WAB vs. XYL: Wabtec vs. Xylem Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL) 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

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

Company profile comparison for Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Profile Item	WAB	XYL
Name	Wabtec Corporation	Xylem Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Machinery	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	47.59 billion USD	22.44 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 16, 1995	October 13, 2011
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

WAB

XYL

GSPC

Wabtec (WAB) vs. Xylem (XYL), 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 Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WAB	XYL
Total Return (1Y)	44.64%	-33.10%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	39.37%	2.29%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	25.90%	-4.47%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

WAB

XYL

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WAB	XYL
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	27.53%	30.74%
Beta (5Y)	0.91	0.96
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-23.55%	-44.89%
Avg. Volume (3M)	890.96K	2.60M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

WAB and XYL 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 Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WAB	XYL
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.47	-1.22
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.34	-1.48

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Wabtec (WAB) at 12.24% and Xylem (XYL) at 9.76% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

9.76%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
XYL: 9.76%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Wabtec (WAB) at 11.20% and Xylem (XYL) at 11.94% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

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%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

11.94%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
XYL: 11.94%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Wabtec (WAB) vs. Xylem (XYL): 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 Xylem (XYL) at 15.95%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

15.95%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
XYL: 15.95%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WAB	XYL
ROE (TTM)	12.24%	9.76%
ROA (TTM)	6.28%	5.07%
Net Margin (TTM)	11.20%	11.94%
Operating Margin (TTM)	20.22%	15.95%
Gross Margin (TTM)	36.17%	39.32%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Wabtec (WAB) at 7.51% and Xylem (XYL) at 5.52% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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

EPS Growth

Both Wabtec (WAB) at 13.08% and Xylem (XYL) at 7.40% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WAB	XYL
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.51%	5.52%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.12%	17.84%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.08%	7.40%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	25.44%	25.99%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Wabtec (WAB) at 1.10 and Xylem (XYL) at 1.39 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

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

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

1.39

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
XYL: 1.39
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Wabtec (WAB) at 0.60 and Xylem (XYL) at 0.29 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

0.29

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

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WAB	XYL
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.10	1.39
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.60	0.29
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.28	1.18

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Xylem (XYL) at 1.69% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Wabtec (WAB) at 0.42% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, XYL the richer one.

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%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

1.69%

Max: 2.66%
XYL: 1.69%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Wabtec (WAB) vs. Xylem (XYL): 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 Xylem (XYL) at 37.47% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

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%

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

37.47%

Max: 67.39%
XYL: 37.47%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WAB	XYL
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.42%	1.69%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	14.66%	37.47%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Wabtec (WAB) at 35.23 and Xylem (XYL) at 21.69 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

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

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

21.69

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
XYL: 21.69
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Xylem (XYL) at 2.48 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Wabtec (WAB) at 3.90 sits in the pricier quartile — WAB costs more per dollar of sales.

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

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

2.48

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
XYL: 2.48
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Wabtec (WAB) at 4.20 and Xylem (XYL) at 2.19 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

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

XYL

Capital Goods industry group

2.19

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
XYL: 2.19
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Wabtec (WAB) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WAB	XYL
P/E Ratio (TTM)	35.23	21.69
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.90	2.48
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.20	2.19
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.60%	5.39%