NVT vs POWL vs WAB Stock Comparison

nVent Electric, Powell Industries and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NVT nVent Electric plc
$138.11 -14.6% 1M +29.9% 1Y
Market cap
$20.23B
P/E
33.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.83B
Div. yield
0.01%
Electrical Equipment Industrials
2 wins
POWL Powell Industries Inc
$168.48 -10.6% 1M +23.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.67B
P/E
29.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.16B
Div. yield
0.00%
Electrical Equipment Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies 4, Powell Industries 4, nVent Electric 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNVTPOWLWABLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $20.23B $5.67B $47.18B WAB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.8x 29.7x 34.5x POWL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.7x 32.6x 24.5x WAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +46.2% +7.0% +13.2% NVT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.4% 16.5% — POWL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.9% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% NVT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +29.9% +23.8% +41.6% WAB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +31.3%/yr +81.3%/yr +25.8%/yr POWL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.3% 64.0% 26.2% WAB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 70/100 46/100 POWL

Percentile Scorecard

NVTPOWLWAB

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

AxisNVTPOWLWAB
Valuation 26 #151 of 203 41 #120 of 203 34 #134 of 203
Growth 90 #20 of 188 90 #19 of 188 88 #23 of 188
Profitability 75 #47 of 183 98 #5 of 183 57 #79 of 183
Financial Health 61 #85 of 216 74 #56 of 216 28 #155 of 216
Shareholder Returns 39 #93 of 152 46 #83 of 152 20 #122 of 152
Overall 58 70 46
  • NVT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • POWL ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNVTPOWLWABSPY
1 month -14.6%-10.6%-2.0% +0.7%
3 months -4.7%-19.5%-2.4% +3.7%
6 months -3.4%-39.2%+5.8% +7.1%
Year to date +35.4%+58.6%+33.7% +12.8%
1 year +29.9%+23.8%+41.6% +11.9%
3 years +189.4%+570.1%+170.5% +85.2%
3 years, per year +42.5%+88.6%+39.4% +22.8%
5 years +289.6%+1,854.5%+214.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year +31.3%+81.3%+25.8% +10.9%
10 years —+1,334.2%+271.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+30.5%+14.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNVTPOWLWABSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.3%64.0%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 56.6%67.8%24.2% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.252.500.99 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.600.371.59 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.1%-55.9%-23.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.1%-47.7%-6.7% -1.2%
52-week high $184.34$322.05$305.87 $779.14
52-week low $94.99$94.02$196.14 $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.

MultipleNVTPOWLWAB
P/E now vs peer median 37.3xmedian 25.8x 32.2xmedian 25.8x 35.3xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 1.9x 5.3xmedian 1.9x 4.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 14.6x 23.3xmedian 14.6x —median 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 22.2x 25.2xmedian 22.2x 28.7xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 2.2x 8.1xmedian 2.2x 4.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.84median 1.45 0.44median 1.45 1.47median 1.45

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 monthsNVTPOWLWAB
Revenue $4.83B $1.16B $12.21B
Gross profit $1.79B $348.18M $4.35B
Operating income $826.50M $227.67M $2.10B
Net income $598.30M $190.86M –
Free cash flow $659.90M $243.96M –
R&D $89.10M $14.98M $261.00M
EPS (diluted) $3.65 $5.21 $8.07
Cash & equivalents $256.00M $633.56M $489.00M
Total debt $1.49B – –
Shares (diluted) 164.10M 36.60M 169.60M
Enterprise value $19.42B $3.51B $47.18B

