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +44.0%, Fuel Tech (FTEK) -42.6%. Over five years, Ceco Environmental (CECO) compounded fastest (Ceco Environmental (CECO) +51.4%/yr, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -7.8%/yr, Fuel Tech (FTEK) -5.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ceco Environmental (CECO) has been the steadiest (Ceco Environmental (CECO) 67.3%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 114.7%, Fuel Tech (FTEK) 69.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ceco Environmental (CECO) 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.