HWM vs. WWD: Howmet Aerospace vs. Woodward Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD) 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

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD) are both classified in the Aerospace & Defense sub-industry within the broader Aerospace & Defense industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Profile Item	HWM	WWD
Name	Howmet Aerospace Inc.	Woodward, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	81.84 billion USD	18.74 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	November 1, 2016	April 4, 1994
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HWM

WWD

GSPC

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) vs. Woodward (WWD), 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	HWM	WWD
Total Return (1Y)	5.06%	25.66%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	64.83%	36.83%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	46.04%	23.54%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HWM

WWD

GSPC

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) vs. Woodward (WWD), 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	HWM	WWD
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	37.60%	40.29%
Beta (5Y)	1.27	0.87
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-36.47%	-37.25%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.47M	665.85K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

HWM and WWD 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	HWM	WWD
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.02	0.53
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.03	0.85

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 37.65% and Woodward (WWD) at 22.34% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

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%

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

22.34%

Max: 40.55%
WWD: 22.34%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 21.10% and Woodward (WWD) at 13.17% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

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%

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

13.17%

Max: 27.47%
WWD: 13.17%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) vs. Woodward (WWD): 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 Woodward (WWD) at 17.76%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

17.76%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
WWD: 17.76%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	HWM	WWD
ROE (TTM)	37.65%	22.34%
ROA (TTM)	13.97%	8.62%
Net Margin (TTM)	21.10%	13.17%
Operating Margin (TTM)	28.78%	17.76%
Gross Margin (TTM)	36.63%	29.63%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 11.06% and Woodward (WWD) at 7.30% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) vs. Woodward (WWD): 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 Woodward (WWD) at 19.63% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for HWM.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	HWM	WWD
Revenue Growth (YoY)	11.06%	7.30%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	13.37%	14.40%
EPS Growth (YoY)	32.03%	19.63%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	49.51%	38.44%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 1.86 and Woodward (WWD) at 1.65 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

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

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

1.65

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
WWD: 1.65
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 0.80 and Woodward (WWD) at 0.56 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

0.56

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
WWD: 0.56
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	HWM	WWD
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.86	1.65
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.80	0.56
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.35	1.13

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 0.25% and Woodward (WWD) at 0.32% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

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%

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

0.32%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
WWD: 0.32%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 9.80% and Woodward (WWD) at 13.35% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

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%

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

13.35%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
WWD: 13.35%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	HWM	WWD
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.25%	0.32%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	9.80%	13.35%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Woodward (WWD) at 35.30 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.

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

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

35.30

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
WWD: 35.30
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Woodward (WWD) at 4.47 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 8.41 prices even higher, above its industry range.

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

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

4.47

Max: 7.54
WWD: 4.47
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Woodward (WWD) at 7.60 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 14.20 prices even higher, above its industry range.

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

WWD

Capital Goods industry group

7.60

Max: 9.66
WWD: 7.60
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Howmet Aerospace (HWM) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	HWM	WWD
P/E Ratio (TTM)	40.35	35.30
P/S Ratio (TTM)	8.41	4.47
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	14.20	7.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.58%	1.00%