ETN vs. FTV: Eaton vs. Fortive Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Eaton (ETN) 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

Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but ETN is classified in Electrical Equipment while FTV is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Profile Item	ETN	FTV
Name	Eaton Corporation plc	Fortive Corporation
Country/Region	Ireland	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Electrical Equipment	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Electrical Components & Equipment	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	132.76 billion USD	19.46 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 1, 1972	July 5, 2016
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ETN

FTV

GSPC

Eaton (ETN) 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

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Trailing total returns for Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	ETN	FTV
Total Return (1Y)	-2.33%	31.85%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	19.68%	11.44%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	17.50%	3.01%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ETN

FTV

GSPC

Eaton (ETN) 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

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	ETN	FTV
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	43.57%	27.76%
Beta (5Y)	1.14	1.01
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.46%	-32.10%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.32M	2.44M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ETN 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 Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	ETN	FTV
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.15	0.99
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.21	1.51

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Eaton (ETN) at 19.55% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Fortive (FTV) at 10.55% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for ETN.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

19.55%

Max: 40.55%
ETN: 19.55%
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%

Eaton (ETN) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Eaton (ETN) at 12.18% and Fortive (FTV) at 14.83% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

12.18%

Max: 27.47%
ETN: 12.18%
Q3: 12.10%
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%

Eaton (ETN) 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 Eaton (ETN) at 17.85%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

17.85%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
ETN: 17.85%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	ETN	FTV
ROE (TTM)	19.55%	10.55%
ROA (TTM)	7.22%	4.61%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.18%	14.83%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.85%	21.30%
Gross Margin (TTM)	35.16%	63.47%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Eaton (ETN) at 10.33% 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.

Eaton (ETN) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Eaton (ETN) at 10.00% 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.

Eaton (ETN) vs. Fortive (FTV): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	ETN	FTV
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.33%	1.92%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.77%	-10.62%
EPS Growth (YoY)	10.00%	-26.69%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.39%	-6.26%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 1.23 and Fortive (FTV) at 1.23 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
ETN: 1.23
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 1.00 and Fortive (FTV) at 0.60 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.00

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
ETN: 1.00
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

Eaton (ETN) 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 Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	ETN	FTV
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.23	1.23
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.00	0.60
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.85	2.45

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Eaton (ETN) at 1.33% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Fortive (FTV) at 0.38% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, ETN the richer one.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.33%

Max: 2.66%
ETN: 1.33%
Q3: 1.14%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Fortive (FTV) at 11.85% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Eaton (ETN) at 43.36% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

43.36%

Max: 67.39%
ETN: 43.36%
Q3: 28.02%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	ETN	FTV
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.33%	0.38%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	43.36%	11.85%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 34.14 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.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

34.14

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
ETN: 34.14
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 4.15 and Fortive (FTV) at 4.43 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

4.15

Max: 7.54
ETN: 4.15
Q3: 3.76
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

Eaton (ETN) 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 Eaton (ETN) at 6.33 carries an above-peer premium to book — ETN is pricier on assets.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

6.33

Max: 9.66
ETN: 6.33
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Fortive (FTV)
Metric	ETN	FTV
P/E Ratio (TTM)	34.14	30.98
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.15	4.43
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.33	3.28
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.29%	5.05%