FCEL vs BW vs PLUG Stock Comparison

Fuelcell Energy, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises and Plug Power Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FCEL Fuelcell Energy Inc
$12.18 -27.9% 1M +48.9% 1Y
Market cap
$773.41M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$154.14M
Div. yield
–
Fuel Cells Industrials
1 win
PLUG Plug Power Inc
$1.42 -25.7% 1M -48.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.89B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$744.09M
Div. yield
–
Hydrogen Energy
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 6, Plug Power 2, Fuelcell Energy 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFCELBWPLUGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $773.41M $597.79M $1.89B PLUG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -4.3x -18.0x -1.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 32.6x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.1% +42.6% +10.6% BW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -115.7% -4.0% -220.6% BW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -20.5% 14.3% -188.4% BW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.6x -2.8x 0.1x BW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +48.9% +38.2% -48.6% FCEL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -44.9%/yr -7.8%/yr -48.3%/yr BW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 131.1% 114.6% 77.9% PLUG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 38/100 50/100 25/100 BW

Percentile Scorecard

FCELBWPLUG

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

AxisFCELBWPLUG
Valuation 36 #40 of 62 62 #24 of 62 0 #11 of 11
Growth 33 #40 of 59 69 #19 of 59 70 #4 of 11
Profitability 32 #38 of 55 72 #16 of 55 0 #9 of 9
Financial Health 82 #14 of 72 38 #45 of 72 30 #8 of 11
Shareholder Returns 7 #27 of 29 11 #26 of 29 –
Overall 38 50 25
  • FCEL ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • BW ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • PLUG ranked among 11 companies in Renewable Fuels

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFCELBWPLUGSPY
1 month -27.9%-21.6%-25.7% +0.7%
3 months -48.4%-51.8%-32.1% +3.7%
6 months -6.3%-70.9%-54.6% +7.1%
Year to date +66.6%-28.1%-27.9% +12.8%
1 year +48.9%+38.2%-48.6% +11.9%
3 years -61.3%+83.9%-75.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year -27.2%+22.5%-37.1% +22.8%
5 years -94.9%-33.2%-96.3% +67.6%
5 years, per year -44.9%-7.8%-48.3% +10.9%
10 years -99.0%-97.1%-10.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year -37.2%-29.8%-1.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureFCELBWPLUGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 131.1%114.6%77.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 113.3%103.8%70.0% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.743.332.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.370.33-0.62 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -98.9%-97.4%-98.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -66.2%-79.1%-65.7% -1.2%
52-week high $36.01$21.85$4.14 $779.14
52-week low $6.00$3.30$1.37 $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.

MultipleFCELBWPLUG
P/E now vs peer median -4.8xmedian 26.6x -19.5xmedian 26.6x -1.2xmedian 10.7x
P/S now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 2.6x 0.8xmedian 2.6x 2.7xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -2.4xmedian 18.9x 16.2xmedian 18.9x -1.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.6xmedian 30.1x -11.7xmedian 30.1x -3.5xmedian 14.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.9x 11.8xmedian 1.9x 3.4xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.05median 0.97 -0.80median 0.97 -0.22median 0.19

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 monthsFCELBWPLUG
Revenue $154.14M $821.95M $744.09M
Gross profit -$49.92M $160.14M -$138.00M
Operating income -$179.19M $22.49M -$1.29B
Net income -$178.30M -$18.35M -$1.71B
Free cash flow -$101.12M -$58.17M -$560.50M
R&D $28.64M – $53.94M
EPS (diluted) $-2.53 $-0.21 $-1.18
Cash & equivalents $658.10M $308.63M $161.90M
Total debt $18.80M $209.43M $314.00K
Shares (diluted) 70.41M 154.51M 1.39B
Enterprise value -$847.79M $68.76M $965.55M

