POWL vs TRN vs WAB Stock Comparison

Powell Industries, Trinity Industries and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
POWL Powell Industries Inc
$161.36 -14.9% 1M +29.4% 1Y
Market cap
$6.09B
P/E
31.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.16B
Div. yield
0.00%
Electrical Equipment Industrials
2 wins
TRN Trinity Industries Inc
$25.49 -8.6% 1M -9.6% 1Y
Market cap
$2.03B
P/E
6.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.04B
Div. yield
0.05%
Rail 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, Trinity Industries 4, Powell Industries 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPOWLTRNWABLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.09B $2.03B $48.16B WAB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.9x 6.0x 35.2x TRN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 31.2x 12.3x 24.0x TRN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% -18.9% +13.2% WAB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.5% 16.6% — TRN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.8% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 4.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.05% 0.00% TRN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +29.4% -9.6% +39.3% WAB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +79.6%/yr -2.1%/yr +25.2%/yr POWL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 64.2% 35.3% 26.2% WAB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 60/100 45/100 POWL

Percentile Scorecard

POWLTRNWAB

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

AxisPOWLTRNWAB
Valuation 42 #118 of 203 79 #43 of 203 34 #135 of 203
Growth 91 #18 of 188 71 #56 of 188 89 #22 of 188
Profitability 98 #4 of 183 64 #66 of 183 56 #82 of 183
Financial Health 75 #56 of 217 4 #209 of 217 27 #158 of 217
Shareholder Returns 45 #84 of 153 84 #26 of 153 20 #123 of 153
Overall 70 60 45
  • POWL ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • TRN 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

PeriodPOWLTRNWABSPY
1 month -14.9%-8.6%-3.1% -0.2%
3 months -19.7%-33.1%-8.8% +3.9%
6 months -36.9%-18.8%+6.0% +8.2%
Year to date +51.9%-3.6%+30.7% +12.9%
1 year +29.4%-9.6%+39.3% +12.3%
3 years +553.1%+25.6%+168.3% +87.4%
3 years, per year +87.0%+7.9%+39.0% +23.3%
5 years +1,763.3%-10.0%+207.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year +79.6%-2.1%+25.2% +10.9%
10 years +1,257.9%+61.7%+262.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year +29.8%+4.9%+13.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePOWLTRNWABSPY
Volatility, 1Y 64.2%35.3%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 67.8%35.6%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.500.540.99 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.46-0.271.50 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.9%-43.0%-23.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -49.9%-33.1%-8.8% -1.2%
52-week high $322.05$38.09$305.87 $779.14
52-week low $94.02$24.82$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.

MultiplePOWLTRNWAB
P/E now vs peer median 30.8xmedian 25.2x 6.0xmedian 25.2x 34.5xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 1.9x 1.0xmedian 1.9x 3.9xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.2xmedian 14.0x 6.7xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.1xmedian 21.7x -5.9xmedian 21.7x 28.7xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 2.3x 1.8xmedian 2.3x 4.2xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.42median 1.32 0.09median 1.32 1.44median 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 monthsPOWLTRNWAB
Revenue $1.16B $2.04B $12.21B
Gross profit $348.18M $535.90M $4.35B
Operating income $227.67M $754.90M $2.10B
Net income $190.86M $353.30M –
Free cash flow $243.96M -$342.20M –
R&D $14.98M – $261.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.21 $4.16 $8.07
Cash & equivalents $633.56M $155.70M $489.00M
Total debt – $5.23B –
Shares (diluted) 36.60M 81.60M 169.60M
Enterprise value $3.94B $1.47B $48.16B

