WAB vs POWL vs GATX Stock Comparison

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, Powell Industries and Gatx Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
POWL Powell Industries Inc
$168.48 -10.6% 1M +23.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.82B
P/E
30.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.16B
Div. yield
0.00%
Electrical Equipment Industrials
2 wins
GATX Gatx Corp
$180.77 +2.8% 1M +14.1% 1Y
Market cap
$6.43B
P/E
16.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.21B
Div. yield
–
Rail Equipment Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionWABPOWLGATXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $47.90B $5.82B $6.43B WAB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 35.0x 30.5x 16.3x GATX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.5x 32.6x 19.0x GATX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.2% +7.0% +29.7% GATX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 16.5% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +41.6% +23.8% +14.1% WAB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.8%/yr +81.3%/yr +13.8%/yr POWL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.2% 64.0% 24.5% GATX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 70/100 68/100 POWL

Percentile Scorecard

WABPOWLGATX

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

AxisWABPOWLGATX
Valuation 34 #134 of 203 41 #120 of 203 46 #110 of 203
Growth 88 #23 of 188 90 #19 of 188 91 #18 of 188
Profitability 57 #79 of 183 98 #5 of 183 –
Financial Health 28 #155 of 216 74 #56 of 216 –
Shareholder Returns 20 #122 of 152 46 #83 of 152 67 #51 of 152
Overall 46 70 68
  • WAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • POWL ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • GATX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodWABPOWLGATXSPY
1 month -2.0%-10.6%+2.8% +0.7%
3 months -2.4%-19.5%-0.3% +3.7%
6 months +5.8%-39.2%-7.7% +7.1%
Year to date +33.7%+58.6%+6.6% +12.8%
1 year +41.6%+23.8%+14.1% +11.9%
3 years +170.5%+570.1%+75.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year +39.4%+88.6%+20.7% +22.8%
5 years +214.6%+1,854.5%+90.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year +25.8%+81.3%+13.8% +10.9%
10 years +271.6%+1,334.2%+313.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year +14.0%+30.5%+15.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureWABPOWLGATXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.2%64.0%24.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.2%67.8%25.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.992.500.58 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.590.370.58 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.7%-55.9%-32.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.7%-47.7%-10.0% -1.2%
52-week high $305.87$322.05$200.76 $779.14
52-week low $196.14$94.02$152.11 $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.

MultipleWABPOWLGATX
P/E now vs peer median 35.3xmedian 25.8x 32.2xmedian 25.8x 16.4xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 1.9x 5.3xmedian 1.9x 2.9xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.6x 23.3xmedian 14.6x —median 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.7xmedian 22.2x 25.2xmedian 22.2x -1.3xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.2x 8.1xmedian 2.2x 2.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.47median 1.45 0.44median 1.45 0.93median 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 monthsWABPOWLGATX
Revenue $12.21B $1.16B $2.21B
Gross profit $4.35B $348.18M –
Operating income $2.10B $227.67M –
Net income – $190.86M –
Free cash flow – $243.96M –
R&D $261.00M $14.98M –
EPS (diluted) $8.07 $5.21 $10.98
Cash & equivalents $489.00M $633.56M -$390.00M
Shares (diluted) 169.60M 36.60M 35.80M
Enterprise value $47.90B $3.66B $6.43B

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
MetricWABPOWLGATX
P/E 35.3x 32.2x 16.4x
P/FCF 28.7x 25.2x -1.3x
P/Operating cash flow 23.1x 24.0x –
P/S 4.0x 5.3x 2.9x
P/B 4.2x 8.1x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 6.6x 8.2x 2.3x
EV/EBITDA – 23.3x –
EV/EBIT – 24.2x –
EV/Revenue 4.0x 4.8x 2.9x
EV/FCF – 22.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 23.1x 21.5x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.47 0.44 0.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWABPOWLGATX
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.2% 7.0% 29.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 21.0% 17.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.7% 11.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 39.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.5% 8.0% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 20.3% 74.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) – 8.8% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 73.1% –
EPS growth (1Y) 17.0% 8.6% 26.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.0% 72.8% 17.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 40.1% 153.9% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 31.2% 25.5% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 201.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 25.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWABPOWLGATX
Gross margin – 30.1% –
EBITDA margin – 20.4% –
Operating margin – 19.7% –
Pretax margin – 21.2% –
Net margin – 16.5% –
FCF margin – 21.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 17.1% 22.1% –
Return on equity 12.2% 26.1% –
Return on assets 5.9% 14.8% –
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – 34.0% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.9x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue – 0.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWABPOWLGATX
Debt / assets – – –
Debt / equity – – –
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 50.9% 46.2% 79.5%
Equity / assets 49.1% 53.8% 16.1%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.1x 2.0x –
Quick ratio – 1.8x –
Cash ratio – 1.0x –
Altman Z-score – 8.29 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWABPOWLGATX
Dividend yield 0.4% 0.2% 1.4%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.4% 0.2% 1.4%
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.

ConsensusWABPOWLGATX
Forward P/E 24.5xFY2026 32.6xFY2026 19.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.63FY2026 $5.17FY2026 $9.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +29.7%FY2026 +4.4%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.7% +26.9% +25.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.82BFY2026 $1.24BFY2026 $2.22BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +12.4%FY2026 +27.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.8% +26.2% +17.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWABPOWLGATX
Held by institutions 92.7% 75.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,196 582 413
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.2% -4.3% +2.6%
Institutions buying 554 319 180
Institutions selling 409 215 142
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.48 1.27

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.

WABPOWLGATX
WAB 1.00 0.51 0.49
POWL 0.51 1.00 0.31
GATX 0.49 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WAB, POWL and GATX?

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) is the largest by market capitalisation: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) $47.90B, Powell Industries (POWL) $5.82B, Gatx (GATX) $6.43B.

Which stock is cheaper, WAB, POWL and GATX?

Gatx (GATX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 35.0x, Powell Industries (POWL) 30.5x, Gatx (GATX) 16.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gatx (GATX) is cheapest (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 24.5x, Powell Industries (POWL) 32.6x, Gatx (GATX) 19.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Gatx (GATX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +13.2%, Powell Industries (POWL) +7.0%, Gatx (GATX) +29.7%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) returned the most: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +41.6%, Powell Industries (POWL) +23.8%, Gatx (GATX) +14.1%. Over five years, Powell Industries (POWL) compounded fastest (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +25.8%/yr, Powell Industries (POWL) +81.3%/yr, Gatx (GATX) +13.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 0.00%, Powell Industries (POWL) 0.00%, Gatx (GATX) 0.00%. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) and Gatx (GATX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gatx (GATX) has been the steadiest (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 26.2%, Powell Industries (POWL) 64.0%, Gatx (GATX) 24.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Gatx (GATX) 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.