AGCO vs CNH: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Last updated August 2026

Short answer

CNH is the larger of the two ($12.71B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (14.00x forward earnings, beta 1.21). AGCO is the smaller challenger ($7.15B), priced similarly on forward earnings (13.34x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.

AGCO vs CNH: the tie-breaker metrics

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Metric	AGCO	CNH	What it tells you
Market cap	$7.15B	$12.71B	Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove.
Forward P/E	13.34	14.00	Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up.
Trailing P/E	14.13	32.03	Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price.
Beta	1.07	1.21	Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through.
Price vs 52-week range	7% of range	29% of range	Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why.
Price / book	1.78	1.64	How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price.

Before you buy: how AGCO and CNH affect your concentration

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AGCO and CNH share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AGCO and CNH exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

What does AGCO Corporation (AGCO) do?

AGCO Corporation is one of the world's largest agricultural-equipment manufacturers, designing and selling tractors, combines, sprayers, hay tools and related machinery under the Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Valtra and PTx brands through a global dealer network. Roughly half of its sales come from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (where the premium Fendt brand is dominant), with the rest split across North America and South America. In recent years the company has reshaped its portfolio to focus on high-margin machinery and technology: it formed the PTx Trimble precision-ag joint venture in April 2024 (taking an 85% stake by folding in Trimble's agriculture assets) and sold the majority of its lower-margin Grain & Protein business to American Industrial Partners in an all-cash deal valued around $700 million later that year.

Full AGCO guide

What does CNH Industrial (CNH) do?

CNH Industrial N.V. designs, builds, and finances agricultural and construction equipment through brands including Case IH, New Holland, STEYR, and CASE Construction, plus a captive financing arm (CNH Industrial Capital). Agriculture is roughly 82% of industrial net sales and construction the remaining ~18%, giving the company heavy exposure to global farm income, crop prices, and dealer inventories. It is the second-largest ag-machinery manufacturer in the world after Deere, with a large installed base and a growing push into precision-agriculture technology.

Full CNH guide

AGCO vs CNH: how do they differ?

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

AGCO drivers: Farm-cycle recovery; Precision agriculture and PTx.
CNH drivers: Ag-equipment cycle turning up; Precision agriculture and technology.

Which fits which kind of investor

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: AGCO is highly cyclical, and a prolonged farm recession or another leg down in crop prices would keep pressuring volumes, pricing and margins. For CNH, cNH sits in one of the more cyclical corners of industrials, and a prolonged ag downturn would keep volumes, pricing, and margins under pressure well past the expected 2027 recovery.

AGCO or CNH: which should you pick?

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AGCO if you believe its drivers more; CNH if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AGCO and CNH guides.

AGCO vs CNH: the full fundamentals

AGCO. Revenue fell through the 2024 to 2025 ag-equipment downcycle from a 2023 peak near $14.4 billion, and 2025 landed around $9.8 billion. Q1 2026 net sales rose about 14% year over year to roughly $2.34 billion on a production recovery and European strength, and management guides full-year 2026 sales to roughly $10.5 to $10.7 billion with adjusted EPS near $6.00. The stock trades at a low-teens or lower earnings multiple, which reflects both cyclical trough earnings and skepticism about the timing of a recovery.

CNH. CNH's headline valuation looks elevated on a forward P/E of roughly 25x because earnings are depressed at the bottom of the cycle, a common pattern for cyclical industrials where the multiple peaks on trough earnings. Full-year 2025 revenue fell about 9% and net income more than halved versus 2024, and 2026 guidance points to further softness before a hoped-for 2027 recovery. The stock trades around low-double-digit dollars per share with a small dividend near $0.10 annually.

Headline figures (approximate, MAY 2026): AGCO shows revenue (2025 full year) ~$9.8B, revenue (2026 guidance) ~$10.5-10.7B, adj. eps (2026 guidance) ~$6.00, market cap ~$8.4B; CNH shows revenue (fy2025) ~$18.1B, net income (fy2025) ~$505M, adjusted diluted eps (fy2025) ~$0.55, 2026 adjusted eps guidance ~$0.35 to $0.45.

The bottom line: AGCO vs CNH

AGCO and CNH are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AGCO and CNH exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.

Wondering how AGCO or CNH fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.

Investing in AGCO Corporation with AI

Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how AGCO fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.

See how it fits your portfolio

FAQ

What is the difference between AGCO and CNH?

Is AGCO or CNH the better stock?

Neither is universally better. CNH is the larger incumbent; AGCO is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.

Which is cheaper, AGCO or CNH?

On forward P/E (as of August 2026), AGCO trades at 13.34x and CNH at 14.00x, so AGCO is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.

Should you own both AGCO and CNH?

Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.

What are the risks of AGCO vs CNH?

AGCO: AGCO is highly cyclical, and a prolonged farm recession or another leg down in crop prices would keep pressuring volumes, pricing and margins. The company is smaller and less profitable than Deere, so it has less pricing power and a thinner margin cushion when demand falls. Tariffs, foreign-exchange swings (given heavy European and South American exposure) and rising manufacturing costs have already weighed on gross margin. Elevated dealer inventories can delay any recovery even after underlying farmer demand improves. Execution risk on the precision-ag strategy and integration of PTx Trimble adds further uncertainty to the higher-margin growth story. CNH: CNH sits in one of the more cyclical corners of industrials, and a prolonged ag downturn would keep volumes, pricing, and margins under pressure well past the expected 2027 recovery. Q1 2026 showed how quickly profits can compress: net income fell to roughly $10 million from over $130 million a year earlier, hurt by low North American demand, tariffs that management estimates as a ~210 to 220 basis-point drag on ag margins, and elevated Brazil credit costs. The captive finance book carries credit and interest-rate risk, and a weaker-than-hoped recovery could pressure the dividend, which was already modest at about $0.10 per share. Currency swings, commodity-price weakness that cuts farmer buying power, and intense competition from a better-capitalized Deere all add to the uncertainty.

Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell AGCO or CNH; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.