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
MetricPOWLTRNWAB
P/E 30.8x 6.0x 34.5x
P/FCF 24.1x -5.9x 28.7x
P/Operating cash flow 23.0x 5.1x 22.6x
P/S 5.1x 1.0x 3.9x
P/B 7.8x 1.8x 4.2x
P/Tangible book 7.8x 1.8x 6.4x
EV/EBITDA 22.2x 6.7x –
EV/EBIT 23.0x 9.4x –
EV/Revenue 4.5x 3.5x 3.9x
EV/FCF 21.5x -20.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 20.5x 17.9x 22.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.42 0.09 1.44

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPOWLTRNWAB
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% -18.9% 13.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 21.0% -5.9% 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.9% -10.7% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 39.2% 7.9% 15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.0% 75.7% 18.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 74.2% 26.3% 20.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.8% 193.4% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 73.1% 53.6% –
EPS growth (1Y) 8.6% 257.3% 17.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 72.8% 64.1% 24.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 153.9% -7.6% 40.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.5% 25.6% 31.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 201.1% -48.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.0% 23.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPOWLTRNWAB
Gross margin 30.1% 26.2% –
EBITDA margin 20.4% 52.1% –
Operating margin 19.7% 37.0% –
Pretax margin 21.2% 23.6% –
Net margin 16.5% 16.6% –
FCF margin 21.1% -16.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 22.1% 19.5% 17.1%
Return on equity 26.1% 30.8% 12.2%
Return on assets 14.8% 4.3% 5.9%
Return on invested capital – 8.8% –
Return on capital employed 34.0% – –
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.1x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 1.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPOWLTRNWAB
Debt / assets – 63.5% –
Debt / equity – 4.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 4.8x –
Debt / FCF – -15.3x –
Liabilities / assets 46.2% 86.1% 50.9%
Equity / assets 53.8% 13.9% 49.1%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.0x – 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.8x – –
Cash ratio 1.0x – –
Altman Z-score 8.05 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPOWLTRNWAB
Dividend yield 0.2% 4.9% 0.4%
Net buyback yield – 2.6% –
Shareholder yield 0.2% 7.5% 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 6.8% 28.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 5.3% -28.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.6% 2.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 6.9% –

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.

ConsensusPOWLTRNWAB
Forward P/E 31.2xFY2026 12.3xFY2026 24.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.17FY2026 $2.08FY2026 $11.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.4%FY2026 -33.8%FY2026 +29.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +26.9% -1.9% +5.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.24BFY2026 $2.34BFY2026 $12.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.4%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +26.2% +4.3% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPOWLTRNWAB
Held by institutions 75.0% 95.3% 92.6%
Institutions holding 581 343 1,195
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.3% +6.3% +0.2%
Institutions buying 318 171 553
Institutions selling 215 95 409
Buyers to sellers 1.48 1.80 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.

POWLTRNWAB
POWL 1.00 0.18 0.50
TRN 0.18 1.00 0.35
WAB 0.50 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, POWL, TRN and WAB?

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) is the largest by market capitalisation: Powell Industries (POWL) $6.09B, Trinity Industries (TRN) $2.03B, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) $48.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, POWL, TRN and WAB?

Trinity Industries (TRN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Powell Industries (POWL) 31.9x, Trinity Industries (TRN) 6.0x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 35.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Trinity Industries (TRN) is cheapest (Powell Industries (POWL) 31.2x, Trinity Industries (TRN) 12.3x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 24.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Powell Industries (POWL) +7.0%, Trinity Industries (TRN) -18.9%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +13.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Trinity Industries (TRN) has the highest net margin (Powell Industries (POWL) 16.5%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 16.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) returned the most: Powell Industries (POWL) +29.4%, Trinity Industries (TRN) -9.6%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +39.3%. Over five years, Powell Industries (POWL) compounded fastest (Powell Industries (POWL) +79.6%/yr, Trinity Industries (TRN) -2.1%/yr, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +25.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Trinity Industries (TRN) has the highest dividend yield: Powell Industries (POWL) 0.00%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 0.05%, 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 (Powell Industries (POWL) 64.2%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 35.3%, 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, POWL, TRN 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.