Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, which does business as Wabtec, builds locomotives and the equipment that goes on trains, then services it for years. Its roots go back to George Westinghouse's 1869 air brake. Acquisitions shaped the modern company, notably France's Faiveley Transport in 2017 and GE Transportation, bought from General Electric in 2019. Based in Pittsburgh, it has about 31,000 employees and operations in over 50 countries.

The Freight segment brought in about 72% of the $11.2 billion in fiscal 2025 sales. It builds and modernizes diesel-electric locomotives and supplies freight car brakes, signaling, positive train control (safety systems that can automatically stop a train) and rail software. Customers include large railroads, leasing companies and mining and marine firms. About 58% of Freight sales come from the aftermarket: parts, overhauls and service for equipment already in use. A base of nearly 24,600 locomotives keeps that work coming back.

The Transit segment, about 28% of sales, makes brakes, doors, air conditioning and other parts for subway cars, high-speed trains and buses. Customers include public transit agencies, cities and vehicle builders. Only about 17% of Transit sales are in the U.S., and about 56% come from the aftermarket. Across the company, North America accounted for about 55% of sales and India, the next-largest market, about 6%.

• In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $3.12B, up 8.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $409.0M (+31.9%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was $11.17B (+7.5% year over year; +8.1% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 10.5% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $2.50B in buybacks and $639.0M in dividends.
• Regular dividend per share increased 4 years in a row.
• Regular dividends per share grew +15.8% a year over 5 years (FY2020–FY2025).
• Dividends took 14.8% of earnings and 11.5% of free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed -10.2% from Oct 22, 2021 to Oct 16, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s market value went from $7.39B at the end of 2016 to $48.12B on Nov 2, 2026, about 6.5 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 32%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-10-27 to 2026-10-27 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 70 sales ($27.5M), 57 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in WAB

1. A few big customers drive sales. Several key customers make up a large share of Wabtec's business. They often order as needed and may delay or cancel. Longer-lasting parts also mean fewer replacements. Losing one big customer could hurt results.
2. Rail and transit spending runs in cycles. In downturns, railroads can put off spending to conserve cash, and lower freight traffic cuts demand for replacement parts. Transit orders depend on government funding and replacement programs, which shift from year to year.
3. Strong competition limits price increases. Wabtec faces a few established rivals, some with more money, cheaper sourcing or government support. Cost-conscious customers with strong bargaining power have historically limited its ability to raise prices.
4. Acquisitions may not deliver expected benefits. Wabtec plans to keep buying businesses, such as the Inspection Technologies and Frauscher deals of 2025. Combining companies can take longer or deliver smaller gains than expected.
5. Global exposure to tariffs, currencies and conflicts. Wabtec operates in more than 50 countries, with substantial operations in emerging markets. Tariffs, trade limits, exchange-rate swings, regional conflicts and political shifts can raise costs, squeeze margins or reduce demand.
6. Debt limits financial flexibility. Wabtec had $6.4 billion of debt against $489 million of cash as of September 30, 2026. Rules in its loan and bond agreements limit some decisions, and debt payments could strain finances in a downturn.

• Oct 21, 2026 Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
• Oct 1, 2026 New debt or financial obligation
• Jul 22, 2026 Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
• May 15, 2026 Shareholder vote results
• Apr 22, 2026 Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
• Mar 3, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Feb 11, 2026 Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement

Wabtec pays a small but fast-growing dividend. Dividends per share rose from $0.48 in fiscal 2020 to $1.00 in fiscal 2025, about 16% a year, with four straight annual increases. The dividend used about 15% of fiscal 2025 earnings and 12% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). But the yield was 0.42% as of October 28, 2026, so income is modest. Wabtec leans more on buybacks, spending about $2.5 billion repurchasing its own shares from fiscal 2021 to 2025, versus $639 million on dividends. The share count fell about 10% over five years.

Past crises hit the shares hard. They fell about 61% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 25 months to recover. They fell about 48% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about 10 months. In the 2022 bear market, they fell 19% and recovered in about four months. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.