HON vs ITRI: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 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: ITRI 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. HON and ITRI 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 HON and ITRI 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.

Honeywell, which now operates as Honeywell Technologies (Nasdaq: HON), describes itself as a global, pure-play automation company serving the building, industrial and process sectors through services, solutions and products, run on its Accelerator operating system and its Forge intelligence layer. It has more than 50,000 employees and decades of operating data from a global installed base. Its Building Automation business sells controls, sensors, fire and security systems for commercial buildings. Industrial Automation covers process control, sensing, warehouse automation and the productivity (barcode scanning) business, and the process-technology franchise licenses refining and petrochemical technology and supplies the equipment and services around it, such as its planned role at the Dangote refinery project in Kenya. Honeywell makes money from a mix of equipment sales, long-cycle projects, recurring service and growing software offerings.

Full HON guide

Itron is a technology company that provides products and services for utilities and cities to measure, manage, and optimize the delivery of electricity, gas, and water. It is best known for smart meters and the communication networks that connect them, enabling utilities to read consumption remotely, detect outages, manage demand, and reduce losses. Itron's business spans device solutions (meters and sensors), networked solutions (the communication infrastructure and data collection that turn meters into a connected grid), and outcomes (software, analytics, and managed services that help utilities act on the data). The company makes money selling hardware to utilities, building out networks, and increasingly through recurring software and services that analyze grid and resource data. Itron is positioned around grid modernization, energy efficiency, water conservation, and the integration of renewables and distributed energy resources. Headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington, Itron is a focused player in utility technology and smart infrastructure, with long sales cycles tied to utility capital budgets.

Full ITRI guide

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

• HON drivers: Pure-play automation focus; Software and physical AI on the installed base.
• ITRI drivers: Grid modernization and smart metering; Shift to recurring software and outcomes.

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: As a standalone automation company, Honeywell is more exposed to construction activity, manufacturing capex and energy-sector spending than when aerospace aftermarket revenue cushioned results. For ITRI, itron's revenue depends on utility capital spending, which moves slowly and is subject to regulatory approvals, so demand can be lumpy and tied to long, deal-by-deal sales cycles; trailing revenue has fallen to about $2.3 billion, and Q2 2026 sales were down about 7% year over year.

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 HON if you believe its drivers more; ITRI 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 HON and ITRI guides.

HON. Honeywell's headline numbers are hard to read because the June 2026 aerospace spin-off and a large Q2 gain sit inside the trailing figures, which is why the trailing P/E shows near 8x. On forward estimates the stock trades around 22x 2027 EPS of about $9.82, a multiple in line with quality automation peers. The Q3 report on October 22 (consensus EPS about $2.16 on revenue of about $5.0 billion) will give the first clean standalone quarter.

ITRI. At about $84 on October 16, 2026, Itron trades near 14 times trailing and 12 times forward earnings and about 1.6 times sales, a much lower multiple than earlier in 2026 after a 37% one-year decline. The discount reflects falling revenue and a weaker 2026 earnings outlook, set against margins and free cash flow that remain well above Itron's history. Q3 results arrive October 27, 2026, with consensus at about $1.56 EPS on $595 million of revenue.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): HON shows revenue (ttm, includes aerospace until june) ~$38.1 billion, q2 2026 revenue (continuing operations) ~$5.2 billion, 2026 revenue (analyst consensus) ~$20.2 billion, operating margin ~20%; ITRI shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.3B, q2 2026 revenue growth ~-7% YoY (~$563M), gross / operating margin ~40% / ~13.5%, net income (ttm) ~$274M (EPS ~$5.98).

HON and ITRI 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 HON and ITRI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.