GNRC vs HWM vs CAT Stock Comparison

Generac Holdings, Howmet Aerospace and Caterpillar Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GNRC Generac Holdings Inc.
$193.75 -6.9% 1M +1.8% 1Y
Market cap
$11.75B
P/E
45.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.44B
Div. yield
–
Power Equipment Industrials
1 win
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$191.96 -17.4% 1M -4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$77.86B
P/E
41.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.12B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
6 wins
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$713.64 -13.1% 1M +35.4% 1Y
Market cap
$330.59B
P/E
30.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Howmet Aerospace leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Howmet Aerospace 6, Caterpillar 5, Generac Holdings 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGNRCHWMCATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.75B $77.86B $330.59B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 45.5x 41.6x 30.5x CAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.8x 37.0x 27.7x GNRC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.6% +18.1% +18.4% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.8% 20.5% 14.5% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.9% 19.4% 15.9% HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 1.4x 2.5x HWM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% CAT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.8% -4.9% +35.4% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -17.4%/yr +45.3%/yr +28.5%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 57.1% 35.1% 40.5% HWM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 73/100 51/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

GNRCHWMCAT

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

AxisGNRCHWMCAT
Valuation 73 #17 of 61 40 #60 of 100 21 #160 of 203
Growth 42 #34 of 58 91 #10 of 97 67 #63 of 188
Profitability 87 #8 of 55 98 #3 of 96 92 #15 of 183
Financial Health 46 #39 of 71 49 #54 of 105 17 #180 of 217
Shareholder Returns 72 #9 of 30 88 #9 of 65 56 #68 of 153
Overall 64 73 51
  • GNRC ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGNRCHWMCATSPY
1 month -6.9%-17.4%-13.1% -0.2%
3 months -0.8%-32.9%-15.2% +3.9%
6 months -10.8%-20.2%-12.7% +8.2%
Year to date +42.1%-6.4%+24.6% +12.9%
1 year +1.8%-4.9%+35.4% +12.3%
3 years +135.7%+345.5%+199.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +33.1%+64.6%+44.1% +23.3%
5 years -61.5%+546.3%+249.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year -17.4%+45.3%+28.5% +10.9%
10 years +405.9%—+759.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +17.6%—+24.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGNRCHWMCATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.1%35.1%40.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.7%36.4%39.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.181.101.85 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.03-0.140.87 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -83.7%-36.5%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -34.4%-34.4%-33.0% -1.2%
52-week high $295.54$292.71$1,064.90 $779.14
52-week low $136.37$185.88$524.47 $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.

MultipleGNRCHWMCAT
P/E now vs peer median 44.1xmedian 27.2x 41.1xmedian 26.5x 30.3xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 2.4x 8.4xmedian 3.0x 4.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.7xmedian 18.4x 28.9xmedian 14.6x 23.7xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.1xmedian 28.6x 42.9xmedian 26.4x 36.5xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 1.7x 13.4xmedian 2.5x 16.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.39median 0.79 0.76median 0.90 2.32median 1.32

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 monthsGNRCHWMCAT
Revenue $4.44B $9.12B $74.73B
Gross profit $1.76B $3.29B $25.66B
Operating income $421.49M $2.50B $13.09B
Net income $258.77M $1.87B $10.84B
Free cash flow $379.25M $1.79B $8.99B
R&D $249.51M $37.00M $2.27B
EPS (diluted) $4.33 $4.65 $23.45
Cash & equivalents $264.92M $563.00M $6.71B
Total debt $1.33B $4.50B $45.15B
Shares (diluted) 59.64M 402.00M 462.50M
Enterprise value $10.58B $73.46B $302.29B

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
MetricGNRCHWMCAT
P/E 44.1x 41.1x 30.3x
P/FCF 30.1x 42.9x 36.5x
P/Operating cash flow 20.9x 34.6x 24.2x
P/S 2.6x 8.4x 4.4x
P/B 4.0x 13.4x 16.9x
P/Tangible book 4.3x 15.8x 17.3x
EV/EBITDA 18.7x 28.9x 23.7x
EV/EBIT 29.6x 32.4x 28.0x
EV/Revenue 2.8x 8.9x 4.9x
EV/FCF 33.0x 45.1x 40.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.8x 36.3x 27.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.39 0.76 2.32

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGNRCHWMCAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.6% 18.1% 18.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 13.7% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.4% 30.2% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 25.3% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -25.0% 32.6% 13.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 34.8% 7.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -26.1% 33.9% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 52.1% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -26.7% 35.4% 17.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 54.1% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -19.6% 56.1% 19.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 71.1% 42.2% 10.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -25.9% 75.9% 16.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 188.3% 45.6% 7.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGNRCHWMCAT
Gross margin 39.5% 36.0% 34.3%
EBITDA margin 15.1% 30.7% 20.7%
Operating margin 9.5% 27.4% 17.5%
Pretax margin 7.6% 25.0% 18.6%
Net margin 5.8% 20.5% 14.5%
FCF margin 8.5% 19.6% 12.0%
Operating cash flow margin 12.3% 24.4% 18.2%
Return on equity 9.3% 33.3% 57.0%
Return on assets 4.6% 14.2% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 7.9% 19.4% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 9.4% 23.0% 22.1%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.7x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 1.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGNRCHWMCAT
Debt / assets 23.0% 34.0% 44.0%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.8x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 1.4x 2.5x
Debt / FCF 3.5x 2.5x 5.0x
Liabilities / assets 50.1% 56.7% 81.1%
Equity / assets 49.9% 43.3% 18.9%
Interest coverage 6.2x – 6.8x
Current ratio 2.0x 1.8x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.42 8.15 4.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGNRCHWMCAT
Dividend yield – 0.3% 0.9%
Net buyback yield -0.1% 1.3% 2.2%
Shareholder yield -0.1% 1.6% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 10.4% 25.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.9% 31.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 30.0% 4.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 47.3% 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.

ConsensusGNRCHWMCAT
Forward P/E 20.8xFY2026 37.0xFY2026 27.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.31FY2026 $5.19FY2026 $25.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +46.8%FY2026 +37.7%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +42.0% +31.2% +31.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.60BFY2026 $10.37BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.1%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +48.6% +15.9% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGNRCHWMCAT
Held by institutions 89.4% 91.0% 72.3%
Institutions holding 998 1,600 4,057
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.0% +0.7% +0.5%
Institutions buying 531 907 1,888
Institutions selling 321 484 1,595
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.87 1.18

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.

GNRCHWMCAT
GNRC 1.00 0.28 0.65
HWM 0.28 1.00 0.43
CAT 0.65 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GNRC, HWM and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Generac Holdings (GNRC) $11.75B, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $77.86B, Caterpillar (CAT) $330.59B.

Which stock is cheaper, GNRC, HWM and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 45.5x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 41.6x, Caterpillar (CAT) 30.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Generac Holdings (GNRC) is cheapest (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 20.8x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.0x, Caterpillar (CAT) 27.7x). 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: Generac Holdings (GNRC) +0.6%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +18.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 5.8%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 20.5%, Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 7.9%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 19.4%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Generac Holdings (GNRC) +1.8%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -4.9%, Caterpillar (CAT) +35.4%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Generac Holdings (GNRC) -17.4%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +45.3%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +28.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest dividend yield: Generac Holdings (GNRC) 0.00%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%. Generac Holdings (GNRC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has been the steadiest (Generac Holdings (GNRC) 57.1%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 35.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.