WWD vs. XYL: Woodward vs. Xylem Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Woodward (WWD) 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

Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but WWD is classified in Aerospace & Defense while XYL is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Profile Item	WWD	XYL
Name	Woodward, Inc.	Xylem Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	18.74 billion USD	22.44 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	April 4, 1994	October 13, 2011
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

WWD

XYL

GSPC

Woodward (WWD) 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 Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WWD	XYL
Total Return (1Y)	25.66%	-33.10%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	36.83%	2.29%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	23.54%	-4.47%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

WWD

XYL

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WWD	XYL
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	40.29%	30.74%
Beta (5Y)	0.87	0.96
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.25%	-44.89%
Avg. Volume (3M)	665.85K	2.60M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

WWD 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 Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WWD	XYL
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.53	-1.22
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.85	-1.48

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Woodward (WWD) at 22.34% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Xylem (XYL) at 9.76% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for WWD.

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%

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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Woodward (WWD) at 13.17% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Xylem (XYL) at 11.94%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Woodward (WWD) at 17.76% and Xylem (XYL) at 15.95% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WWD	XYL
ROE (TTM)	22.34%	9.76%
ROA (TTM)	8.62%	5.07%
Net Margin (TTM)	13.17%	11.94%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.76%	15.95%
Gross Margin (TTM)	29.63%	39.32%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Woodward (WWD) at 7.30% 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.

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

EPS Growth

Both Woodward (WWD) at 19.63% 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.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WWD	XYL
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.30%	5.52%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	14.40%	17.84%
EPS Growth (YoY)	19.63%	7.40%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	38.44%	25.99%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Woodward (WWD) at 1.65 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Xylem (XYL) at 1.39 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for XYL.

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

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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Woodward (WWD) at 0.56 and Xylem (XYL) at 0.29 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

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

Woodward (WWD) 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 Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WWD	XYL
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.65	1.39
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.56	0.29
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.13	1.18

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Xylem (XYL) at 1.69% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Woodward (WWD) at 0.32% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, XYL the richer one.

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%

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%

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

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%

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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WWD	XYL
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.32%	1.69%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	13.35%	37.47%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Woodward (WWD) at 35.30 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.

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

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

Woodward (WWD) 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 Woodward (WWD) at 4.47 sits in the pricier quartile — WWD costs more per dollar of sales.

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

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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Xylem (XYL) at 2.19 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Woodward (WWD) at 7.60 carries an above-peer premium to book — WWD is pricier on assets.

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

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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Woodward (WWD) and Xylem (XYL)
Metric	WWD	XYL
P/E Ratio (TTM)	35.30	21.69
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.47	2.48
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	7.60	2.19
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.00%	5.39%