HON vs EMR Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Honeywell and Emerson Electric are both major industrial automation companies — competing in process control, industrial instruments, and automation software while pursuing different portfolio strategies. Honeywell remains diversified across aerospace, building, industrial, and materials segments. Emerson has simplified toward pure-play automation with AspenTech software. Both serve similar end markets (oil & gas, chemicals, manufacturing) but with different business compositions.
HON vs EMR is the diversified industrial conglomerate with aerospace upside and automation controls across multiple sectors (Honeywell) versus the focused pure-play automation company transformed through portfolio restructuring with AspenTech industrial software (Emerson) — diversified industrial scale vs pure-play automation focus.
EMR holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. EMR leads on both 1-year return (+13.65%) and forward P/E quality (21.42x vs 21.74x for HON), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. EMR leads on both revenue growth (7.00%) and operating margin (26.92%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for HON (+21.46%) than for EMR (+10.72%).
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.
- prefer diversified industrial exposure with strong aerospace segment benefiting from commercial aviation recovery alongside automation and building technology businesses
- value Honeywell's brand recognition and installed base across oil & gas, aerospace, chemicals, and commercial buildings
- want industrial dividend growth with Honeywell's history of consistent payouts across industrial cycles
- are comfortable with conglomerate discount, portfolio complexity across 4+ very different market segments, and portfolio reshaping execution risk
- prefer pure-play automation company focus after portfolio simplification — Emerson's cleaner automation + AspenTech story may unlock conglomerate discount relative to Honeywell
- value AspenTech industrial software as a unique SaaS revenue stream within an automation company — software-led automation multiple expansion potential
- want Emerson's simpler, cleaner industrial automation story with exposure to oil & gas, chemicals, and life sciences automation demand
- are comfortable with transformation complexity, AspenTech minority ownership accounting, and automation cycle sensitivity to industrial capex
| Metric | HON | EMR |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 42.0 | 52.3 |
| AI ranki | #976 | #401 |
| Latest closei | $206.46 | $149.92 |
| 1M returni | -6.89% | -4.87% |
| 6M returni | -9.85% | +15.41% |
| 1Y returni | -1.78% | +13.65% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HON | EMR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.82K (-1.8%) started 2025-09-18 | $11.37K (+13.7%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $11.22K (+12.2%) started 2021-09-20 | $18.62K (+86.2%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $27.58K (+175.8%) started 2016-09-19 | $47.1K (+371.0%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | HON | EMR |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $68.91B | $86.56B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 8.36 | 34.03 |
| Forward P/Ei | 21.74 | 21.42 |
| Price/Salesi | 3.75 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 2.50 | 5.27 |
| Analyst targeti | $264.09 | $171.81 |
| Target upsidei | +21.46% | +10.72% |
| Metric | HON | EMR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 4.30% | 7.00% |
| Earnings growthi | 263.90% | 23.00% |
| EPS growthi | +263.90% | +23.00% |
| FCF margini | +6.86% | +19.89% |
| Operating margini | 20.25% | 26.92% |
| Profit margini | 21.58% | 13.83% |
| ROIC proxyi | 46.58% | 12.80% |
| Return on equityi | 46.58% | 12.80% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.29% | 1.43% |
| Payout ratioi | 36.14% | 47.98% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.92 | 1.24 |
| Debt/equityi | 185.37 | 67.68 |
| Current ratioi | 1.21 | 0.90 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.76 | 0.62 |
Over the past year, HON and EMR have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.50), 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 | HON | EMR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -1.78% | +13.65% |
| CAGRi | -1.78% | +13.66% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.03% | 31.86% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.10 | 0.42 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.14 | 0.60 | |
| Max drawdowni | 19.06% | 23.74% | |
| Current drawdowni | 17.01% | 8.80% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.64% | 7.99% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.25% | 9.95% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.00% | 6.26% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.46% | 8.22% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +3.49% | +71.45% |
| CAGRi | +0.69% | +11.40% | |
| Volatilityi | 22.70% | 27.76% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.05 | 0.37 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.08 | 0.53 | |
| Max drawdowni | 25.21% | 29.61% | |
| Current drawdowni | 17.01% | 8.80% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.68% | 8.46% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 11.20% | 10.40% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.62% | 8.65% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.33% | 15.00% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +126.50% | +266.68% |
| CAGRi | +8.52% | +13.88% | |
| Volatilityi | 24.04% | 29.28% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.27 | 0.44 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.39 | 0.62 | |
| Max drawdowni | 43.01% | 50.77% | |
| Current drawdowni | 17.01% | 8.80% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.30% | 9.23% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.72% | 11.96% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.09% | 18.96% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.70% | 28.66% |
| Category | HON | EMR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Honeywell International Inc. | Emerson Electric Co. |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Conglomerates | Specialty Industrial Machinery |
| Core business | Honeywell is a diversified industrial conglomerate providing automation controls, aerospace equipment, performance materials, and building technologies. Key segments include Aerospace Technologies (aircraft equipment, avionics, engines), Industrial Automation (warehouse automation, process control for oil & gas and chemicals), Building Automation (HVAC, fire, security), and Energy & Sustainability Solutions. Honeywell has been selectively separating businesses — the planned separation of its Advanced Materials segment was announced in 2024. | Emerson Electric has transformed from a broad industrial conglomerate into a focused automation company through portfolio restructuring. After selling climate businesses to create Copeland (HVAC compressors), acquiring AspenTech (industrial software), and divesting industrial tools, Emerson focuses on Intelligent Devices (automation valves, actuators, sensors) and Software & Control (AspenTech, DeltaV process control). Emerson serves oil & gas, chemicals, life sciences, food & beverage, and power industries globally. |
| Investor focus | Investors track aerospace order growth (the fastest-growing segment), industrial automation adoption, software-defined automation growth, and Honeywell's portfolio reshaping plans. | Investors track automation order backlog, AspenTech software revenue growth (the SaaS component enabling multiple expansion), and overall Intelligent Devices margin improvement. |
- Aerospace segment growth is exceptional — aircraft production ramp and air travel recovery are driving strong aerospace equipment demand
- Software-defined automation (Honeywell Forge) positions the company for digital industrial revenue beyond hardware
- Process automation installed base in oil & gas, chemicals, and power generation creates long-term service and maintenance recurring revenue
- Pure-play automation focus after portfolio transformation — Emerson's simplification is expected to unlock conglomerate discount and improve management focus
- AspenTech industrial software is a unique digital industrial asset — process simulation and optimization software is deeply embedded in petrochemical and engineering workflows
- Process automation installed base in oil & gas and chemicals provides long-term aftermarket parts and service revenue complementing new project sales
- Honeywell's portfolio complexity (4+ major segments) creates conglomerate discount — each segment has different cycles and competitors
- Portfolio reshaping (Advanced Materials separation) may not fully realize sum-of-parts value if capital markets remain skeptical of conglomerates
- Industrial automation faces competition from Emerson, ABB, Siemens, and Rockwell Automation in specific market segments
- Transformation complexity — selling climate businesses, integrating AspenTech, and refocusing took years and created operational uncertainty during transition
- AspenTech integration and minority ownership structure (Emerson owns 57%) creates accounting complexity in earnings reporting
- Honeywell, Siemens, and ABB compete directly with Emerson's automation products — no single player dominates process automation
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.