BA
The Boeing Company
BA offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSA
MSA Safety Incorporated
MSA has the edge over BA overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
BA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure |
BA's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
MSA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
MSA's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
BA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 18x | $172 | — |
| Cheap | 51x | $496 | +189% |
| Fair | 82x | $790 | +360% |
| Expensive | 91x | $876 | +411% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BA has the edge over MSA in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MSA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $175 | — |
| Current | 22x | $175 | — |
| Cheap | 24x | $183 | +5% |
| Fair | 36x | $276 | +58% |
| Expensive | 127x | $988 | +466% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSA's PE is in its cheap range at 22x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings.
BA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect BA to return to profit, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
MSA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MSA, with profitability improving.
BA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $9.66 | +$23.38 |
| Q2 2026 | $2.78 | +$19.33 |
| Q1 2026 | $2.53 | +$20.49 |
| Q4 2025 | $2.48 | +$20.84 |
| Q3 2025 | -$13.72 | -$0.83 |
| Q2 2025 | -$16.55 | -$10.93 |
| Q1 2025 | -$17.96 | -$14.42 |
| Q4 2024 | -$18.36 | -$14.69 |
BA has returned to profit: it earned $9.66 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
MSA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.72 | +25% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.78 | +9.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.04 | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.40 | +2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.08 | -1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.09 | +2.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.01 | +1.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.25 | +7.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.21 | +397% |
MSA has the edge over BA on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $24.2B | +3.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $24.6B | +8% |
| Q1 2026 | $22.2B | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $23.9B | +57% |
| Q3 2025 | $23.3B | +30% |
| Q2 2025 | $22.7B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $19.5B | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.2B | -31% |
BA's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $24.2B last quarter, up 3.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.5% | +22 points |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6% | +1.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 2% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 37% | +61 points |
| Q3 2025 | -21% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -0.8% | +5.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.4% | +2.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | -25% | -26 points |
BA's operating margin was 1.5% last quarter, up 22 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MSA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $536.4M | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $503.3M | +6.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $463.6M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $510.9M | +2.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $468.4M | +8.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $474.1M | +2.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $421.3M | +1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $499.7M | +0.9% |
MSA's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $536M last quarter, up 15% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 16% | -3.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | +4.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | +1.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 22% | -1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | -1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | -3.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 24% | +2.9 points |
MSA has the edge over BA on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $464M | +95% |
| Q2 2026 | $631M | +$831M |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.5B | +$836M |
| Q4 2025 | $375M | +$4.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $238M | +$2.2B |
| Q2 2025 | -$200M | +$4.1B |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.3B | +$1.6B |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.1B | -239% |
BA has the edge over MSA on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MSA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $68.2M | -32% |
| Q2 2026 | $82.7M | +118% |
| Q1 2026 | $65.1M | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $106M | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $100.5M | +43% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.9M | -2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $51M | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $93.5M | -36% |
MSA generated $322M in free cash flow over the past year, up 14% from the year before.
BA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +2.1M shares |
| 1 year | +4.3% | +32.8M shares |
| 3 years | +31% | +186M shares |
| 5 years | +35% | +204M shares |
| Available history | +40% | +227M shares |
BA has 793M diluted shares, up 4.3% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
MSA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -50K shares |
| 1 year | -1.6% | -633K shares |
| 3 years | -2% | -803K shares |
| 5 years | -2% | -783K shares |
| Available history | -1.4% | -542K shares |
MSA has the edge over BA on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $26M |
| Q1 2026 | $60.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $39.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $30.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $18.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $9.9M |
MSA spent $139M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 132% from the year before.
BA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 5.7x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 6.0x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 6.9x | High |
| Q2 2024 | 361.8x | High |
| Q1 2024 | 36.1x | High |
| Q4 2023 | 36.4x | High |
| Q3 2023 | 96.1x | High |
BA's net debt is about 3.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from more than 20 years a year ago.
MSA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.8x | Very low |
MSA has the edge over BA on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 31.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 9.6 | Oversold |
BA's weekly RSI is 31 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 10 (oversold).
MSA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.5 | Oversold |
MSA's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (oversold).
BA PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | BA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 18x | 24x | 26% below |
| PE % | 0 | 58 | 58 pts below |
BA has the edge over MSA on valuation relative to its sector.
MSA PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | MSA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 6.6% below |
| PE % | 8 | 58 | 50 pts below |
MSA is trading at 22x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
BA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $184.6 | 7.1% below |
| 20 week MA | $203.8 | 16% below |
| 50 week MA | $215.5 | 20% below |
| 100 week MA | $205.9 | 17% below |
| 200 week MA | $200.6 | 14% below |
BA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 14% below its 200-week average.
MSA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $178.6 | 2.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $181.0 | 3.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $176.3 | 0.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $169.6 | 3% above |
| 200 week MA | $168.1 | 3.9% above |
MSA has the edge over BA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $330.1 | $217.2 | -34% |
| 2021 | $217.2 | $204.2 | -6% |
| 2022 | $204.2 | $189.1 | -7.4% |
| 2023 | $189.1 | $260.7 | +38% |
| 2024 | $260.7 | $180.7 | -31% |
| 2025 | $180.7 | $216.4 | +20% |
| 2026 YTD | $216.4 | $171.6 | -21% |
BA has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's down 21% so far in 2026.
MSA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $127.4 | $149.0 | +17% |
| 2021 | $149.0 | $147.2 | -1.2% |
| 2022 | $147.2 | $140.7 | -4.4% |
| 2023 | $140.7 | $168.8 | +20% |
| 2024 | $168.8 | $167.2 | -1% |
| 2025 | $167.2 | $163.9 | -2% |
| 2026 YTD | $163.9 | $174.6 | +6.6% |
MSA has the edge over BA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.