POWL vs VICR vs WAB Stock Comparison

Powell Industries, Vicor and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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POWL Powell Industries Inc
$143.10 -27.7% 1M +12.9% 1Y
Market cap
$5.21B
P/E
27.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.16B
Div. yield
0.21%
Electrical Equipment Industrials
3 wins
VICR Vicor Corp
$159.07 -48.0% 1M +80.0% 1Y
Market cap
$7.34B
P/E
40.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$560.70M
Div. yield
–
Electrical Equipment Industrials
3 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 3, Vicor 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPOWLVICRWABLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.21B $7.34B $49.53B WAB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.3x 40.7x 36.2x POWL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.7x 41.5x 25.3x WAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +27.0% +13.2% VICR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.5% 32.2% 11.2% VICR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 8.8% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 2.2x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.21% 0.00% 0.40% WAB
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.9% +80.0% +44.2% VICR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +72.9%/yr +0.5%/yr +25.6%/yr POWL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 65.6% 96.7% 26.4% WAB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 61/100 61/100 POWL

Percentile Scorecard

POWLVICRWAB

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

AxisPOWLVICRWAB
Valuation 50 #103 of 204 11 #182 of 204 33 #138 of 204
Growth 92 #17 of 191 92 #16 of 191 88 #24 of 191
Profitability 97 #6 of 189 88 #24 of 189 70 #57 of 189
Financial Health 76 #54 of 221 100 #2 of 221 33 #149 of 221
Shareholder Returns 47 #85 of 159 13 #139 of 159 82 #29 of 159
Overall 72 61 61
  • POWL ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • VICR ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • WAB ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPOWLVICRWABSPY
1 month -27.7%-48.0%+1.0% -1.0%
3 months -31.3%-27.4%-0.5% -0.4%
6 months -55.3%-43.3%+9.0% +4.5%
Year to date +34.7%+45.1%+38.1% +12.4%
1 year +12.9%+80.0%+44.2% +13.6%
3 years +436.0%+306.1%+164.9% +76.4%
3 years, per year +75.1%+59.6%+38.4% +20.8%
5 years +1,442.0%+2.6%+212.9% +63.7%
5 years, per year +72.9%+0.5%+25.6% +10.4%
10 years +1,101.2%+1,172.6%+286.4% +267.7%
10 years, per year +28.2%+29.0%+14.5% +13.9%

Risk

MeasurePOWLVICRWABSPY
Volatility, 1Y 65.6%96.7%26.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 70.2%103.6%24.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.343.661.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.200.831.67 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.9%-80.5%-23.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -55.6%-58.1%-3.6% -1.6%
52-week high $322.05$379.78$305.87 $779.14
52-week low $94.02$83.28$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.

MultiplePOWLVICRWAB
P/E now vs peer median 27.3xmedian 25.5x 40.7xmedian 25.5x 36.2xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 1.9x 13.1xmedian 1.9x 4.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 14.4x 42.4xmedian 14.4x 20.8xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.4xmedian 23.3x 144.4xmedian 23.3x 27.8xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 2.2x 8.1xmedian 2.2x 4.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.38median 1.16 0.85median 1.16 1.50median 1.16

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 monthsPOWLVICRWAB
Revenue $1.16B $560.70M $12.21B
Gross profit $348.18M $339.59M $4.35B
Operating income $227.67M $139.60M $2.10B
Net income $190.86M $180.33M $1.37B
Free cash flow $243.96M $50.83M $1.78B
R&D $14.98M $87.44M $261.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.21 $3.79 $8.10
Cash & equivalents $633.56M $513.14M $489.00M
Total debt – – $6.38B
Shares (diluted) 36.60M 47.61M 168.80M
Enterprise value $3.06B $5.56B $47.08B