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
MetricNVTPOWLWAB
P/E 37.3x 32.2x 35.3x
P/FCF 33.9x 25.2x 28.7x
P/Operating cash flow 28.9x 24.0x 23.1x
P/S 4.6x 5.3x 4.0x
P/B 5.6x 8.1x 4.2x
P/Tangible book 10.2x 8.2x 6.6x
EV/EBITDA 22.3x 23.3x –
EV/EBIT 28.5x 24.2x –
EV/Revenue 4.9x 4.8x 4.0x
EV/FCF 35.7x 22.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 30.5x 21.5x 23.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.84 0.44 1.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNVTPOWLWAB
Revenue growth (1Y) 46.2% 7.0% 13.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 26.0% 21.0% 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 37.9% 11.9% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 23.8% 39.2% 15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 53.9% 8.0% 18.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.0% 74.2% 20.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 2.1% 8.8% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 73.1% –
EPS growth (1Y) 1.8% 8.6% 17.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 20.3% 72.8% 24.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 33.9% 153.9% 40.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.4% 25.5% 31.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 32.8% 201.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 25.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNVTPOWLWAB
Gross margin 37.0% 30.1% –
EBITDA margin 21.9% 20.4% –
Operating margin 17.1% 19.7% –
Pretax margin 15.7% 21.2% –
Net margin 12.4% 16.5% –
FCF margin 13.7% 21.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 16.0% 22.1% 17.1%
Return on equity 15.4% 26.1% 12.2%
Return on assets 8.5% 14.8% 5.9%
Return on invested capital 11.9% – –
Return on capital employed 13.9% 34.0% –
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.9x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNVTPOWLWAB
Debt / assets 20.9% – –
Debt / equity 0.4x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x – –
Debt / FCF 2.3x – –
Liabilities / assets 44.2% 46.2% 50.9%
Equity / assets 55.8% 53.8% 49.1%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.8x 2.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.8x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.0x –
Altman Z-score 5.84 8.29 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNVTPOWLWAB
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.2% 0.4%
Net buyback yield 0.2% – –
Shareholder yield 0.8% 0.2% 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 22.2% 6.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 20.1% 5.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.1% 1.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 1.8% –

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.

ConsensusNVTPOWLWAB
Forward P/E 27.7xFY2026 32.6xFY2026 24.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.99FY2026 $5.17FY2026 $11.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +49.0%FY2026 +4.4%FY2026 +29.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.3% +26.9% +5.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.73BFY2026 $1.24BFY2026 $12.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +47.2%FY2026 +12.4%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.6% +26.2% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNVTPOWLWAB
Held by institutions 90.7% 75.0% 92.7%
Institutions holding 971 582 1,196
Change in shares held, QoQ 0.0% -4.3% +0.2%
Institutions buying 555 319 554
Institutions selling 289 215 409
Buyers to sellers 1.92 1.48 1.35

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.

NVTPOWLWAB
NVT 1.00 0.65 0.46
POWL 0.65 1.00 0.51
WAB 0.46 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NVT, POWL and WAB?

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) is the largest by market capitalisation: nVent Electric (NVT) $20.23B, Powell Industries (POWL) $5.67B, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) $47.18B.

Which stock is cheaper, NVT, POWL and WAB?

Powell Industries (POWL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (nVent Electric (NVT) 33.8x, Powell Industries (POWL) 29.7x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 34.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) is cheapest (nVent Electric (NVT) 27.7x, Powell Industries (POWL) 32.6x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 24.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

nVent Electric (NVT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: nVent Electric (NVT) +46.2%, Powell Industries (POWL) +7.0%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +13.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Powell Industries (POWL) has the highest net margin (nVent Electric (NVT) 12.4%, Powell Industries (POWL) 16.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) returned the most: nVent Electric (NVT) +29.9%, Powell Industries (POWL) +23.8%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +41.6%. Over five years, Powell Industries (POWL) compounded fastest (nVent Electric (NVT) +31.3%/yr, Powell Industries (POWL) +81.3%/yr, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +25.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

nVent Electric (NVT) has the highest dividend yield: nVent Electric (NVT) 0.01%, Powell Industries (POWL) 0.00%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 0.00%. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) has been the steadiest (nVent Electric (NVT) 50.3%, Powell Industries (POWL) 64.0%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NVT, POWL and WAB?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) leads on 4. 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.