ROK vs. WWD: Rockwell Automation vs. Woodward Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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

Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but ROK is classified in Electrical Equipment while WWD is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Profile Item	ROK	WWD
Name	Rockwell Automation Inc.	Woodward, 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	41.82 billion USD	18.74 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	December 31, 1981	April 4, 1994
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ROK

WWD

GSPC

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	ROK	WWD
Total Return (1Y)	6.19%	25.66%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.94%	36.83%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	4.86%	23.54%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ROK

WWD

GSPC

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	ROK	WWD
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	34.28%	40.29%
Beta (5Y)	1.54	0.87
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-45.09%	-37.25%
Avg. Volume (3M)	799.28K	665.85K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ROK 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	ROK	WWD
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.06	0.53
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.07	0.85

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 38.73% 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.

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%

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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 15.68% and Woodward (WWD) at 13.17% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

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%

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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 14.75% and Woodward (WWD) at 17.76% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	ROK	WWD
ROE (TTM)	38.73%	22.34%
ROA (TTM)	9.32%	8.62%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.68%	13.17%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.75%	17.76%
Gross Margin (TTM)	48.95%	29.63%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Only one side can be read here: Woodward (WWD) reports revenue growth of 7.30%, ranked against its industry; Rockwell Automation (ROK) has no revenue growth figure this period.

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

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	ROK	WWD
Revenue Growth (YoY)	--	7.30%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	14.40%
EPS Growth (YoY)	63.49%	19.63%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	1.62%	38.44%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 2.11 and Woodward (WWD) at 1.65 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

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

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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 1.00 and Woodward (WWD) at 0.56 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

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

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	ROK	WWD
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.11	1.65
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.00	0.56
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.58	1.13

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 Woodward (WWD) reports a yield of 0.32%, 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%

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%

Rockwell Automation (ROK) vs. Woodward (WWD): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Woodward (WWD) at 13.35% 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%

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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	ROK	WWD
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.32%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	51.03%	13.35%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 29.97 and Woodward (WWD) at 35.30 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

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

Rockwell Automation (ROK) vs. Woodward (WWD): 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 Woodward (WWD) at 4.47 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

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

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 11.76 prices even higher, above its industry range.

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

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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Rockwell Automation (ROK) and Woodward (WWD)
Metric	ROK	WWD
P/E Ratio (TTM)	29.97	35.30
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.65	4.47
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	11.76	7.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-1.13%	1.00%