GNRC vs CAT vs HWM Stock Comparison

Generac Holdings, Caterpillar and Howmet Aerospace Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GNRC Generac Holdings Inc.
$172.34 -23.0% 1M +8.3% 1Y
Market cap
$10.40B
P/E
34.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.62B
Div. yield
0.00%
Power Equipment Industrials
3 wins
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$553.47 -35.9% 1M -2.8% 1Y
Market cap
$257.35B
P/E
21.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.77B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
3 wins
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$200.90 -13.3% 1M -2.6% 1Y
Market cap
$81.92B
P/E
39.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.73B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionGNRCCATHWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.40B $257.35B $81.92B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.5x 21.8x 39.9x CAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.2x 21.5x 37.7x GNRC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.1% +20.3% +22.0% HWM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.5% 15.2% 21.1% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.4% 16.8% 21.5% HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 2.2x 1.4x GNRC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% CAT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.3% -2.8% -2.6% GNRC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -17.2%/yr +21.9%/yr +43.2%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.1% 41.1% 37.2% HWM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 57/100 72/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

GNRCCATHWM

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

AxisGNRCCATHWM
Valuation 77 #15 of 63 37 #129 of 204 39 #62 of 101
Growth 42 #35 of 60 73 #52 of 191 90 #11 of 98
Profitability 88 #8 of 57 92 #16 of 189 99 #2 of 97
Financial Health 52 #35 of 72 19 #180 of 221 47 #57 of 107
Shareholder Returns 69 #10 of 30 64 #58 of 159 87 #9 of 64
Overall 66 57 72
  • GNRC ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • CAT ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • HWM ranked among 108 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGNRCCATHWMSPY
1 month -23.0%-35.9%-13.3% -5.9%
3 months -18.4%-35.4%-30.6% -4.6%
6 months -35.4%-38.2%-26.3% +0.2%
Year to date +26.4%-3.4%-2.0% +7.5%
1 year +8.3%-2.8%-2.6% +8.2%
3 years +68.2%+132.3%+312.3% +68.3%
3 years, per year +18.9%+32.5%+60.4% +19.0%
5 years -61.1%+168.8%+501.5% +56.5%
5 years, per year -17.2%+21.9%+43.2% +9.4%
10 years +363.4%+572.4%+1,381.6% +251.5%
10 years, per year +16.6%+21.0%+30.9% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureGNRCCATHWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.1%41.1%37.2% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 56.6%44.3%38.1% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.991.771.06 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.14-0.07-0.07 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -81.7%-48.0%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -41.7%-48.0%-31.4% -5.9%
52-week high $295.54$1,064.90$292.71 $779.14
52-week low $136.37$546.13$185.88 $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.

MultipleGNRCCATHWM
P/E now vs peer median 33.7xmedian 25.0x 21.5xmedian 23.4x 38.9xmedian 24.7x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.3x 3.3xmedian 1.7x 8.2xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 18.3x 17.4xmedian 13.4x 27.6xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.5xmedian 28.3x 26.3xmedian 21.9x 41.4xmedian 26.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 1.8x 11.8xmedian 2.1x 13.9xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.83median 0.65 1.65median 1.02 0.79median 0.89

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 monthsGNRCCATHWM
Revenue $4.62B $77.77B $9.73B
Gross profit $1.84B $27.05B $3.56B
Operating income $478.99M $14.25B $2.73B
Net income $301.14M $11.83B $2.05B
Free cash flow $414.49M $9.62B $1.93B
R&D $253.28M $2.31B $38.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.06 $25.67 $5.13
Cash & equivalents $393.67M $7.93B $507.00M
Total debt $1.33B $45.20B $4.83B
Shares (diluted) 59.56M 460.90M 400.00M
Enterprise value $9.13B $228.65B $77.67B

