BE vs. ITW: Bloom Energy vs. Illinois Tool Works Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Bloom Energy (BE) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but BE is classified in Electrical Equipment while ITW is classified in Machinery.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Bloom Energy (BE) carries a highly aggressive beta of 3.61, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, whereas Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is closer to market-like at 0.91 — a noticeable difference in market-sensitivity profile.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both companies show strong equity returns, but Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 101.65% is the standout with ROE above its industry range; Bloom Energy (BE) at 39.61% also sits in the top quartile.

For every dollar of sales, both Bloom Energy (BE) at 13.53% and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 19.39% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

Both Bloom Energy (BE) at 18.49% and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 28.05% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Bloom Energy (BE) at 37.33% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 0.92% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

Only one side can be read here: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) reports EPS growth of -10.42%, ranked against its industry; Bloom Energy (BE) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Bloom Energy (BE) at 3.74 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 1.29 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

Both balance sheets lean debt-heavy versus peers, but ITW is more stretched: Bloom Energy (BE) at 1.42 sits in the higher-leverage quartile and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 2.98 is above its industry benchmark range.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Bloom Energy (BE) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Illinois Tool Works (ITW) reports a yield of 2.29%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Bloom Energy (BE) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Illinois Tool Works (ITW) reports a payout of 58.43%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 25.06 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Bloom Energy (BE) at 104.99 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for BE’s trailing earnings.

Both look expensive on sales: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 4.80 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Bloom Energy (BE) at 13.37 prices even higher, above its industry range.

Measured against book value, both Bloom Energy (BE) at 26.49 and Illinois Tool Works (ITW) at 25.42 look expensive — each P/B ratio sits above its industry’s benchmark range.

Valuation Metrics