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
MetricPOWLVICRWAB
P/E 27.3x 40.7x 36.2x
P/FCF 21.4x 144.4x 27.8x
P/Operating cash flow 20.4x 76.4x 23.7x
P/S 4.5x 13.1x 4.1x
P/B 6.9x 8.1x 4.4x
P/Tangible book 6.9x 8.1x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 19.4x 42.4x 20.8x
EV/EBIT 20.1x 48.9x 26.4x
EV/Revenue 4.0x 12.2x 4.5x
EV/FCF 18.8x 134.3x 31.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.9x 71.0x 26.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.38 0.85 1.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPOWLVICRWAB
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 27.0% 13.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 10.3% 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.9% 35.6% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 39.2% 18.0% 15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.0% 85.3% 18.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 74.2% 38.9% 20.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.8% 119.1% 15.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 73.1% 50.4% 21.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.6% 106.8% 17.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 72.8% 47.8% 24.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 153.9% -28.3% 40.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.5% 21.2% 31.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 201.1% -56.7% 40.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.0% 50.4% 33.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPOWLVICRWAB
Gross margin 30.1% 60.6% 35.6%
EBITDA margin 20.4% 28.7% 21.8%
Operating margin 19.7% 24.9% 17.2%
Pretax margin 21.2% 28.1% 15.0%
Net margin 16.5% 32.2% 11.2%
FCF margin 21.1% 9.1% 14.6%
Operating cash flow margin 22.1% 17.1% 17.1%
Return on equity 26.1% 20.7% 12.2%
Return on assets 14.8% 19.2% 5.9%
Return on invested capital – – 8.8%
Return on capital employed 34.0% 16.0% 11.9%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 0.5x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 3.2% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPOWLVICRWAB
Debt / assets – – 27.6%
Debt / equity – – 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 2.2x
Debt / FCF – – 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 46.2% 7.6% 50.9%
Equity / assets 53.8% 92.4% 49.1%
Interest coverage – – 7.0x
Current ratio 2.0x 11.4x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.8x 9.6x 0.5x
Cash ratio 1.0x 7.7x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 7.44 61.35 3.67

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPOWLVICRWAB
Dividend yield 0.2% – 0.4%
Net buyback yield – -1.1% 1.7%
Shareholder yield 0.2% -1.1% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 6.8% – 14.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 5.3% – 11.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.6% – 22.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.8% – 18.8%

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.

ConsensusPOWLVICRWAB
Forward P/E 27.7xFY2026 41.5xFY2026 25.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.17FY2026 $3.83FY2026 $11.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.4%FY2026 +46.7%FY2026 +29.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +26.9% +72.6% +5.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.24BFY2026 $609.82MFY2026 $12.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.4%FY2026 +34.7%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +26.2% +63.0% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPOWLVICRWAB
Held by institutions 75.0% 47.8% 92.7%
Institutions holding 583 514 1,197
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.3% +4.1% +0.2%
Institutions buying 320 351 554
Institutions selling 215 131 410
Buyers to sellers 1.49 2.68 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.

POWLVICRWAB
POWL 1.00 0.58 0.49
VICR 0.58 1.00 0.38
WAB 0.49 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, POWL, VICR and WAB?

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) is the largest by market capitalisation: Powell Industries (POWL) $5.21B, Vicor (VICR) $7.34B, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) $49.53B.

Which stock is cheaper, POWL, VICR and WAB?

Powell Industries (POWL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Powell Industries (POWL) 27.3x, Vicor (VICR) 40.7x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 36.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) is cheapest (Powell Industries (POWL) 27.7x, Vicor (VICR) 41.5x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 25.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Vicor (VICR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Powell Industries (POWL) +7.0%, Vicor (VICR) +27.0%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +13.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vicor (VICR) has the highest net margin (Powell Industries (POWL) 16.5%, Vicor (VICR) 32.2%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 11.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Vicor (VICR) returned the most: Powell Industries (POWL) +12.9%, Vicor (VICR) +80.0%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +44.2%. Over five years, Powell Industries (POWL) compounded fastest (Powell Industries (POWL) +72.9%/yr, Vicor (VICR) +0.5%/yr, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +25.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) has the highest dividend yield: Powell Industries (POWL) 0.21%, Vicor (VICR) 0.00%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 0.40%. Vicor (VICR) 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) 65.6%, Vicor (VICR) 96.7%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 26.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, POWL, VICR 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.