ALSN vs DAN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

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.

Reading it: DAN is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

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. ALSN and DAN 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 ALSN and DAN 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.

Allison Transmission Holdings, based in Indianapolis, designs and builds fully automatic transmissions and propulsion systems for on-highway trucks and buses, off-highway equipment, and defense vehicles. It is the clear global leader in medium- and heavy-duty automatic transmissions, with a large installed base, strong aftermarket parts and service revenue, and deep relationships with truck makers like Daimler, PACCAR, and Traton. The company also sells electric propulsion products such as its eGen axle line and remains a long-standing supplier of tracked-vehicle transmissions to the U.S. military and allied defense programs.

Full ALSN guide

Dana Incorporated makes the parts that put power on the road: axles, driveshafts, differentials, electrified propulsion units, and the sealing and thermal-management products that go around them. Founded in 1904 and based in Maumee, Ohio, it sells mostly to vehicle manufacturers rather than to consumers, and its content sits under pickups, SUVs, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and an aftermarket channel that keeps older vehicles running. As of mid-2026 the company reports in two segments. Light Vehicle did ~$1.38 billion of sales in the second quarter and Commercial Vehicle did ~$631 million, so roughly two-thirds of the revenue now rides on the light-truck and SUV cycle and about a third on commercial trucks. The Off-Highway unit that used to sit alongside them, the construction, agriculture and mining driveline business, was sold to Allison Transmission for ~$2.7 billion and closed on January 2, 2026.

Full DAN guide

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

• ALSN drivers: Off-Highway acquisition scale-up; Defense strength.
• DAN drivers: The Off-Highway sale reset the balance sheet; Margin self-help is showing up in the numbers.

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: Allison's core on-highway transmission business is cyclical and fell about 4% year over year even as total revenue surged, so a downturn in North American Class 8 and vocational truck demand would pressure the highest-margin segment. For DAN, dana sells to a handful of large vehicle manufacturers, so a production cut at one customer flows straight into revenue with very little to cushion it.

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 ALSN if you believe its drivers more; DAN 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 ALSN and DAN guides.

ALSN. First-quarter 2026 revenue of roughly $1.41 billion beat expectations, but most of the growth was inorganic from the off-highway acquisition while the core transmission unit declined about 4%. Full-year 2026 guidance calls for revenue of roughly $5.58 billion to $5.93 billion and adjusted EBITDA around a 25% midpoint margin, including more than $100 million of one-time integration costs. The stock's mid-teens to high-teens earnings multiple sits above its own long-run median, reflecting the expanded, more diversified revenue base.

DAN. Second-quarter sales of ~$2.01 billion came in above consensus and adjusted EBITDA of ~$207 million lifted the margin ~270 basis points year over year, which is what pushed management to raise the full-year outlook by roughly $225 million of sales. At ~$29.70 a share the stock is near ~15x the midpoint of guided adjusted EPS, while the guided free cash flow midpoint of ~$325 million is close to a tenth of the ~$3.2 billion market cap, so the equity and earnings multiples tell different stories. Enterprise value against ~$800 million to ~$850 million of guided adjusted EBITDA works out to roughly five times, low by broad-market standards and normal for a cyclical supplier at a point in the cycle nobody is sure about.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): ALSN shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.9B, fy2026 revenue guidance ~$5.58B to $5.93B, q1 2026 revenue ~$1.41B (+84% YoY), q1 2026 adjusted eps ~$2.57; DAN shows revenue (ttm) ~$7.66B, market cap ~$3.2B, q2 2026 adjusted ebitda margin ~10.3% (vs ~7.6%), fy2026 guidance (sales / adj. ebitda) ~$7.65B-$7.85B / ~$800M-$850M.

ALSN and DAN 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 ALSN and DAN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.