CMI vs. HWM: Cummins vs. Howmet Aerospace Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 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

Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but CMI is classified in Machinery while HWM is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Profile Item	CMI	HWM
Name	Cummins Inc.	Howmet Aerospace Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Machinery	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	61.69 billion USD	81.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	November 1, 2016
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CMI

HWM

GSPC

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM), 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

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Trailing total returns for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	CMI	HWM
Total Return (1Y)	-0.52%	5.06%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	31.79%	64.83%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	17.12%	46.04%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CMI

HWM

GSPC

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM), 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

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	CMI	HWM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	36.83%	37.60%
Beta (5Y)	1.26	1.27
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-38.12%	-36.47%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.14M	3.47M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CMI and HWM 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 Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	CMI	HWM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.13	0.02
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.18	0.03

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 25.05% and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 37.65% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

25.05%

Max: 40.55%
CMI: 25.05%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

37.65%

Max: 40.55%
HWM: 37.65%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 21.10% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Cummins (CMI) at 9.26%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

9.26%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
CMI: 9.26%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

21.10%

Max: 27.47%
HWM: 21.10%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 28.78% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Cummins (CMI) at 13.95%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

13.95%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
CMI: 13.95%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

28.78%

Max: 36.60%
HWM: 28.78%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	CMI	HWM
ROE (TTM)	25.05%	37.65%
ROA (TTM)	7.60%	13.97%
Net Margin (TTM)	9.26%	21.10%
Operating Margin (TTM)	13.95%	28.78%
Gross Margin (TTM)	26.32%	36.63%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 11.06% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Cummins (CMI) at -1.27% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 32.03% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Cummins (CMI) at -27.74% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in earnings momentum.

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	CMI	HWM
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-1.27%	11.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.25%	13.37%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-27.74%	32.03%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.68%	49.51%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 1.74 and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 1.86 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

1.74

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
CMI: 1.74
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

1.86

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
HWM: 1.86
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 0.52 and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 0.80 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

0.52

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
CMI: 0.52
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

0.80

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
HWM: 0.80
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	CMI	HWM
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.74	1.86
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.52	0.80
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.62	1.35

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Cummins (CMI) at 1.83% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 0.25% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, CMI the richer one.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

1.83%

Max: 2.66%
CMI: 1.83%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

0.25%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
HWM: 0.25%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 9.80% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Cummins (CMI) at 34.21% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

34.21%

Max: 67.39%
CMI: 34.21%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

9.80%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
HWM: 9.80%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	CMI	HWM
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.83%	0.25%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	34.21%	9.80%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Cummins (CMI) at 18.78 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 40.35 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

18.78

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
CMI: 18.78
Min: 3.03

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

40.35

Max: 59.38
HWM: 40.35
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Cummins (CMI) at 1.72 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 8.41 clears its benchmark range — HWM looks notably rich on sales.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

1.72

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
CMI: 1.72
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

8.41

HWM: 8.41
Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Cummins (CMI) at 4.63 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 14.20 prices above its benchmark range — HWM looks rich relative to book.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

4.63

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
CMI: 4.63
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

14.20

HWM: 14.20
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Cummins (CMI) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	CMI	HWM
P/E Ratio (TTM)	18.78	40.35
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.72	8.41
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.63	14.20
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.06%	1.58%