GNRC vs ETN Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Generac and Eaton both sit at the intersection of grid reliability and power infrastructure demand, but Generac concentrates on residential and commercial backup generators and energy storage, while Eaton offers a much broader, more diversified power management portfolio spanning electrical, aerospace, vehicle, and hydraulics segments.
Generac offers a more concentrated bet on residential backup power and energy storage adoption, while Eaton offers diversified, large-scale exposure to grid electrification and data center power demand. Consider whether you prefer Generac's residential-focused growth story or Eaton's diversified industrial power management scale.
GNRC holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. GNRC leads on both 1-year return (+2.09%) and forward P/E quality (15.55x vs 25.07x for ETN), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, ETN is growing revenue faster (21.40%), while GNRC maintains the higher operating margin (17.93%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for GNRC (+54.45%) than for ETN (+18.07%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Believe growing grid reliability concerns will continue supporting residential and commercial generator demand
- See upside in Generac's expansion into energy storage and broader clean energy products
- Are comfortable with demand volatility tied to severe weather event timing
- Want a smaller, more concentrated bet on the backup power theme rather than a diversified conglomerate
- Want direct, diversified exposure to data center, grid modernization, and broader electrification demand trends
- Value Eaton's diversified portfolio spanning electrical, aerospace, vehicle, and hydraulics segments
- Believe backlog visibility in the electrical segment supports durable multi-year growth
- Prefer a large-scale diversified industrial company over a more narrowly focused generator manufacturer
| Metric | GNRC | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 49.0 | 62.0 |
| AI ranki | #548 | #110 |
| Latest closei | $186.92 | $366.11 |
| 1M returni | -6.27% | -16.56% |
| 3M returni | -7.47% | -9.39% |
| 6M returni | -15.39% | -13.64% |
| 1Y returni | +2.09% | +1.53% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | GNRC | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.89K (-1.1%) started 2025-10-23 | $9.83K (-1.7%) started 2025-10-23 |
| 5Y ago | $3.98K (-60.2%) started 2021-10-25 | $25.63K (+156.3%) started 2021-10-25 |
| 10Y ago | $50.38K (+403.8%) started 2016-10-24 | $86.89K (+768.9%) started 2016-10-24 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | GNRC | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $10.85B | $156.44B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 42.16 | 40.97 |
| Forward P/Ei | 15.55 | 25.07 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 2.70 | 5.90 |
| Analyst targeti | $283.88 | $475.57 |
| Target upsidei | +54.45% | +18.07% |
| Metric | GNRC | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 10.60% | 21.40% |
| Earnings growthi | 92.00% | -15.90% |
| EPS growthi | +92.00% | -15.90% |
| FCF margini | +6.51% | +10.34% |
| Operating margini | 17.93% | 16.56% |
| Profit margini | 5.82% | 12.75% |
| ROIC proxyi | 9.49% | 19.68% |
| Return on equityi | 9.49% | 19.68% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 1.09% |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 43.54% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.93 | 1.18 |
| Debt/equityi | 49.00 | 105.06 |
| Current ratioi | 2.04 | 1.24 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.88 | 0.70 |
Over the past year, GNRC and ETN have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.60), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | GNRC | ETN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -1.12% | -1.69% |
| CAGRi | -1.12% | -1.69% | |
| Volatilityi | 57.94% | 40.01% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.19 | 0.05 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.29 | 0.06 | |
| Max drawdowni | 40.78% | 20.40% | |
| Current drawdowni | 36.75% | 20.40% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.38% | 8.01% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.83% | 9.48% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.54% | 7.57% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 19.19% | 11.07% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -60.24% | +140.07% |
| CAGRi | -16.86% | +19.16% | |
| Volatilityi | 53.99% | 32.20% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.15 | 0.57 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.22 | 0.79 | |
| Max drawdowni | 83.75% | 34.46% | |
| Current drawdowni | 63.04% | 20.40% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 64.95% | 8.52% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 66.57% | 11.14% | |
| Max daily dropi | 25.34% | 15.56% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 29.36% | 14.45% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +403.83% | +601.48% |
| CAGRi | +17.56% | +21.51% | |
| Volatilityi | 46.24% | 30.98% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.49 | 0.64 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.70 | 0.92 | |
| Max drawdowni | 83.75% | 44.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 63.04% | 20.40% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 35.90% | 7.49% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 47.49% | 10.29% | |
| Max daily dropi | 25.34% | 15.56% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 29.36% | 24.11% |
| Category | GNRC | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Generac Holdings Inc. | Eaton Corporation plc |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Specialty Industrial Machinery | Specialty Industrial Machinery |
| Core business | A manufacturer of backup power generation equipment including residential and commercial standby generators, along with a growing energy storage and clean energy product portfolio for home and business customers. | A diversified power management company providing electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power products and systems used across industrial, utility, aerospace, and vehicle end markets. |
| Investor focus | Residential generator penetration rate growth, energy storage product adoption, and demand sensitivity to grid outage events and severe weather. | Data center and grid electrification demand for electrical products, segment margin trends, and backlog growth across the electrical business. |
- Leading position in residential standby generator manufacturing benefits from growing concerns about grid reliability
- Expanding energy storage and clean energy product lines provide a path to diversify beyond generators
- Severe weather events and grid instability trends have historically supported periods of elevated demand
- Electrical segment is well positioned to benefit from data center buildout, grid modernization, and broader electrification trends
- Diversified portfolio across electrical, aerospace, vehicle, and hydraulics end markets provides multiple growth levers
- Strong backlog visibility in electrical products supports multi-year revenue growth confidence
- Residential generator demand can be lumpy and closely tied to major weather events, creating revenue volatility
- Higher interest rates can affect consumer financing demand for large-ticket home generator purchases
- Expansion into energy storage introduces new competitive dynamics against established battery and solar companies
- Electrical segment growth expectations are tied to continued data center and infrastructure capital spending, which could moderate
- Vehicle and hydraulics segments remain exposed to more cyclical industrial and transportation end markets
- Premium valuation attached to the electrification growth narrative leaves less room for execution missteps
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