Sifting through countless of stocks in the Electrical Equipment 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 Powell Industries, Inc. or Generac Holdings Inc. 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 Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc.

Powell Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services custom-engineered equipment and systems. The company’s products portfolio includes integrated power control room substations, custom-engineered modules, and electrical houses; and traditional and arc-resistant distribution switchgears and control gears, medium-voltage circuit breakers, monitoring and control communications systems, motor control centers, switches, and bus duct systems. It also provides field service inspection, installation, commissioning, modification, and repair services; spare parts; retrofit and retrofill components for existing systems; and replacement circuit breakers for switchgears. The company serves onshore and offshore production, liquefied natural gas facilities and terminals, pipelines and refineries, petrochemical, electric utility, light rail traction power, mining and metals, pulp and paper, data centers, commercial construction, and other industrial markets, as well as universities and government entities. It operates in the United States, Canada, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Mexico, the Asia/Pacific, and Central and South America. Powell Industries, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Generac Holdings Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes energy technology products and solutions worldwide. The company offers residential automatic standby generators, automatic transfer switch, air-cooled engine home standby generators, and liquid-cooled engine generators; Mobile Link, a remote monitoring system for home standby generators; propane tank monitoring solution; and smart home solutions, such as smart thermostats and a suite of home monitoring products. It also provides smart home energy management devices and sensors for heating and cooling system; smart doorbell cameras; and portable and inverter generators; multiple portable battery solutions; manual transfer switches; outdoor power equipment, including trimmers, field and brush mowers, log splitters, stump grinders, chipper shredders, lawn and leaf vacuums, and pressure washers and water pumps; and home energy storage systems. In addition, the company offers commercial and industrial products comprising cleaner-burning natural gas fueled generators; mega-watt diesel generators; light-commercial standby generators and related transfer switches; stationary generators; single-engine industrial generators; industrial standby generators; industrial transfer switches; light towers, mobile generators, commercial mobile pumps, heaters, and dust-suppression equipment; mobile energy storage systems; battery energy storage system and related inverter products; and aftermarket service parts and product accessories. Further, it provides microgrid; and software-as-a-service contracts. The company distributes its products through independent residential dealers and contractors, industrial distributors and dealers, national and regional retailers, e-commerce partners, electrical/HVAC/solar wholesalers, solar installers, catalogs, equipment rental companies, and other equipment distributors; and directly to end users. Generac Holdings Inc. was founded in 1959 and is based in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Latest Electrical Equipment and Powell Industries, Inc., Generac Holdings Inc. Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, Powell Industries, Inc. had a $7.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Electrical Equipment median of $832.7 million. Powell Industries, Inc.’s stock is up 96.4% in 2026, down 10.1% in the previous five trading days and up 170.78% in the past year.

Currently, Powell Industries, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 40.6. Powell Industries, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.1 billion with a 16.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.493 per share for the current fiscal year. Powell Industries, Inc. currently has a 0.2% dividend yield.

As of July 31, 2026, Generac Holdings Inc. had a $11.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 79th percentile of all stocks. Generac Holdings Inc.’s stock is up 44.5% in 2026, down 2.4% in the previous five trading days and up 8.9% in the past year.

Currently, Generac Holdings Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 61.6. Generac Holdings Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.3 billion with a 5.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 12.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.723 per share for the current fiscal year. Generac Holdings Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc. 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 Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Powell Industries, Inc.	POWL	B
Generac Holdings Inc.	GNRC	B

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.

Powell Industries, Inc. has a Quality Score of 80, which is Strong. Generac Holdings Inc. has a Quality Score of 73, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Powell Industries, Inc.	POWL	A
Generac Holdings Inc.	GNRC	D

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%.

Powell Industries, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 91, which is Very Strong. Generac Holdings Inc. has a Momentum Score of 34, which is Weak.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Powell Industries, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Powell Industries, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Generac Holdings Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Powell Industries, Inc. 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.

Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Powell Industries, Inc.	POWL	D
Generac Holdings Inc.	GNRC	A

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.

Powell Industries, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 37, which is Negative. Generac Holdings Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 85, which is Very Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Generac Holdings Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Generac Holdings Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Powell Industries, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Generac Holdings Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Quality and Estimate Revisions, 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 Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Powell Industries, Inc. or Generac Holdings Inc. Stock?

Overall, Powell Industries, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 91, Estimate Revisions Score of 37 and Quality Score of 80.

Generac Holdings Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 34, Estimate Revisions Score of 85 and Quality Score of 73.

Comparing Powell Industries, Inc. and Generac Holdings Inc.’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.