Sifting through countless of stocks in the Machinery industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Xylem Inc. or Parker-Hannifin Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation

Xylem Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions for utility, industrial, and residential and commercial building services settings worldwide. It operates through Water Infrastructure; Applied Water; Measurement and Control Solutions; and Water Solutions and Services segments. The company offers water, wastewater, and storm water pumps and controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment under the Flygt, Ionpure, Leopold, Neptune Benson, Sanitare, Wallace & Tiernan, and Wedeco brands; and pumps, valves, heat exchangers, controls, and dispensing equipment used for water and focuses on the residential, commercial and industrial markets under the Rule, Bell & Gossett, Flojet, Goulds Water Technology, Jabsco, and Lowara brands. It also provides smart meters, network communication devices, data analytics, test instruments, controls, sensor devices, software and managed services, critical infrastructure services, cloud-based analytics, and remote monitoring and data management under the Ebro, Sensus, Sentec, Smith Blair, WTW, YSI, and Xylem Vue brands. In addition, the company offers preventative maintenance services, rapid response mobile services, digitally enabled/outsourced solutions, process and wastewater treatment systems, environmental remediation, odor and corrosion control, filtration, reverse osmosis, continuous deionization, and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services; and municipal services comprising odor and corrosion control services, as well as condition assessment and asset management, and pressure monitoring solutions under the Grindex, Mar Cor, and Godwin brands. Xylem Inc. was formerly known as ITT WCO, Inc. and changed its name to Xylem Inc. in July 2011. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Washington, District Of Columbia.

Parker-Hannifin Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of motion and control technologies and systems for aerospace and defense, in-plant and industrial equipment, transportation, off-highway, energy, and HVAC and refrigeration markets in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It operates through two segments: Diversified Industrial and Aerospace Systems. The company offers various motion-control systems and components, such as active and passive vibration control, high purity sealing, coatings, high temperature sealing, cryogenic valves and fittings, HVAC/R controls and monitoring, elastomeric, fabric reinforced, metal, precision cut seals, hydrogen and natural gas filters, electric and hydraulic pumps and motors, industrial air, gas filtration, electric and hydraulic valves, miniature pumps and valves, electromagnetic interface shielding, pneumatic actuators, regulators and valves, electromechanical and hydraulic actuators, power take offs, electronics, drives and controllers, process filtration solutions, engine filtration solutions, rubber to substrate adhesives, fluid condition monitoring, sensors and diagnostics, fluid conveyance hose and tubing, structural adhesives, high pressure connectors, fittings, valves and regulators, thermal management, high purity fittings. The company also provides products for use in commercial and defense airframe and engine programs, such as avionics, electric and hydraulic braking systems, electric power, electromechanical actuators, engine exhaust systems and components, fire detection and suppression, flight control systems, fluid conveyance, fuel systems and components, fuel tank inserting systems, hydraulic pumps and motors, hydraulic valves and actuators, pneumatics, seals, sensors, and thermal management products. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, direct-sales employees. Parker-Hannifin Corporation was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

Latest Machinery and Xylem Inc., Parker-Hannifin Corporation Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Xylem Inc. had a $25.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Machinery median of $3.8 million. Xylem Inc.’s stock is down 21.8% in 2026, down 6.1% in the previous five trading days and down 24.49% in the past year.

Currently, Xylem Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 25.4. Xylem Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $9.1 billion with a 11.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.665 per share for the current fiscal year. Xylem Inc. currently has a 1.6% dividend yield.

As of September 1, 2026, Parker-Hannifin Corporation had a $120.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 97th percentile of all stocks. Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s stock is up 9.1% in 2026, down 7.8% in the previous five trading days and up 25.38% in the past year.

Currently, Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 33.4. Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $21.5 billion with a 17.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $35.333 per share for the current fiscal year. Parker-Hannifin Corporation currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Xylem Inc.	XYL	B
Parker-Hannifin Corporation	PH	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Xylem Inc. has a Quality Score of 79, which is Strong. Parker-Hannifin Corporation has a Quality Score of 96, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Parker-Hannifin Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Parker-Hannifin Corporation has a better overall quality grade than Xylem Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Parker-Hannifin Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Xylem Inc.	XYL	D
Parker-Hannifin Corporation	PH	B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Xylem Inc. has a Momentum Score of 25, which is Weak. Parker-Hannifin Corporation has a Momentum Score of 68, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Parker-Hannifin Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Parker-Hannifin Corporation is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Xylem Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Parker-Hannifin Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Xylem Inc.	XYL	B
Parker-Hannifin Corporation	PH	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Xylem Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 72, which is Positive. Parker-Hannifin Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 80, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Xylem Inc. or Parker-Hannifin Corporation is a better fit.

Other Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Xylem Inc. or Parker-Hannifin Corporation Stock?

Overall, Xylem Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 25, Estimate Revisions Score of 72 and Quality Score of 79.

Parker-Hannifin Corporation stock has a Momentum Score of 68, Estimate Revisions Score of 80 and Quality Score of 96.

Comparing Xylem Inc. and Parker-Hannifin Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.