Honeywell traces its roots to inventor Albert Butz's company, the Butz-Thermo Electric Regulator Company in 1885, which produced a predecessor to the modern thermostat. From its origins developing climate control technology, which still operates today, Honeywell has emerged as a sprawling conglomerate with operations that span the globe. Today, Honeywell operates through four business segments--Aerospace, Building Technologies, Performance Materials and Technologies, and Safety and Productivity Solutions--increasingly transforming itself into a software-industrial company serving diverse end markets like the U.S. defense, e-commerce, and oil & gas industries.

With historical ties to inventor Thomas Edison, General Electric was formed through the combination of two companies in 1892. Today, GE is known for its digital industrial offerings and massive installed base spread across a variety of products and services, including aircraft engines, gas turbines, steam turbines, wind turbines, locomotives, and LED lighting, among others. In its current form, the company focuses on aviation, healthcare, and power, but management announced corporate actions in 2018 that will make aviation, power, and renewable energy the primary areas of focus going forward.

ABB is a global supplier of electrical equipment and automation products. Founded in the late 19th century, the company was created out of the merger of two old industrial companies--ASEA and BBC--and is now called Asea Brown Boveri Group, or ABB. The company is the number-one or number-two supplier in all of its core markets and the number-two robotic arm supplier globally. In automation, it offers a full suite of products for both discrete and process automation.

Emerson Electric is a multi-industrial conglomerate that operates under two business platforms: Automation Solutions and Commercial and Residential Solutions. The latter is further subdivided into two operating segments: climate technologies, which sells HVAC and refrigeration products and services, as well as tools and home products, which sells tools and compressors, among other products and services. Commercial and residential solutions boasts several household brands, including Copeland, InSinkErator, and RIDGID. Automation solutions is most known for its process manufacturing solutions, which consists of measurement instrumentation, as well as valves and actuators, among other products and services. About half of the firm's geographic sales take place in the United States.

Roper is a diversified technology company that operates out of four segments: Application Software, Network Software & Systems, Measurement & Analytical Solutions, and Process Technologies. The firm's culture emphasizes acquiring asset-light, cash-generative businesses. Roper then reinvests this excess cash in businesses that yield incrementally higher rates of return. While the firm's businesses are managed in a decentralized manner, Roper does not passively manage its portfolio. Instead, Roper manages its businesses through the Socratic method and empowers decision-makers through group executive coaching. Roper has now rotated a clear majority of its business from legacy industrial products into technology software in mature, niche markets with large quantities of deferred revenue.

Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company operating for over 100 years. The company operates through various segments, including Electrical Products, Electrical Systems and Services, Hydraulics, Aerospace, Vehicle, and most recently, eMobility. Eaton's portfolio can broadly be divided into two halves. One part of its portfolio is housed under its Industrial Sector umbrella, which serves a large variety of end markets like commercial vehicles, general aviation, trucks, and construction markets, among others. The other portion is Eaton's Electrical Sector Portfolio, which was strengthened with its acquisition of Cooper Industries in 2012. While the company receives favorable tax treatment as a domiciliary of Ireland, most of its operations take place in the United States.

TE Connectivity is a global leader in the connectors and sensors industry. TE manufactures and designs products that connect and protect the flow of power and data inside millions of products used by consumers and industries, particularly in mission-critical applications that face harsh environments and require unwavering reliability. The company operates in three segments: transportation, industrial, and communications.

Ingersoll Rand is a diversified industrial company that currently operates two segments. The $12.3 billion climate segment manufactures and services HVAC systems and transportation refrigeration solutions under its prominent Trane, American Standard, and Thermo King brands. The $3.3 billion industrial segment sells Ingersoll Rand-branded compression systems and power tools, ARO-branded fluid management equipment, and Club Car-branded utility vehicles. Ingersoll Rand announced it will spin-off and merge its industrial segment with Gardner Denver in 2020 and operate as a pure-play HVAC and refrigeration business thereafter. The Irish-domiciled company generates approximately two thirds of its sales in the United States.

Amphenol is one of the world's largest designers and manufacturers of connectors, cables, and sensor-based products. Its products are used primarily to transmit electrical and optical signals for a wide range of electronic applications. Primary end markets include voice, video, and data communication systems, commercial and military aerospace electronics, industrial factory automation equipment, mobile devices, and transportation applications.

Spun off from Danaher in 2016, Fortive is a diversified industrial firm operating in two distinct business segments: professional instruments and industrial technologies. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including retail fueling, manufacturing, medical, automotive aftermarket, and power. Its broad array of products includes test tools, sensors, fueling equipment, telematics, point-of-sale and payment systems, as well as associated software. Fortive generated roughly $6.5 billion in revenue and $1.2 billion in operating income in 2018.