COMPARE · Data as of August 24, 2026
DE vs MWA
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. DE scored 45.8, MWA scored 72.1 — MWA leads.
Compare another set
DE
Deere & Company
45.8
$648.64 · $175.1B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
26.3
MWA leads
MWA
MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS
72.1
$24.94 · $3.9B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
- CheapestMWA17.6x
- Fastest growthMWA+5.9%
- Strongest balance sheetMWA0.40
- Highest qualityMWA75 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
DE
stronger →← stronger
MWA
60
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
75
50
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
65
32
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
77
MWA is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
DE
MWA
$3.8bB
FCF
$180mC
+4.0%C+
Rev
+5.9%C+
3.76D
D/E
0.40B+
36.0xC+
P/E
17.6xA-
1.49B
PEG
1.02B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
DE
MWA
86% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
52% above
~30%/yr
Growth the price implies10-yr FCF · lower = less priced in
~13%/yr
-59%
1-yr DCF upside
-33%
-46%
5-yr DCF upside
-34%
-20%
10-yr DCF upside
-35%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
DE
Why this score
- Cyclical growth
MWA
No notable signals flagged.
The companies
DEDeere & Company
Why now
Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery · market cap $175.1b. 4% off the 52-week high of $674.19. 22 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $661.94 (implying +2% upside).
Moat
ROE 17% sits above Buffett's preferred 15% threshold — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. $175.1b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
D/E 3.76 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Trailing P/E 36x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
MWAMUELLER WATER PRODUCTS
Why now
Specialty Industrial Machinery · market cap $3.9b. 20% off the 52-week high of $31.00. 6 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $31.00 (implying +24% upside).
Moat
Net margin 15% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 20% sits above Buffett's preferred 15% threshold — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where DE and MWA diverge
On the headline score the gap is 26.3 points in favor of MWA. The widest single difference is Value, where MWA leads by 44.7 points.
- ValueDE 32.2 · MWA 76.9MWA +44.7
- QualityDE 59.6 · MWA 75.0MWA +15.4
- GrowthDE 50.0 · MWA 65.0MWA +15.0
Pillars run 0–100 against sector peers, so a score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.