CSX
CSX Corporation
CSX 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.
CSX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
CSX'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.
CSX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $31.56 | -40% |
| Fair | 19x | $36.91 | -30% |
| Forward | 23x | $52.40 | — |
| Expensive | 25x | $49.12 | -6.3% |
| Current | 27x | $52.40 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CSX's PE is in its expensive range at 27x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 23x next year's earnings.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CSX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CSX, with profitability improving.
RKLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect RKLB's losses to shrink, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CSX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.29 | +19% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.93 | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.73 | +6.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.63 | -3% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.54 | -14% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.54 | -18% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.63 | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.68 | -8.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.80 | -2.7% |
CSX 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.
CSX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.9B | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.5B | +1.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.5B | -0.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.6B | -0.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.6B | -3.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.4B | -7% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.5B | -3.8% |
CSX's revenue has picked up after three years of holding roughly level: $4B last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 39% | +8.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 38% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 36% | +5.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +0.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 30% | -7.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 36% | -3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 30% | -6.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 31% | -4.6 points |
CSX 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 CSX 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.
CSX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B | +69% |
| Q2 2026 | $751M | +$892M |
| Q1 2026 | $729M | +36% |
| Q4 2025 | $709M | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $607M | -43% |
| Q2 2025 | -$141M | -125% |
| Q1 2025 | $536M | -4.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $550M | -32% |
CSX 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.
CSX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -6M shares |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -14M shares |
| 3 years | -7.3% | -146M shares |
| 5 years | -17% | -389M shares |
| Available history | -23% | -541M shares |
CSX has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $543M |
| Q2 2026 | $296M |
| Q1 2026 | $222M |
| Q4 2025 | $112M |
| Q3 2025 | $112M |
| Q2 2025 | $421M |
| Q1 2025 | $751M |
| Q4 2024 | $1B |
CSX spent $1.2B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 49% 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 | — |
CSX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.5x | Moderate |
CSX's net debt is about 2.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 3.0 years 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.
CSX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 73.1 | Neutral |
CSX's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 73 (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).
CSX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CSX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 24x | 13% above |
| PE % | 89 | 58 | 31 pts above |
CSX is trading at 27x earnings, a 13% 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.
CSX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $49.3 | 6.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $49.8 | 5.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $44.7 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $38.7 | 36% above |
| 200 week MA | $35.9 | 46% above |
CSX has the edge over RKLB on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
CSX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $24.3 | $30.0 | +24% |
| 2021 | $30.0 | $36.8 | +23% |
| 2022 | $36.8 | $31.3 | -15% |
| 2023 | $31.3 | $34.7 | +11% |
| 2024 | $34.7 | $32.5 | -6.4% |
| 2025 | $32.5 | $36.6 | +13% |
| 2026 YTD | $36.6 | $52.4 | +43% |
CSX 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.