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
MetricFCELBWPLUG
P/E -4.8x -19.5x -1.2x
P/FCF -9.6x -11.7x -3.5x
P/Operating cash flow -10.1x -19.6x -4.1x
P/S 6.3x 0.8x 2.7x
P/B 1.0x 11.8x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 15.4x 3.5x
EV/EBITDA -2.4x 16.2x -1.5x
EV/EBIT -1.9x 25.8x -1.4x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 0.7x 2.4x
EV/FCF -3.3x -10.0x -3.3x
EV/Operating cash flow -3.5x -16.7x -3.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.05 -0.80 -0.22

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFCELBWPLUG
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.1% 42.6% 10.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 3.5% -5.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -62.6% 20.7% 70.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -27.2% -2.8% 20.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.6% 879.4% 31.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -8.0% 17.5% -15.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 11.6% 87.7% 13.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -13.9% 17.3% -26.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 69.5% 87.1% 32.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -104.7% 24.6% 5.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.3% 72.4% 20.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.4% -73.7% 22.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 18.9% 57.3% 31.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.8% -120.7% 30.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFCELBWPLUG
Gross margin -32.4% 19.5% -18.5%
EBITDA margin -89.9% 4.4% -168.2%
Operating margin -116.3% 2.7% -172.8%
Pretax margin -115.7% -8.8% -229.0%
Net margin -115.7% -4.0% -220.6%
FCF margin -65.6% -7.1% -75.3%
Operating cash flow margin -62.5% -4.2% -64.9%
Return on equity -20.8% – -251.3%
Return on assets -15.4% -8.9% -75.0%
Return on invested capital -20.5% 14.3% -188.4%
Return on capital employed -16.9% 5.9% -72.0%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.9x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.9x 0.3x
Stock comp / revenue 6.4% 2.0% 7.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFCELBWPLUG
Debt / assets 1.4% 21.0% 0.0%
Debt / equity 0.0x 3.7x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.6x -2.8x 0.1x
Debt / FCF -0.2x -3.6x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 25.0% 94.3% 73.2%
Equity / assets 75.0% 5.7% 26.8%
Interest coverage -16.0x 0.9x -17.9x
Current ratio 8.7x 1.5x 2.3x
Quick ratio 7.3x 1.1x 0.8x
Cash ratio 6.8x 0.6x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.01 -0.88 -6.05

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFCELBWPLUG
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -60.4% -56.5% -2.5%
Shareholder yield -60.4% -56.5% -2.5%
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.

ConsensusFCELBWPLUG
Forward P/E – 32.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-2.70FY2026 $0.14FY2026 $-0.41FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +221.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $153.46MFY2026 $1.01BFY2026 $799.33MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.0%FY2026 +71.1%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +71.6% +35.9% +28.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFCELBWPLUG
Held by institutions 65.0% 88.0% 58.3%
Institutions holding 227 200 509
Change in shares held, QoQ +67.3% +24.0% +8.0%
Institutions buying 161 146 277
Institutions selling 38 41 105
Buyers to sellers 4.24 3.56 2.64

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.

FCELBWPLUG
FCEL 1.00 0.40 0.58
BW 0.40 1.00 0.36
PLUG 0.58 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FCEL, BW and PLUG?

Plug Power (PLUG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Fuelcell Energy (FCEL) $773.41M, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) $597.79M, Plug Power (PLUG) $1.89B.

Which company is growing faster?

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Fuelcell Energy (FCEL) +1.1%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +42.6%, Plug Power (PLUG) +10.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) has the highest net margin (Fuelcell Energy (FCEL) -115.7%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -4.0%, Plug Power (PLUG) -220.6%). On return on invested capital, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) leads (Fuelcell Energy (FCEL) -20.5%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 14.3%, Plug Power (PLUG) -188.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fuelcell Energy (FCEL) returned the most: Fuelcell Energy (FCEL) +48.9%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) +38.2%, Plug Power (PLUG) -48.6%. Over five years, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) compounded fastest (Fuelcell Energy (FCEL) -44.9%/yr, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) -7.8%/yr, Plug Power (PLUG) -48.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Plug Power (PLUG) has been the steadiest (Fuelcell Energy (FCEL) 131.1%, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 114.6%, Plug Power (PLUG) 77.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FCEL, BW and PLUG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) 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.