GNRC vs. JCI: Generac vs. Johnson Controls Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI) 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but GNRC is classified in Electrical Equipment while JCI is classified in Building Products.

Company profile comparison for Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Profile Item	GNRC	JCI
Name	Generac Holdings Inc.	Johnson Controls International plc
Country/Region	United States	Ireland
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Electrical Equipment	Building Products
GICS Sub-Industry	Electrical Components & Equipment	Building Products
Market Capitalization	10.43 billion USD	81.79 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 11, 2010	September 28, 1987
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GNRC

JCI

GSPC

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI), 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 Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GNRC	JCI
Total Return (1Y)	23.38%	17.11%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	23.05%	43.46%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-15.31%	15.29%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GNRC

JCI

GSPC

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI), 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 Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GNRC	JCI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	59.48%	32.91%
Beta (5Y)	1.84	1.29
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-81.73%	-42.32%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.22M	3.57M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GNRC and JCI 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 Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GNRC	JCI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.32	0.39
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.50	0.54

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Johnson Controls (JCI) at 21.73% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Generac (GNRC) at 10.64% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for JCI.

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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

21.73%

Max: 40.55%
JCI: 21.73%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Generac (GNRC) at 6.52% and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 11.12% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

11.12%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
JCI: 11.12%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Generac (GNRC) at 11.67% and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 17.21% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

17.21%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
JCI: 17.21%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GNRC	JCI
ROE (TTM)	10.64%	21.73%
ROA (TTM)	4.24%	6.41%
Net Margin (TTM)	6.52%	11.12%
Operating Margin (TTM)	11.67%	17.21%
Gross Margin (TTM)	38.18%	37.07%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Johnson Controls (JCI) at 2.81% 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. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Johnson Controls (JCI) at 99.60% 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. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GNRC	JCI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-2.02%	2.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-2.67%	4.57%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-50.09%	99.60%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-20.83%	31.94%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Generac (GNRC) at 1.97 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Johnson Controls (JCI) at 0.90 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for JCI.

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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.90

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
JCI: 0.90
Min: 0.36

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Generac (GNRC) at 0.47 and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 0.68 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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.68

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
JCI: 0.68
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): 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 Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GNRC	JCI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.97	0.90
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.47	0.68
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.65	1.86

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither Generac (GNRC) nor Johnson Controls (JCI) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
JCI: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) reports a payout of 45.20%, 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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

45.20%

Max: 67.39%
JCI: 45.20%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GNRC	JCI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	45.20%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Generac (GNRC) at 34.87 and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 28.61 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

28.61

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
JCI: 28.61
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Generac (GNRC) at 2.26 and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 3.19 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

3.19

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
JCI: 3.19
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Generac (GNRC) at 3.46 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Johnson Controls (JCI) at 5.99 carries an above-peer premium to book — JCI is pricier on assets.

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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

5.99

Max: 9.66
JCI: 5.99
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Generac (GNRC) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Generac (GNRC) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GNRC	JCI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	34.87	28.61
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.26	3.19
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.46	5.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.21%	3.81%