POWL vs VRT vs AEIS Stock Comparison

Powell Industries, Vertiv Holdings and Advanced Energy Industries Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (TEL) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
POWL Powell Industries Inc
$168.01 -10.3% 1M +31.2% 1Y
Market cap
$6.12B
P/E
32.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.16B
Div. yield
0.18%
Electrical Equipment Industrials
7 wins
VRT Vertiv Holdings Co
$243.10 -0.4% 1M +27.6% 1Y
Market cap
$93.60B
P/E
44.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.12B
Div. yield
0.10%
Electrical Equipment Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Powell Industries leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Powell Industries 7, Vertiv Holdings 3, Advanced Energy Industries 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPOWLVRTAEISLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.12B $93.60B $9.69B VRT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.1x 44.6x 43.0x POWL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.5x 35.2x 22.6x AEIS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +35.3% +24.6% VRT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.5% 16.0% 10.8% POWL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 26.3% 10.3% VRT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.3x -0.4x AEIS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.18% 0.10% 0.17% POWL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.2% +27.6% +18.4% POWL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +81.2%/yr +56.8%/yr +21.4%/yr POWL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 64.3% 67.7% 65.2% POWL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 60/100 45/100 POWL

Percentile Scorecard

POWLVRTAEIS

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

AxisPOWLVRTAEIS
Valuation 41 #120 of 203 26 #151 of 203 12 #178 of 203
Growth 91 #18 of 188 99 #3 of 188 77 #45 of 188
Profitability 98 #5 of 184 99 #3 of 184 54 #85 of 184
Financial Health 76 #54 of 217 60 #88 of 217 61 #85 of 217
Shareholder Returns 45 #85 of 153 16 #128 of 153 20 #122 of 153
Overall 70 60 45
  • POWL ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • VRT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • AEIS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPOWLVRTAEISSPY
1 month -10.3%-0.4%-12.8% +0.9%
3 months -9.9%+9.0%-4.0% +5.9%
6 months -33.7%-20.6%-32.9% +8.5%
Year to date +58.1%+50.1%+15.7% +13.3%
1 year +31.2%+27.6%+18.4% +12.4%
3 years +580.0%+567.5%+175.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +89.5%+88.4%+40.3% +23.5%
5 years +1,849.1%+846.7%+163.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year +81.2%+56.8%+21.4% +11.0%
10 years +1,330.2%—+411.8% +263.4%
10 years, per year +30.5%—+17.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasurePOWLVRTAEISSPY
Volatility, 1Y 64.3%67.7%65.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 67.8%67.3%67.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.512.932.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.480.410.28 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.9%-70.2%-44.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -47.8%-35.4%-37.7% -0.9%
52-week high $322.05$376.23$389.05 $779.14
52-week low $94.02$149.83$188.88 $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.

MultiplePOWLVRTAEIS
P/E now vs peer median 32.1xmedian 25.4x 44.6xmedian 25.4x 43.0xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 1.9x 7.1xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.2xmedian 14.3x 30.3xmedian 14.3x 28.5xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.1xmedian 21.8x 29.7xmedian 21.8x 110.8xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 2.2x 17.0xmedian 2.2x 6.7xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.44median 1.41 0.44median 1.41 11.70median 1.41

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 monthsPOWLVRTAEIS
Revenue $1.16B $13.12B $2.04B
Gross profit $348.18M $5.00B $800.50M
Operating income $227.67M $2.64B $269.20M
Net income $190.86M $2.10B $219.40M
Free cash flow $243.96M $3.15B $87.50M
R&D $14.98M – $246.60M
EPS (diluted) $5.21 $5.34 $5.19
Cash & equivalents $633.56M $3.51B $1.40B
Total debt – $2.93B $3.30B
Shares (diluted) 36.60M 392.68M 42.30M
Enterprise value $3.97B $82.45B $6.05B

