CECO vs FTEK: How CECO Environmental and Fuel Tech Compare (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.

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. CECO and FTEK 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 CECO and FTEK 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.

CECO Environmental was incorporated in 1966 and now runs out of Addison, Texas, just outside Dallas. It sells engineered equipment that cleans, moves, separates, quiets and heats industrial process streams: selective catalytic reduction systems and gas turbine inlet and exhaust packages for power plants, cyclones and dust collectors for cement and metals, thermal oxidizers and scrubbers for chemicals, filtration and fluid handling for semiconductors and food processing, and acoustic enclosures where noise limits are part of the permit. The business is reported in two segments, Engineered Systems and Industrial Process Solutions. On June 1, 2026 CECO closed a roughly $2.2 billion combination with Thermon Group, a maker of electric and steam heat tracing, controllers, boilers and thermal fluid heaters, adding a business with roughly $520 million of annual revenue, gross margins near 45 percent and a large recurring maintenance component. CECO shareholders own about 62.5 percent of the combined company.

Full CECO guide

Fuel Tech, Inc. (Nasdaq: FTEK) is a technology company that uses advanced engineering to provide emissions-control systems and, increasingly, water and process-treatment technologies for utility and industrial customers. It operates through two reporting segments. The Air Pollution Control (APC) segment designs and installs engineered systems that reduce nitrogen-oxide and other emissions, such as SCR and SNCR solutions, and its revenue is project-based and tied to backlog, which makes it lumpy quarter to quarter. The FUEL CHEM segment uses the company's proprietary chemical-injection technology to control slagging, fouling, and corrosion inside boilers and furnaces, improving efficiency; it is a more recurring, program-based revenue stream.

Full FTEK guide

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

• CECO drivers: Natural gas power and the data center buildout; Thermon and the shift toward recurring revenue.
• FTEK drivers: Recurring FUEL CHEM revenue; Air Pollution Control backlog recovery.

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: Project revenue is lumpy, and a book to bill above two in one quarter does not repeat forever. For FTEK, fuel Tech's core Air Pollution Control business is project-driven and lumpy, so revenue and earnings can swing sharply with the timing of large orders and backlog conversion, making any single quarter a poor guide to the trend.

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 CECO if you believe its drivers more; FTEK 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 CECO and FTEK guides.

CECO. The trailing numbers and the forward numbers describe two different companies, because Thermon only joined on June 1, 2026 and the 2026 guide carries seven months of it. That gap is why the GAAP multiple looks extreme while the forward multiple looks like an ordinary growth industrial. Anyone reading CECO on trailing figures alone will misprice it in one direction, and anyone reading it purely on guidance assumes the synergy and conversion plan lands.

FTEK. All figures here are approximate, qualitative, and drawn from recent public reporting; a small, project-driven company like FTEK can see results swing with order timing. Always verify live financials, cash, backlog, and price in a current filing or quote before making any decision. This is not investment advice.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): CECO shows revenue (ttm) ~$804M, with FY2025 revenue of ~$774M, up ~39%, fy2026 guidance (with thermon) Revenue ~$1.275B to ~$1.375B, adjusted EBITDA ~$195M to ~$225M, q1 2026 orders and backlog Orders ~$450M (up ~97%), backlog ~$1.035B, book to bill ~2.2x, q1 2026 margins Gross margin ~31%, adjusted EBITDA margin ~9.9%, adjusted EPS ~$0.36; FTEK shows revenue (ttm) Full-year 2025 revenue was reported in the high-20-million-dollar range, up modestly year over year, split between the lumpier Air Pollution Control segment and the steadier FUEL CHEM segment. Verify current figures before acting., profitability Roughly breakeven to modestly loss-making; the company reported a slim net loss for 2025. The investment case rests on returning to consistent profitability, which is not yet demonstrated., balance sheet Strong: substantial cash and investments (reported around thirty million dollars or more at year-end 2025) with no long-term debt, which is large relative to the company's market capitalization., cash position Cash and investments were reported near or above thirty million dollars entering 2026; treat as approximate and confirm against the latest filing..

CECO and FTEK 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 CECO and FTEK exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.