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 Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs or 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 Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, and electrified propulsion systems worldwide. It offers transmissions for various applications, including distribution, refuse, construction, fire, and emergency on-highway trucks; school and transit buses; motor homes; energy, mining, and construction of off-highway vehicles and equipment; and wheeled and tracked defense vehicles. The company also provides its transmissions and electric propulsion solutions under the Allison Transmission brand name; and remanufactured transmissions under the ReTran brand name. In addition, it sells branded replacement parts, support equipment, aluminum die cast components, and other products necessary to service the installed base of vehicles utilizing its solutions, as well as defense kits, engineering services, and extended transmission coverage services to various original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and the U.S. government. The company was formerly known as Clutch Holdings, Inc. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Proto Labs, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. It offers manufacturing services, such as molding, computer numerical control machining, 3D printing, and sheet metal to developers, engineers, and supply chain teams. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota.

Latest Machinery and Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs, Inc. Stock News

As of October 9, 2026, Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. had a $9.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Machinery median of $3.3 million. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 32.51% in the past year.

Currently, Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 17.4. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.4 billion with a 12.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 92.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.952 per share for the current fiscal year. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. currently has a 1.1% dividend yield.

Currently, Proto Labs, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 74.4. Proto Labs, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $560.5 million with a 5.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.214 per share for the current fiscal year. Proto Labs, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and 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 Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.	ALSN	A
Proto Labs, Inc.	PRLB	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Proto Labs, Inc. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Proto Labs, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.	ALSN	B
Proto Labs, Inc.	PRLB	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.

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a Quality Score of 63, which is Strong. Proto Labs, Inc. has a Quality Score of 85, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Proto Labs, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Proto Labs, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Proto Labs, 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.

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.	ALSN	B
Proto Labs, Inc.	PRLB	A

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%.

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 71, which is Strong. Proto Labs, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 90, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Proto Labs, Inc.

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

Other Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. Grades

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

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

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 Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 95, Momentum Score of 71 and Quality Score of 63.

Proto Labs, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 73, Momentum Score of 90 and Quality Score of 85.

Comparing Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., Proto Labs and 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.