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
MetricPOWLVRTAEIS
P/E 32.1x 44.6x 43.0x
P/FCF 25.1x 29.7x 110.8x
P/Operating cash flow 23.9x 25.5x 40.6x
P/S 5.3x 7.1x 4.8x
P/B 8.1x 17.0x 6.7x
P/Tangible book 8.2x 24.9x 7.2x
EV/EBITDA 23.2x 30.3x 28.5x
EV/EBIT 24.1x 35.1x 35.5x
EV/Revenue 4.7x 7.1x 4.7x
EV/FCF 22.5x 29.5x 109.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.4x 25.3x 40.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.44 0.44 11.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPOWLVRTAEIS
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 35.3% 24.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 25.4% 3.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.9% 44.3% 32.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 39.2% 30.9% 6.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.0% 54.8% 216.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 74.2% 52.2% 9.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.8% 102.9% 161.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 73.1% 102.1% 7.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.6% 102.0% 133.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 72.8% 101.3% 3.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 153.9% 138.9% 23.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.5% 71.6% 7.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 201.1% 133.7% -30.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.0% 73.1% -11.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPOWLVRTAEIS
Gross margin 30.1% 38.1% 39.3%
EBITDA margin 20.4% 23.4% 16.5%
Operating margin 19.7% 20.1% 13.2%
Pretax margin 21.2% 19.9% 12.1%
Net margin 16.5% 16.0% 10.8%
FCF margin 21.1% 24.0% 4.3%
Operating cash flow margin 22.1% 27.9% 11.7%
Return on equity 26.1% 40.9% 15.4%
Return on assets 14.8% 12.3% 7.3%
Return on invested capital – 26.3% 10.3%
Return on capital employed 34.0% 31.7% 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.7x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.4% 3.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPOWLVRTAEIS
Debt / assets – 16.1% 36.9%
Debt / equity – 0.5x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.3x -0.4x
Debt / FCF – 0.9x 14.4x
Liabilities / assets 46.2% 69.7% 57.5%
Equity / assets 53.8% 30.3% 42.5%
Interest coverage – 73.2x 17.1x
Current ratio 2.0x 1.4x 3.8x
Quick ratio 1.8x 0.9x 2.8x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.4x 2.2x
Altman Z-score 8.28 6.06 4.93

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPOWLVRTAEIS
Dividend yield 0.2% 0.1% 0.2%
Net buyback yield – -0.1% 0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.2% 0.0% 0.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 6.8% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 5.3% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.6% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusPOWLVRTAEIS
Forward P/E 32.5xFY2026 35.2xFY2026 22.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.17FY2026 $6.91FY2026 $10.74FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.4%FY2026 +64.5%FY2026 +67.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +26.9% +40.2% +37.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.24BFY2026 $14.66BFY2026 $2.55BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.4%FY2026 +43.3%FY2026 +41.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +26.2% +20.2% +25.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPOWLVRTAEIS
Held by institutions 75.0% 81.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 581 2,038 678
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.3% +0.0% -2.0%
Institutions buying 318 1,170 388
Institutions selling 215 691 218
Buyers to sellers 1.48 1.69 1.78

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.

POWLVRTAEIS
POWL 1.00 0.62 0.61
VRT 0.62 1.00 0.70
AEIS 0.61 0.70 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, POWL, VRT and AEIS?

Vertiv Holdings (VRT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Powell Industries (POWL) $6.12B, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) $93.60B, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) $9.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, POWL, VRT and AEIS?

Powell Industries (POWL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Powell Industries (POWL) 32.1x, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 44.6x, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) 43.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) is cheapest (Powell Industries (POWL) 32.5x, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 35.2x, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) 22.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Vertiv Holdings (VRT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Powell Industries (POWL) +7.0%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) +35.3%, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) +24.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Powell Industries (POWL) has the highest net margin (Powell Industries (POWL) 16.5%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 16.0%, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) 10.8%). On return on invested capital, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) leads (Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 26.3%, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) 10.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Powell Industries (POWL) returned the most: Powell Industries (POWL) +31.2%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) +27.6%, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) +18.4%. Over five years, Powell Industries (POWL) compounded fastest (Powell Industries (POWL) +81.2%/yr, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) +56.8%/yr, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) +21.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Powell Industries (POWL) has the highest dividend yield: Powell Industries (POWL) 0.18%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 0.10%, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) 0.17%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Powell Industries (POWL) has been the steadiest (Powell Industries (POWL) 64.3%, Vertiv Holdings (VRT) 67.7%, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) 65.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, POWL, VRT and AEIS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Powell Industries (POWL) leads on 7. 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.