RRX vs TKR: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Last updated September 2026

Short answer

RRX is the larger of the two ($10.45B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (12.01x forward earnings, beta 1.07). TKR is the smaller challenger ($8.25B), actually pricier on forward earnings (16.37x): 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.

RRX vs TKR: the tie-breaker metrics

Same yardstick, side by side (as of September 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.

MetricRRXTKRWhat it tells you
Market cap$10.45B$8.25BSize. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove.
Forward P/E12.0116.37Valuation 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/E32.2432.27Valuation 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.
Beta1.071.23Volatility 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 range24% of range64% of rangeWhere 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 / book1.512.59How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price.

Reading it: RRX 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.

Before you buy: how RRX and TKR 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. RRX and TKR 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 RRX and TKR 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 Regal Rexnord (RRX) do?

Regal Rexnord sells the hardware that creates, transmits and controls mechanical motion, and it does so through three segments that behave very differently. Industrial Powertrain Solutions is the largest at $1,317.7 million of first-half 2026 sales, about 43% of the company, and it makes bearings, couplings, gearing, clutches and brakes for energy, metals and mining, food and beverage and general industrial customers. Automation & Motion Control produced $934.8 million in the same period, roughly 31%, selling controllers, drives, precision motors, linear actuators and conveying systems into discrete automation, data centers, aerospace and defense and medical applications. Power Efficiency Solutions contributed $785.0 million, about 26%, and covers electric motors and air moving subsystems for residential and commercial HVAC, pool equipment and general purpose applications. The current shape reflects two deliberate portfolio moves: the acquisition of Altra Industrial Motion in March 2023, which brought the coupling, gearing and Kollmorgen precision motion businesses, and the 2024 sale of the industrial motors and generators businesses for roughly $375 million of proceeds. North America accounted for $2,102.2 million of first-half sales, Europe $527.6 million and Asia $246.0 million.

Full RRX guide

What does The Timken Company (TKR) do?

The Timken Company designs and manufactures tapered roller bearings, engineered bearings, and a broad range of power transmission products through two segments: Engineered Bearings (Timken, GGB, and Fafnir brands serving wind, rail, aerospace, agriculture, mining, and automotive) and Industrial Motion (industrial drives, linear motion, lubrication systems, chains, belts, couplings, seals, and clutches under brands like Cone Drive, Rollon, Nadella, Groeneveld, and BEKA). Founded in 1899, it sells to original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket end users across roughly a dozen industrial end markets globally, giving it exposure to both new-equipment builds and recurring replacement demand.

Full TKR guide

RRX vs TKR: 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.

  • RRX drivers: Automation & Motion Control is where the growth sits; Debt paydown is converting interest expense into equity value.
  • TKR drivers: Engineered bearings and renewable energy demand; Industrial Motion diversification and automation.

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: The most immediate risk is the quality of the 2026 guidance. For TKR, timken's results are cyclical and closely tied to global industrial production, capital equipment spending, and demand from autos, trucks, mining, and construction, so a manufacturing slowdown or recession can pressure volumes and margins.

RRX or TKR: 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 RRX if you believe its drivers more; TKR 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 RRX and TKR guides.

RRX vs TKR: the full fundamentals

RRX. Two multiples describe this share price and they are almost seven times apart, because roughly $346 million of annual intangible amortization from the Altra purchase sits inside GAAP earnings and outside the adjusted figure. Enterprise value to sales of ~2.54x is the cleaner comparison to diversified motion peers, and it prices Regal Rexnord below where Rockwell Automation or Parker Hannifin have typically traded. The discount tracks the leverage: net debt is about 38% of enterprise value, so a given move in operating profit moves the equity considerably more than it would at an unlevered competitor.

