ROK vs. WAB: Rockwell Automation vs. Wabtec Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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

Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but ROK is classified in Electrical Equipment while WAB is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Profile Item	ROK	WAB
Name	Rockwell Automation Inc.	Wabtec Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Electrical Equipment	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Electrical Components & Equipment	Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment
Market Capitalization	41.82 billion USD	47.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	December 31, 1981	June 16, 1995
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ROK

WAB

GSPC

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	ROK	WAB
Total Return (1Y)	6.19%	44.64%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.94%	39.37%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	4.86%	25.90%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ROK

WAB

GSPC

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	ROK	WAB
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	34.28%	27.53%
Beta (5Y)	1.54	0.91
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-45.09%	-23.55%
Avg. Volume (3M)	799.28K	890.96K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ROK 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	ROK	WAB
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.06	1.47
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.07	2.34

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 38.73% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Wabtec (WAB) at 12.24% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for ROK.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

38.73%

Max: 40.55%
ROK: 38.73%
Q3: 19.29%
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%

Rockwell Automation (ROK) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 15.68% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Wabtec (WAB) at 11.20%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

15.68%

Max: 27.47%
ROK: 15.68%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Wabtec (WAB) at 20.22% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 14.75%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

14.75%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
ROK: 14.75%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	ROK	WAB
ROE (TTM)	38.73%	12.24%
ROA (TTM)	9.32%	6.28%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.68%	11.20%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.75%	20.22%
Gross Margin (TTM)	48.95%	36.17%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Only one side can be read here: Wabtec (WAB) reports revenue growth of 7.51%, ranked against its industry; Rockwell Automation (ROK) has no revenue growth figure this period.

Rockwell Automation (ROK) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 63.49% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Wabtec (WAB) at 13.08% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for ROK.

Rockwell Automation (ROK) vs. Wabtec (WAB): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	ROK	WAB
Revenue Growth (YoY)	--	7.51%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	10.12%
EPS Growth (YoY)	63.49%	13.08%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	1.62%	25.44%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 2.11 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.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

2.11

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
ROK: 2.11
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 1.00 and Wabtec (WAB) at 0.60 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

1.00

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
ROK: 1.00
Median: 0.60
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

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	ROK	WAB
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.11	1.10
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.00	0.60
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.58	2.28

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Wabtec (WAB) reports a yield of 0.42%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

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

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 51.03% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

51.03%

Max: 67.39%
ROK: 51.03%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	ROK	WAB
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.42%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	51.03%	14.66%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 29.97 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.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

29.97

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
ROK: 29.97
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 4.65 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.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

4.65

Max: 7.54
ROK: 4.65
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Wabtec (WAB) at 4.20 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 11.76 prices above its benchmark range — ROK looks rich relative to book.

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

11.76

ROK: 11.76
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Wabtec (WAB)
Metric	ROK	WAB
P/E Ratio (TTM)	29.97	35.23
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.65	3.90
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	11.76	4.20
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-1.13%	2.60%