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
MetricGNRCCATHWM
P/E 33.7x 21.5x 38.9x
P/FCF 24.5x 26.3x 41.4x
P/Operating cash flow 16.9x 17.9x 33.3x
P/S 2.2x 3.3x 8.2x
P/B 3.4x 11.8x 13.9x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 12.0x 16.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x 17.4x 27.6x
EV/EBIT 23.2x 20.4x 30.9x
EV/Revenue 2.4x 3.7x 8.7x
EV/FCF 26.8x 30.2x 43.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.5x 20.5x 35.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.83 1.65 0.79

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGNRCCATHWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.1% 20.3% 22.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 5.3% 14.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.4% 18.1% 33.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.8% 5.2% 26.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -3.5% 24.9% 36.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.8% 7.4% 35.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -0.6% 27.6% 41.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.7% 9.1% 47.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -0.7% 30.3% 43.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.4% 13.0% 49.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.1% 22.9% 40.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.3% 6.9% 38.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -2.3% 27.2% 50.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.1% 3.5% 41.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGNRCCATHWM
Gross margin 39.9% 34.8% 36.6%
EBITDA margin 17.1% 21.4% 31.4%
Operating margin 10.4% 18.3% 28.1%
Pretax margin 8.7% 19.3% 25.8%
Net margin 6.5% 15.2% 21.1%
FCF margin 9.0% 12.4% 19.8%
Operating cash flow margin 13.0% 18.2% 24.7%
Return on equity 10.3% 57.9% 35.7%
Return on assets 5.1% 11.3% 15.5%
Return on invested capital 8.4% 16.8% 21.5%
Return on capital employed 10.6% 22.3% 24.7%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.7x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 1.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% – 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGNRCCATHWM
Debt / assets 21.7% 42.3% 36.4%
Debt / equity 0.4x 2.1x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 2.2x 1.4x
Debt / FCF 3.2x 4.7x 2.5x
Liabilities / assets 50.9% 79.9% 56.6%
Equity / assets 49.1% 20.1% 43.4%
Interest coverage 7.3x 7.2x –
Current ratio 2.0x 1.4x 1.9x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.99 4.10 8.56

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGNRCCATHWM
Dividend yield 0.0% 1.1% 0.2%
Net buyback yield -0.1% 3.2% 1.6%
Shareholder yield -0.1% 4.4% 1.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 0.1% 24.1% 9.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) 0.1% 29.7% 10.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.0% 4.8% 23.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.2% 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.

ConsensusGNRCCATHWM
Forward P/E 18.2xFY2026 21.5xFY2026 37.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.48FY2026 $25.73FY2026 $5.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +49.5%FY2026 +35.0%FY2026 +41.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +51.3% +30.7% +30.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.60BFY2026 $83.62BFY2026 $10.55BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.1%FY2026 +23.7%FY2026 +27.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +56.8% +1.8% +15.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGNRCCATHWM
Held by institutions 89.4% 72.3% 91.0%
Institutions holding 1,000 4,063 1,602
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.0% +0.6% +0.7%
Institutions buying 532 1,892 908
Institutions selling 322 1,597 485
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.18 1.87

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.

GNRCCATHWM
GNRC 1.00 0.65 0.32
CAT 0.65 1.00 0.40
HWM 0.32 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GNRC, CAT and HWM?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Generac Holdings (GNRC) $10.40B, Caterpillar (CAT) $257.35B, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $81.92B.

Which stock is cheaper, GNRC, CAT and HWM?

Caterpillar (CAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 34.5x, Caterpillar (CAT) 21.8x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 39.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Generac Holdings (GNRC) is cheapest (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 18.2x, Caterpillar (CAT) 21.5x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.7x). 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: Generac Holdings (GNRC) +6.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) +20.3%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +22.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 6.5%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.2%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.1%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 8.4%, Caterpillar (CAT) 16.8%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 21.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Generac Holdings (GNRC) returned the most: Generac Holdings (GNRC) +8.3%, Caterpillar (CAT) -2.8%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -2.6%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Generac Holdings (GNRC) -17.2%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +21.9%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +43.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest dividend yield: Generac Holdings (GNRC) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.00%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has been the steadiest (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 58.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) 41.1%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.