IEX vs. WAB: IDEX vs. Wabtec Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB) 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

IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB) both belong to the Machinery industry, though IEX is classified under Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components while WAB falls under Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment.

Company profile comparison for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Profile Item	IEX	WAB
Name	IDEX Corporation	Wabtec Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Machinery	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components	Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment
Market Capitalization	16.67 billion USD	47.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 2, 1989	June 16, 1995
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

IEX

WAB

GSPC

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB), 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 IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	IEX	WAB
Total Return (1Y)	42.33%	44.64%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	8.92%	39.37%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.31%	25.90%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

IEX

WAB

GSPC

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB), 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 IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	IEX	WAB
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	22.98%	27.53%
Beta (5Y)	0.95	0.91
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.60%	-23.55%
Avg. Volume (3M)	666.74K	890.96K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IEX and WAB 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 IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	IEX	WAB
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.66	1.47
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.64	2.34

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 13.35% and Wabtec (WAB) at 12.24% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

13.35%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
IEX: 13.35%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

12.24%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
WAB: 12.24%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

IDEX (IEX) at 14.65% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Wabtec (WAB) at 11.20%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

14.65%

Max: 27.47%
IEX: 14.65%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

11.20%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
WAB: 11.20%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 22.33% and Wabtec (WAB) at 20.22% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

22.33%

Max: 36.60%
IEX: 22.33%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

20.22%

Max: 36.60%
WAB: 20.22%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	IEX	WAB
ROE (TTM)	13.35%	12.24%
ROA (TTM)	7.06%	6.28%
Net Margin (TTM)	14.65%	11.20%
Operating Margin (TTM)	22.33%	20.22%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.91%	36.17%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both IDEX (IEX) at 5.77% and Wabtec (WAB) at 7.51% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both IDEX (IEX) at -3.46% and Wabtec (WAB) at 13.08% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	IEX	WAB
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.77%	7.51%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	2.81%	10.12%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-3.46%	13.08%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-5.97%	25.44%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

IDEX (IEX) at 2.78 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Wabtec (WAB) at 1.10 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for WAB.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

2.78

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
IEX: 2.78
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

1.10

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
WAB: 1.10
Min: 0.36

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 0.44 and Wabtec (WAB) at 0.60 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

0.44

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
IEX: 0.44
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

0.60

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
WAB: 0.60
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	IEX	WAB
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.78	1.10
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.44	0.60
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.18	2.28

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

IDEX (IEX) at 1.30% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Wabtec (WAB) at 0.42% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, IEX the richer one.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

1.30%

Max: 2.66%
IEX: 1.30%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

0.42%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
WAB: 0.42%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Wabtec (WAB) at 14.66% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while IDEX (IEX) at 50.14% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

50.14%

Max: 67.39%
IEX: 50.14%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

14.66%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
WAB: 14.66%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	IEX	WAB
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.30%	0.42%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	50.14%	14.66%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 31.53 and Wabtec (WAB) at 35.23 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

31.53

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
IEX: 31.53
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

35.23

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
WAB: 35.23
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both IDEX (IEX) at 4.56 and Wabtec (WAB) at 3.90 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

4.56

Max: 7.54
IEX: 4.56
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

3.90

Max: 7.54
WAB: 3.90
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both IDEX (IEX) at 4.17 and Wabtec (WAB) at 4.20 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

IEX

Capital Goods industry group

4.17

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
IEX: 4.17
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

WAB

Capital Goods industry group

4.20

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
WAB: 4.20
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

IDEX (IEX) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for IDEX (IEX) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	IEX	WAB
P/E Ratio (TTM)	31.53	35.23
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.56	3.90
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.17	4.20
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.50%	2.60%