AME
AMETEK, Inc.
AME has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
AME Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
AME's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is 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.
AME PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 26x | $241 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $189 | -21% |
| Fair | 30x | $212 | -12% |
| Current | 34x | $241 | — |
| Expensive | 35x | $247 | +2.4% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AME's PE is in its expensive range at 34x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 26x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
AME Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for AME, but weaker profitability.
RKLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
RKLB has the edge over AME on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
AME Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.24 | +30% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.09 | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.84 | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.62 | +8.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.40 | +7.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.34 | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.21 | +8.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.11 | +7.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.93 | +4.6% |
AME 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.
AME Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.2B | +17% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.9B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $2B | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.9B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.8B | +2.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.7B | -0.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.8B | +1.8% |
AME's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $2.2B last quarter, up 17% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 26% | +0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 26% | -0.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 27% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 25% | -1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | -0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 26% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 26% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 27% | +0.9 points |
AME 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 AME 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.
AME Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $527.4M | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $451.7M | +37% |
| Q1 2026 | $426M | +8% |
| Q4 2025 | $527.3M | +5.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $420M | -8.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $329.8M | -8.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $394.5M | +3.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $498.3M | +3.6% |
AME 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.
AME Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +185K shares |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -1.6M shares |
| 3 years | -0.7% | -1.7M shares |
| 5 years | -1.3% | -3M shares |
| Available history | +0.3% | +645K shares |
AME has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $146,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $165,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $27.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $270.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $145.5M |
| Q2 2025 | $111,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $18M |
| Q4 2024 | $144M |
AME spent $299M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 2.9% 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 | — |
AME Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.8x | Very low |
AME's net debt is about 2.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than a year a year ago.
RKLB Net Leverage
RKLB's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
AME Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 52.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.8 | Neutral |
AME's weekly RSI is 52 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
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).
AME PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | AME | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 34x | 24x | 41% above |
| PE % | 78 | 58 | 20 pts above |
AME is trading at 34x earnings, a 41% 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.
AME Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $243.8 | 1.1% below |
| 20 week MA | $242.1 | 0.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $230.3 | 4.7% above |
| 100 week MA | $205.8 | 17% above |
| 200 week MA | $183.7 | 31% above |
AME has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 31% 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's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 104% above its 200-week average.
AME Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $100.0 | $119.0 | +19% |
| 2021 | $119.0 | $142.6 | +20% |
| 2022 | $142.6 | $139.4 | -2.2% |
| 2023 | $139.4 | $164.9 | +18% |
| 2024 | $164.9 | $182.5 | +11% |
| 2025 | $182.5 | $208.5 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $208.5 | $241.0 | +16% |
AME 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.