GNRC vs. HWM: Generac vs. Howmet Aerospace Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Generac (GNRC) 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

Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but GNRC is classified in Electrical Equipment while HWM is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Profile Item	GNRC	HWM
Name	Generac Holdings Inc.	Howmet Aerospace Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Electrical Equipment	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Electrical Components & Equipment	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	10.43 billion USD	81.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 11, 2010	November 1, 2016
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GNRC

HWM

GSPC

Generac (GNRC) 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

Loading price history…

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

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	GNRC	HWM
Total Return (1Y)	23.38%	5.06%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	23.05%	64.83%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-15.31%	46.04%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GNRC

HWM

GSPC

Generac (GNRC) 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

Loading price history…

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	GNRC	HWM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	59.48%	37.60%
Beta (5Y)	1.84	1.27
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-81.73%	-36.47%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.22M	3.47M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GNRC 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 Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	GNRC	HWM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.32	0.02
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.50	0.03

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 37.65% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Generac (GNRC) at 10.64% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for HWM.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

10.64%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
GNRC: 10.64%
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%

Generac (GNRC) 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 Generac (GNRC) at 6.52%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

6.52%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
GNRC: 6.52%
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%

Generac (GNRC) 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 Generac (GNRC) at 11.67%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

11.67%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
GNRC: 11.67%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	GNRC	HWM
ROE (TTM)	10.64%	37.65%
ROA (TTM)	4.24%	13.97%
Net Margin (TTM)	6.52%	21.10%
Operating Margin (TTM)	11.67%	28.78%
Gross Margin (TTM)	38.18%	36.63%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 11.06% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Generac (GNRC) at -2.02% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Generac (GNRC) 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 Generac (GNRC) at -50.09% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in earnings momentum.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	GNRC	HWM
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-2.02%	11.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-2.67%	13.37%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-50.09%	32.03%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-20.83%	49.51%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Generac (GNRC) at 1.97 and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 1.86 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

1.97

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
GNRC: 1.97
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Generac (GNRC) at 0.47 and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 0.80 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.47

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
GNRC: 0.47
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

Generac (GNRC) 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 Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	GNRC	HWM
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.97	1.86
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.47	0.80
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.65	1.35

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Howmet Aerospace (HWM) reports a yield of 0.25%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
GNRC: 0.00%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Howmet Aerospace (HWM) reports a payout of 9.80%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
GNRC: 0.00%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	GNRC	HWM
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.25%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	9.80%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) at 34.87 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 40.35 sits in the richer quartile — HWM needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

34.87

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
GNRC: 34.87
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) at 2.26 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.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

2.26

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
GNRC: 2.26
Median: 2.15
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Generac (GNRC) at 3.46 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.

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

3.46

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
GNRC: 3.46
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	GNRC	HWM
P/E Ratio (TTM)	34.87	40.35
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.26	8.41
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.46	14.20
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.21%	1.58%