ROK vs HON Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Rockwell Automation and Honeywell both serve industrial automation markets, but Rockwell Automation operates as a pure-play automation company focused on factory control systems and industrial software, while Honeywell is a diversified conglomerate spanning aerospace, building automation, performance materials, and industrial process control.
Rockwell Automation offers concentrated exposure to long-term factory automation trends through a pure-play business model, while Honeywell offers diversified exposure across aerospace, buildings, and industrial automation segments within a broader conglomerate structure. Consider whether you prefer Rockwell's automation focus or Honeywell's segment diversification.
ROK holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ROK has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+18.97% vs -2.45%), though HON has the better forward P/E setup (21.74x vs 29.22x for ROK). ROK leads on both revenue growth (7.90%) and operating margin (20.97%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for HON (+21.46%) than for ROK (+10.33%).
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.
- Want concentrated, pure-play exposure to long-term factory automation and manufacturing reshoring trends
- Value growing industrial software and recurring revenue as a complement to hardware sales
- Are comfortable with sensitivity to manufacturing capital spending cycles
- Prefer a focused automation business over a diversified conglomerate structure
- Want diversified exposure across aerospace, building automation, and industrial process control segments
- Believe a broad conglomerate structure reduces dependence on any single end market
- Value exposure to both cyclical aerospace and more stable long-cycle process control businesses
- Are comfortable with the complexity of valuing a multi-segment industrial conglomerate
| Metric | ROK | HON |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 53.2 | 42.0 |
| AI ranki | #352 | #976 |
| Latest closei | $410.05 | $206.49 |
| 1M returni | -5.45% | -9.32% |
| 6M returni | +15.27% | -9.84% |
| 1Y returni | +18.97% | -2.45% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ROK | HON |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.76K (+17.6%) started 2025-09-18 | $9.82K (-1.8%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $15.51K (+55.1%) started 2021-09-20 | $11.22K (+12.2%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $50.4K (+404.0%) started 2016-09-19 | $27.59K (+175.9%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ROK | HON |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $48.27B | $68.91B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 40.66 | 8.36 |
| Forward P/Ei | 29.22 | 21.74 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 3.75 |
| EV/Revenuei | 5.72 | 2.50 |
| Analyst targeti | $478.63 | $264.09 |
| Target upsidei | +10.33% | +21.46% |
| Metric | ROK | HON |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 7.90% | 4.30% |
| Earnings growthi | 40.40% | 263.90% |
| EPS growthi | +40.40% | +263.90% |
| FCF margini | +14.53% | +6.86% |
| Operating margini | 20.97% | 20.25% |
| Profit margini | 13.39% | 21.58% |
| ROIC proxyi | 30.63% | 46.58% |
| Return on equityi | 30.63% | 46.58% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.27% | 1.29% |
| Payout ratioi | 51.03% | 36.14% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.51 | 0.92 |
| Debt/equityi | 103.35 | 185.37 |
| Current ratioi | 1.07 | 1.21 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.66 | 0.76 |
Over the past year, ROK and HON have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.37), 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 | ROK | HON |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +17.64% | -1.76% |
| CAGRi | +17.66% | -1.77% | |
| Volatilityi | 30.80% | 27.03% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.54 | -0.10 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.78 | -0.14 | |
| Max drawdowni | 19.01% | 19.06% | |
| Current drawdowni | 17.17% | 17.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.44% | 7.64% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.62% | 9.25% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.43% | 6.00% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.51% | 10.46% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +44.89% | +3.50% |
| CAGRi | +7.71% | +0.69% | |
| Volatilityi | 32.30% | 22.70% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.25 | -0.05 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.36 | -0.08 | |
| Max drawdowni | 45.09% | 25.21% | |
| Current drawdowni | 17.17% | 17.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.51% | 9.68% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 18.84% | 11.20% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.56% | 7.62% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.72% | 14.33% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +321.22% | +126.53% |
| CAGRi | +15.47% | +8.52% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.64% | 24.04% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.47 | 0.27 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.68 | 0.39 | |
| Max drawdowni | 45.09% | 43.01% | |
| Current drawdowni | 17.17% | 17.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.84% | 8.30% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 15.60% | 10.72% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.56% | 12.09% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.70% | 24.70% |
| Category | ROK | HON |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Rockwell Automation, Inc. | Honeywell International Inc. |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Specialty Industrial Machinery | Conglomerates |
| Core business | A pure-play industrial automation company that designs and sells factory automation hardware, control systems, and industrial software used by manufacturers to automate and optimize production processes across a wide range of industries. | A diversified industrial conglomerate operating across aerospace, building automation, performance materials, and industrial process control segments, combining hardware, software, and services across a broad range of end markets. |
| Investor focus | Factory automation order trends, industrial software and recurring revenue growth, and manufacturing capital spending cycles across its customer base. | Segment-level growth and margin trends across aerospace, building automation, and industrial businesses, along with progress on any portfolio restructuring initiatives. |
- Pure-play focus on industrial automation provides concentrated exposure to long-term manufacturing automation and reshoring trends
- Growing industrial software and recurring revenue mix provides more predictable, higher-margin revenue alongside hardware sales
- Established relationships with manufacturers across diverse industries support a broad, durable customer base
- Diversified conglomerate structure spanning aerospace, buildings, and industrial segments reduces dependence on any single end market
- Strong positions in aerospace and process control provide exposure to both cyclical and more stable long-cycle end markets
- Broad technology and services portfolio supports cross-selling opportunities across its diverse customer base
- Order volumes are sensitive to manufacturing capital spending cycles, which can slow during periods of economic uncertainty
- Concentrated automation focus provides less diversification than larger, multi-segment industrial conglomerates
- Faces competition from other automation providers as well as manufacturers developing in-house automation capabilities
- Conglomerate structure can make it harder for investors to value individual segments compared to more focused industrial peers
- Aerospace segment exposure ties results partly to commercial and defense aviation cycles, which can be volatile
- Portfolio complexity requires disciplined capital allocation across multiple distinct businesses with different growth profiles
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.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.