VRT vs ETN: Vertiv vs Eaton Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Vertiv is the pure-play AI data center infrastructure company with direct exposure to power and cooling for GPU-dense environments. Eaton is a diversified power management leader with data center exposure alongside utility, industrial, and vehicle markets. Vertiv has more concentrated AI upside; Eaton has more diversification and balance sheet strength.
Use this VRT vs ETN comparison to evaluate two ways to invest in AI data center power infrastructure. Vertiv offers pure-play data center power and cooling exposure; Eaton offers broader power management diversification with data center growth as one of several drivers.
VRT holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. VRT has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+78.84% vs +18.21%), though ETN has the better forward P/E setup (25.07x vs 28.21x for VRT). VRT leads on both revenue growth (24.10%) and operating margin (20.36%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for VRT (+31.73%) 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.
- Want the most direct pure-play exposure to AI data center power and cooling infrastructure
- Believe liquid cooling for GPU-dense racks is a massive growth opportunity that Vertiv leads
- Value Vertiv's massive order backlog as providing multi-year revenue visibility
- Are comfortable with higher leverage and more concentrated data center exposure
- Prefer diversified power management exposure across data centers, utilities, industrial, and vehicles
- Value Eaton's stronger balance sheet, longer dividend history, and more conservative financial profile
- Want AI data center exposure alongside grid modernization and infrastructure mega project tailwinds
- Prefer a blue-chip industrial with more defensive characteristics during potential data center spending slowdowns
| Metric | VRT | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 72.9 | 62.2 |
| AI ranki | #27 | #111 |
| Latest closei | $253.28 | $439.98 |
| 1M returni | -3.99% | +4.90% |
| 6M returni | +0.88% | +23.12% |
| 1Y returni | +78.84% | +18.21% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | VRT | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $18.12K (+81.2%) started 2025-09-25 | $12.06K (+20.6%) started 2025-09-25 |
| 5Y ago | $104.88K (+948.8%) started 2021-09-27 | $32.26K (+222.6%) started 2021-09-27 |
| 10Y ago | $253.53K (+2435.3%) started 2018-08-02 | $105.2K (+952.0%) started 2016-09-26 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | VRT | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $98.83B | $156.44B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 57.95 | 40.97 |
| Forward P/Ei | 28.21 | 25.07 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 8.63 | 5.90 |
| Analyst targeti | $338.15 | $475.57 |
| Target upsidei | +31.73% | +18.07% |
| Metric | VRT | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 24.10% | 21.40% |
| Earnings growthi | 53.00% | -15.90% |
| EPS growthi | +53.00% | -15.90% |
| FCF margini | +23.49% | +10.34% |
| Operating margini | 20.36% | 16.56% |
| Profit margini | 15.09% | 12.75% |
| ROIC proxyi | 43.94% | 19.68% |
| Return on equityi | 43.94% | 19.68% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.10% | 1.09% |
| Payout ratioi | 5.09% | 43.58% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 2.08 | 1.18 |
| Debt/equityi | 70.17 | 105.06 |
| Current ratioi | 1.38 | 1.24 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.95 | 0.70 |
Over the past year, VRT and ETN have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.75), 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 | VRT | ETN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +81.21% | +20.63% |
| CAGRi | +81.37% | +20.66% | |
| Volatilityi | 65.97% | 39.19% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.17 | 0.56 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.76 | 0.79 | |
| Max drawdowni | 40.72% | 18.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 32.68% | 4.34% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.48% | 7.34% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.52% | 8.97% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.26% | 7.57% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 25.94% | 11.07% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +948.78% | +202.19% |
| CAGRi | +60.10% | +24.78% | |
| Volatilityi | 64.05% | 31.94% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.00 | 0.72 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.43 | 1.01 | |
| Max drawdowni | 70.25% | 34.46% | |
| Current drawdowni | 32.68% | 4.34% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 23.43% | 8.38% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 31.50% | 11.06% | |
| Max daily dropi | 36.74% | 15.56% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 43.58% | 14.45% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +2435.34% | +749.32% |
| CAGRi | +48.70% | +23.86% | |
| Volatilityi | 55.40% | 30.84% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.92 | 0.70 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.33 | 1.02 | |
| Max drawdowni | 71.25% | 44.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 32.68% | 4.34% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 16.58% | 7.44% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 25.94% | 10.25% | |
| Max daily dropi | 36.74% | 15.56% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 47.70% | 24.11% |
| Category | VRT | ETN |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Vertiv Holdings Co | Eaton Corporation plc |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Electrical Equipment & Parts | Specialty Industrial Machinery |
| Core business | Critical digital infrastructure provider offering power management (UPS, switchgear), thermal management (cooling systems), and IT management solutions for data centers, communication networks, and commercial facilities. | Diversified power management company providing electrical distribution, power quality, UPS systems, circuit protection, and vehicle components for data centers, utilities, industrial, and commercial buildings. |
| Investor focus | AI data center order growth, liquid cooling adoption, power density solutions, backlog-to-revenue conversion, and margin expansion from operating leverage. | Data center electrical distribution growth, grid modernization revenue, mega project backlog (reshoring, infrastructure), vehicle electrification, and margin expansion. |
- Pure-play critical infrastructure provider with the most direct exposure to AI data center power and cooling buildout
- Liquid cooling leadership — Vertiv's rear-door and direct-to-chip cooling solutions are essential for high-density GPU racks
- Massive order backlog driven by hyperscaler and enterprise data center capacity expansion provides multi-year revenue visibility
- Diversified power management leader serving data centers, utilities, industrial, commercial, and transportation markets
- Electrical Americas segment is directly exposed to AI data center buildout, grid modernization, and infrastructure mega projects
- Stronger balance sheet and more consistent dividend growth history than pure-play data center infrastructure companies
- Execution risk in converting large backlog to revenue — supply chain constraints could delay delivery timelines
- Cyclical exposure to data center capital spending — any slowdown in hyperscaler capex would impact orders
- Higher leverage than Eaton — Vertiv's balance sheet is more aggressive post-PE ownership
- Less pure-play data center exposure than Vertiv — broader industrial diversification dilutes the AI theme
- Vehicle segment faces EV adoption uncertainty and cyclical commercial vehicle demand
- Premium valuation for an industrial company — requires sustained growth execution across all segments
Compare more than two at a time
This page is a fixed writeup on VRT and ETN. Our comparison engine is the interactive version: load up to five tickers, switch timeframes, and get the correlation, drawdown, and overlap analysis that a static page can't show.
Add three more names beside VRT and ETN, mixing stocks and ETFs in the same table — useful when the real question is which of a whole peer group to own.
AI score, forward P/E, analyst target upside, operating margin, and revenue growth are scored head-to-head, with a running tally of which ticker leads on how many metrics.
Volatility, Sharpe and Sortino ratios, maximum, current, and average drawdown, Ulcer Index, and worst single-day and single-week drops across every timeframe.
Pairwise daily-return correlation for every combination, so you can see whether two holdings actually diversify each other or just move together.
A scatter plot of forward P/E against return on equity, plus drawdown and 30-day rolling volatility charts, to separate what is cheap from what is merely beaten down.
For ETFs, a top-holdings comparison that exposes hidden overlap between funds. Every comparison exports to CSV for your own spreadsheet work.
Two comparisons a week are free without an account. A 14-day trial removes the limit and adds AI price forecasts, stock rankings, saved watchlists, and the intrinsic value calculator — no credit card required.
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.