TKR. Timken reported Q1 2026 revenue of about $1.23 billion, up roughly 8 percent year over year, with adjusted EPS near $1.67 and adjusted EBITDA margin around 18.8 percent, and it raised full-year guidance. At a mid-July 2026 share price near $139 and a market cap around $9.8 billion, the stock trades at roughly 22 to 24 times the midpoint of adjusted 2026 earnings. The valuation reflects a profitable, dividend-paying industrial whose multiple compresses and expands with the manufacturing cycle.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): RRX shows revenue (ttm) ~$6.06 billion for the twelve months to June 30, 2026, up ~3.5%, versus ~$5.94 billion in fiscal 2025, ~$6.03 billion in fiscal 2024 and ~$6.25 billion in fiscal 2023. Second-quarter sales were $1,558.4 million, up 4.2% reported and 3.3% organic, after $1,479.1 million in the first quarter. Enterprise daily orders grew 8.8% in the quarter, ahead of shipments., earnings and eps GAAP net income of ~$324 million and diluted EPS of $4.86 for the trailing twelve months, against $279.5 million and $4.20 in fiscal 2025, $196.2 million and $2.94 in fiscal 2024 and a $57.4 million loss in fiscal 2023. Second-quarter GAAP EPS was $1.74 and adjusted diluted EPS was $2.99, of which $0.39 came from IEEPA tariff refunds. Full-year 2026 guidance is $5.42 to $5.92 GAAP and $10.35 to $10.85 adjusted, midpoint $10.60 including $0.57 of refunds., segment mix and margins First-half 2026 sales split $1,317.7 million Industrial Powertrain Solutions, $934.8 million Automation & Motion Control and $785.0 million Power Efficiency Solutions. Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA margins excluding tariff refunds were 25.9% for IPS, 19.9% for AMC and 16.2% for PES. AMC grew 15.6% organically while PES fell 6.6% on residential HVAC and pool weakness, a mix shift that lowers the blended margin even as the top line accelerates., cash flow and capital intensity Free cash flow of $154.1 million in the second quarter of 2026 after negative $2.5 million in the seasonally weak first quarter, on first-half operating cash flow of $191.6 million and capital spending of $39.9 million. Fiscal 2025 operating cash flow was $990.8 million against $97.7 million of capex, though that figure was helped by the receivables securitization facility opened on June 30, 2025. Amortization of $173.0 million and depreciation of $75.8 million in the first half explain most of the distance between net income and cash generation. R&D was $198.7 million in fiscal 2025.; TKR shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.6B, q1 2026 revenue ~$1.23B (up ~8% YoY), q1 2026 adjusted eps ~$1.67, 2026 adjusted eps guidance ~$5.75 to $6.25.

The bottom line: RRX vs TKR

RRX and TKR 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 RRX and TKR exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.

Wondering how RRX or TKR 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 Regal Rexnord with AI

Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how RRX 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.

FAQ

What is the difference between RRX and TKR?

+

Regal Rexnord sells the hardware that creates, transmits and controls mechanical motion, and it does so through three segments that behave very differently. The Timken Company designs and manufactures tapered roller bearings, engineered bearings, and a broad range of power transmission products through two segments: Engineered Bearings (Timken, GGB, and Fafnir brands serving wind, rail, aerospace, agriculture, mining, and automotive) and Industrial Motion (industrial drives, linear motion, lubrication systems, chains, belts, couplings, seals, and clutches under brands like Cone Drive, Rollon, Nadella, Groeneveld, and BEKA). They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.

Is RRX or TKR the better stock?

+

Neither is universally better. RRX is the larger incumbent; TKR is the smaller challenger and looks pricier 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, RRX or TKR?

+

On forward P/E (as of September 2026), RRX trades at 12.01x and TKR at 16.37x, so RRX 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 RRX and TKR?

+

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 RRX vs TKR?

+

RRX: The most immediate risk is the quality of the 2026 guidance. Management held its adjusted EPS midpoint at $10.60, but it now contains $0.57 per share of IEEPA tariff refunds that did not exist in the prior guide, so the operating assumption underneath was cut by roughly 5%. Three reasons were given: a longer timeline on planned productivity gains, price realization lagging a faster pace of inflation, and unfavorable segment mix. Refunds of this kind are non-recurring by nature and can be revisited if similar duties are reimposed under other statutory authority. Second, the balance sheet leaves little room. Gross debt of $4,611.8 million against $441.6 million of cash means roughly $4.17 billion of net debt, funded at 6.05% on the $1,250 million due 2028, 6.30% on the $1,100 million due 2030 and 6.40% on the $1,250 million due 2033. Trailing interest of about $332 million consumes close to half of GAAP operating profit. Third, the asset base is intangible. Goodwill of $6,575.8 million plus $3,230.7 million of net intangibles equals $9.81 billion against total assets of $13.75 billion and equity of $6.92 billion, so tangible book value is roughly negative $2.9 billion and an impairment in any reporting unit would move equity sharply. The company already reported a net loss of $57.4 million in fiscal 2023. Fourth, working capital reporting is complicated by a receivables securitization facility opened on June 30, 2025 and renewed on June 29, 2026 at $430 million for eighteen months, with $373.6 million of receivables derecognized at quarter end, which makes year-over-year cash flow comparisons unreliable without adjustment. Finally, leadership changed twice in two months, with Aamir Paul arriving as chief executive on July 1, 2026 and a new Industrial Powertrain Solutions president named on June 1, so capital allocation and portfolio priorities are not yet settled. TKR: Timken's results are cyclical and closely tied to global industrial production, capital equipment spending, and demand from autos, trucks, mining, and construction, so a manufacturing slowdown or recession can pressure volumes and margins. The company faces steel and raw-material cost inflation, currency translation swings from its large international footprint, and intense competition from bigger global players. Acquisitions and portfolio moves carry integration and execution risk, and end markets such as wind can be lumpy and policy-dependent. Debt taken on for deals raises interest expense, and any softening in the industrial cycle would flow directly to earnings.

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