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 Donaldson Company, Inc. or CECO Environmental Corp. 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 Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp.

Donaldson Company, Inc. manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences segments. The Mobile Solutions segment provides replacement filters for air and liquid filtration applications, such as air filtration systems, fuel, lube and hydraulic systems, emissions systems and sensors, indicators, and monitoring systems. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the construction, mining, agriculture, and transportation markets; and to independent distributors, and OEM dealer networks. The Industrial Solutions segment offers dust, fume, and mist collectors; compressed air and industrial gasses purification systems; air inlet systems and filtration for power generation; ancillary components; replacement parts; performance monitoring and service; and hydraulic and lubricated rotating equipment applications, as well as gas and liquid filtration for industrial processes and connected services. It also sells aerospace and defense products comprising of air, fuel, lubrication and hydraulic filtration for fixed-wing and rotorcraft aerospace applications and ground defense vehicle and naval platforms. This segment sells its products to various distributors, OEMs, and end-users. The Life Sciences segment provides micro-environment gas and liquid filtration for food, beverage, and industrial processes; bioprocessing equipment that includes bioreactors and fermenters; and bioprocessing consumables, such as chromatography devices, reagents and filters, and polytetrafluoroethylene membrane-based products, as well as specialized air and gas filtration systems for applications, including hard disk drives, semi-conductor manufacturing and sensors, battery systems, and powertrain components to OEMs and various end-users. The company was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota.

CECO Environmental Corp. provides critical solutions in industrial air quality, industrial water treatment, and energy transition solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, China, and internationally. It operates through Engineered Systems and Industrial Process Solutions segments. The company offers emissions management, fluid bed cyclones, thermal acoustics, and separation and filtration solutions; engineering services and environmental systems; and industrial exhaust air contamination treatment and control systems, solutions, and services, as well as intelligent control solutions. It also provides engineered and configured products and solutions, including dampers and diverters, expansion joints, selective catalytic reduction systems, severe-service and industrial cyclones, dust collectors, thermal oxidizers, filtration systems, wet and dry scrubbers, separators and coalescers, water treatment packages, metallic and non-metallic pumps, industrial silencers, and fluid handling equipment, as well as plant engineering services and engineered design build fabrication services. In addition, the company offers solutions for air pollution and contamination control, fluid handling, and process filtration in various applications, such as aluminum beverage can production, automobile production, food and beverage processing, semiconductor fabrication, electronics production, steel and aluminum mill processing, wood manufacturing, desalination, and aquaculture markets, as well as it provides engineered industrial process heating solutions for process industries. It markets its power generation, hydrocarbon processing, water/wastewater treatment, oily water separation and treatment, marine and naval vessels, and midstream oil and gas sectors. CECO Environmental Corp. was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Addison, Texas.

Latest Machinery and Donaldson Company, Inc., CECO Environmental Corp. Stock News

As of July 30, 2026, Donaldson Company, Inc. had a $10.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Machinery median of $3.8 million. Donaldson Company, Inc.’s stock is up 6.3% in 2026, up 1.6% in the previous five trading days and up 28.52% in the past year.

Currently, Donaldson Company, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 24.9. Donaldson Company, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.8 billion with a 11.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.952 per share for the current fiscal year. Donaldson Company, Inc. currently has a 1.4% dividend yield.

As of July 30, 2026, CECO Environmental Corp. had a $3.8 billion market cap, putting it in the 63rd percentile of all stocks. CECO Environmental Corp.’s stock is up 10.1% in 2026, down 12.9% in the previous five trading days and up 62.43% in the past year.

Currently, CECO Environmental Corp.’s price-earnings ratio is 172.0. CECO Environmental Corp.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $803.6 million with a 1.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 16.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.907 per share for the current fiscal year. CECO Environmental Corp. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp. 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 Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Donaldson Company, Inc.	DCI	A
CECO Environmental Corp.	CECO	C

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.

Donaldson Company, Inc. has a Quality Score of 98, which is Very Strong. CECO Environmental Corp. has a Quality Score of 46, which is Average.

The Quality Grade Winner: Donaldson Company, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Donaldson Company, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than CECO Environmental Corp.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Donaldson Company, Inc. 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.

Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Donaldson Company, Inc.	DCI	B
CECO Environmental Corp.	CECO	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%.

Donaldson Company, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 63, which is Strong. CECO Environmental Corp. has a Momentum Score of 66, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp. have a grade of B. For those who focus solely on a company’s momentum, further research will need to be conducted into both companies to see if they fit your individual needs as an investor.

Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Donaldson Company, Inc.	DCI	D
CECO Environmental Corp.	CECO	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.

Donaldson Company, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 29, which is Negative. CECO Environmental Corp. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 62, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: CECO Environmental Corp.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, CECO Environmental Corp. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Donaldson Company, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, CECO Environmental Corp. 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 Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp. 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 Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Donaldson Company, Inc. or CECO Environmental Corp. Stock?

Overall, Donaldson Company, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 63, Estimate Revisions Score of 29 and Quality Score of 98.

CECO Environmental Corp. stock has a Momentum Score of 66, Estimate Revisions Score of 62 and Quality Score of 46.

Comparing Donaldson Company, Inc. and CECO Environmental Corp.’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.