BWXT vs. FTV: BWX Technologies vs. Fortive Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but BWXT is classified in Aerospace & Defense while FTV is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Profile Item	BWXT	FTV
Name	BWX Technologies, Inc.	Fortive Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	10.95 billion USD	19.46 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	August 2, 2010	July 5, 2016
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BWXT

FTV

GSPC

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

Calendar-year total returns for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	BWXT	FTV
Total Return (1Y)	-33.33%	31.85%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	20.43%	11.44%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	20.57%	3.01%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BWXT

FTV

GSPC

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	BWXT	FTV
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	45.97%	27.76%
Beta (5Y)	0.73	1.01
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-51.64%	-32.10%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	2.44M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BWXT and FTV are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	BWXT	FTV
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.82	0.99
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-1.11	1.51

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 28.27% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Fortive (FTV) at 10.55% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for BWXT.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

28.27%

Max: 40.55%
BWXT: 28.27%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

10.55%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
FTV: 10.55%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Fortive (FTV) at 14.83% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 10.41%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

10.41%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
BWXT: 10.41%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

14.83%

Max: 27.47%
FTV: 14.83%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Fortive (FTV) at 21.30% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 11.55%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

11.55%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
BWXT: 11.55%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

21.30%

Max: 36.60%
FTV: 21.30%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	BWXT	FTV
ROE (TTM)	28.27%	10.55%
ROA (TTM)	5.49%	4.61%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.41%	14.83%
Operating Margin (TTM)	11.55%	21.30%
Gross Margin (TTM)	22.61%	63.47%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 18.30% and Fortive (FTV) at 1.92% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 16.61% and Fortive (FTV) at -26.69% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	BWXT	FTV
Revenue Growth (YoY)	18.30%	1.92%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	12.73%	-10.62%
EPS Growth (YoY)	16.61%	-26.69%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	11.25%	-6.26%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 1.88 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Fortive (FTV) at 1.23 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for FTV.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

1.88

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
BWXT: 1.88
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
FTV: 1.23
Min: 0.36

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Fortive (FTV) at 0.60 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 1.43 uses more debt funding than most peers.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

1.43

Max: 2.33
BWXT: 1.43
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

0.60

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
FTV: 0.60
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	BWXT	FTV
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.88	1.23
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.43	0.60
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.92	2.45

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 0.92% and Fortive (FTV) at 0.38% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

0.92%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
BWXT: 0.92%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

0.38%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
FTV: 0.38%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 26.04% and Fortive (FTV) at 11.85% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

26.04%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
BWXT: 26.04%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

11.85%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
FTV: 11.85%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	BWXT	FTV
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.92%	0.38%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.04%	11.85%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 29.37 and Fortive (FTV) at 30.98 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

29.37

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
BWXT: 29.37
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

30.98

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
FTV: 30.98
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 3.04 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Fortive (FTV) at 4.43 sits in the pricier quartile — FTV costs more per dollar of sales.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

3.04

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
BWXT: 3.04
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

4.43

Max: 7.54
FTV: 4.43
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Fortive (FTV) at 3.28 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while BWX Technologies (BWXT) at 7.72 carries an above-peer premium to book — BWXT is pricier on assets.

BWXT

Capital Goods industry group

7.72

Max: 9.66
BWXT: 7.72
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

FTV

Capital Goods industry group

3.28

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
FTV: 3.28
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

BWX Technologies (BWXT) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for BWX Technologies (BWXT) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	BWXT	FTV
P/E Ratio (TTM)	29.37	30.98
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.04	4.43
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	7.72	3.28
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.64%	5.05%