AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
AIT has a slight edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
AIT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
AIT's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable.
RKLB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Unavailable |
RKLB's revenue is currently strong, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
AIT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 17x | $194 | -35% |
| Fair | 23x | $258 | -14% |
| Forward | 24x | $300 | — |
| Current | 27x | $300 | — |
| Expensive | 30x | $344 | +15% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AIT's PE is in its expensive range at 27x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 24x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
AIT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for AIT, with profitability holding steady.
RKLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
RKLB has the edge over AIT on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
AIT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $12.34 | +9.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $11.29 | +8.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.95 | +8.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.59 | +6.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.51 | +6.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.39 | +6% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.12 | +3% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.96 | +4.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.87 | +3.6% |
AIT has the edge over RKLB on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
RKLB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.36 | +$0.03 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.27 | +$0.19 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.32 | +$0.09 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.37 | +$0.01 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.39 | -$0.02 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.46 | -$0.11 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.41 | -$0.04 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.38 | $0.00 |
RKLB is still losing money, but less than at its worst: $0.36 per share over the past year, against $0.46 at its worst in mid-2025.
AIT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +7.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.4B | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.3B | +7.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.2B | +8.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +9.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | +5.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | +1.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B | -0.4% |
AIT's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $1.3B last quarter, up 7.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | -0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | -0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 11% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | -1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | +0.6 points |
AIT has the edge over RKLB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
RKLB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $267.8M | +73% |
| Q2 2026 | $234.1M | +62% |
| Q1 2026 | $200.3M | +63% |
| Q4 2025 | $179.7M | +36% |
| Q3 2025 | $155.1M | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $144.5M | +36% |
| Q1 2025 | $122.6M | +32% |
| Q4 2024 | $132.4M | +121% |
RKLB has the edge over AIT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -30% | +8.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | -25% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | -28% | +20 points |
| Q4 2025 | -28% | +11 points |
| Q3 2025 | -38% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -41% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | -48% | -1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | -39% | +41 points |
RKLB's operating margin was −30% last quarter, up 8.5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
AIT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $73.4M | -35% |
| Q2 2026 | $159.7M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $95.4M | -17% |
| Q4 2025 | $93.4M | +3.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $112M | -8.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $138.2M | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $114.9M | +50% |
| Q4 2024 | $89.9M | -6.5% |
AIT has the edge over RKLB on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
RKLB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$23.9M | +$45.5M |
| Q2 2026 | -$110.1M | -$54.8M |
| Q1 2026 | -$77.4M | +$5.5M |
| Q4 2025 | -$114.2M | -$90.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$69.4M | -$27.5M |
| Q2 2025 | -$55.3M | -$26.9M |
| Q1 2025 | -$82.9M | -$61.1M |
| Q4 2024 | -$23.9M | +$28.7M |
RKLB has burned cash in almost every quarter: −$326M over the past year, against −$232M the year before.
AIT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.8% | -677K shares |
| 1 year | -2.9% | -1.1M shares |
| 3 years | -5.4% | -2.1M shares |
| 5 years | -4.9% | -1.9M shares |
| Available history | -4.8% | -1.9M shares |
AIT has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $80M |
| Q2 2026 | $80.8M |
| Q1 2026 | $93M |
| Q4 2025 | $90.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $53.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $73M |
| Q1 2025 | $49.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $20.1M |
AIT spent $344M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 76% from the year before.
RKLB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.6% | +22.6M shares |
| 1 year | +23% | +124M shares |
| 3 years | +35% | +168M shares |
| 5 years | +46% | +204M shares |
RKLB has 652M diluted shares, up 23% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | — |
AIT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.5x | Very low |
AIT's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
RKLB Net Leverage
RKLB's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
AIT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 9.2 | Oversold |
AIT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 9 (oversold).
RKLB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.6 | Neutral |
RKLB's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 28 (neutral).
AIT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | AIT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 24x | 10% above |
| PE % | 71 | 58 | 13 pts above |
AIT is trading at 27x earnings, a 10% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
RKLB PE vs Industrials Sector
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
AIT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $317.1 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $329.2 | 8.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $302.8 | 1% below |
| 100 week MA | $274.5 | 9.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $225.3 | 33% above |
AIT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 33% above its 200-week average.
RKLB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $61.4 | 4.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $68.1 | 5.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $77.6 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $56.5 | 13% above |
| 200 week MA | $31.4 | 104% above |
RKLB has the edge over AIT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
AIT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $66.6 | $78.1 | +17% |
| 2021 | $78.1 | $101.6 | +30% |
| 2022 | $101.6 | $126.3 | +24% |
| 2023 | $126.3 | $172.7 | +37% |
| 2024 | $172.7 | $241.6 | +40% |
| 2025 | $241.6 | $264.8 | +9.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $264.8 | $299.8 | +13% |
AIT has the edge over RKLB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
RKLB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.82 | $10.3 | +4.9% |
| 2021 | $10.3 | $12.0 | +17% |
| 2022 | $12.0 | $3.77 | -69% |
| 2023 | $3.77 | $5.53 | +47% |
| 2024 | $5.53 | $27.2 | +392% |
| 2025 | $27.2 | $70.7 | +160% |
| 2026 YTD | $70.7 | $64.1 | -9.3% |
RKLB's yearly returns have swung widely, from +392% in 2024 to −69% in 2022. It's down 9.3% so far in 2026.