Crane vs RBC Bearings
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Crane and RBC Bearings side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Crane is the larger business, with $2.3B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $1.9B for RBC Bearings.
- RBC Bearings grew revenue faster (14.3%, against 8.2%).
- RBC Bearings kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (22.5% operating margin, against 18.4%).
- RBC Bearings turned more of its sales into free cash flow (18.3% FCF margin, against 14.8%).
- Crane earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (15.2%, against 8.0%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of RBC Bearings’s earnings: a P/E of 47.8x against 33.7x for Crane.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Crane
CR
5/10
Net marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
RBC Bearings
RBC
4/10
Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginFCF margin
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CR FY25 | RBC FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $11.3B | $15.3B |
| Revenue | $2.3B | $1.9B |
| Free cash flow | $341M | $343M |
| Net income | $367M | $288M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.2% | 14.3% |
| 5-year growth | — | 25.2% |
| Share count change | 0.5% | 4.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 42.2% | 44.4% |
| Operating margin | 18.4% | 22.5% |
| Net margin | 15.9% | 15.4% |
| FCF margin | 14.8% | 18.3% |
| Return on capital | 15.2% | 8.0% |
| Return on equity | 19.8% | 9.0% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $642M | $864M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.4x | 1.6x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $52.9M | $0.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 33.7x | 47.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.