ESAB
ESAB Corporation
ESAB has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB has the edge over ESAB overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
ESAB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Weak |
ESAB's revenue is currently healthy, and its profitability and cash flow are stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
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.
ESAB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $82.55 | — |
| Cheap | 18x | $43.61 | -47% |
| Fair | 26x | $63.73 | -23% |
| Expensive | 29x | $71.57 | -13% |
| Current | 34x | $82.55 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ESAB's PE is in its expensive range at 34x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x 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.
ESAB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ESAB, with profitability holding steady.
RKLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
RKLB has the edge over ESAB on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
ESAB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.91 | +142% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.44 | -38% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.76 | -34% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.35 | -24% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.67 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.96 | -7.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.17 | +1.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.43 | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.31 | +28% |
ESAB 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.
ESAB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $824.5M | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $807.6M | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $745.6M | +9.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $721M | +7.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $727.8M | +8.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $715.6M | +1.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $678.1M | -1.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $670.8M | -2.7% |
ESAB's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $825M last quarter, up 13% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | -3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 9.8% | -5.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | -4.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | -4.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -1.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | -1.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 16% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | +1.6 points |
ESAB 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 ESAB 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.
ESAB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $54.4M | -23% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.7M | -58% |
| Q1 2026 | $33.2M | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $77.4M | -24% |
| Q3 2025 | $70.3M | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.4M | -49% |
| Q1 2025 | $28.1M | -24% |
| Q4 2024 | $102.2M | -0.9% |
ESAB 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.
ESAB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +763K shares |
| 1 year | +1.9% | +1.2M shares |
| 3 years | +2.7% | +1.7M shares |
| 5 years | +4% | +2.4M shares |
ESAB has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
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 | — |
ESAB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.6x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 4.7x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.6x | Healthy |
ESAB's net debt is about 4.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.2 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.
ESAB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 47.4 | Neutral |
ESAB's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (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).
ESAB PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ESAB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 34x | 24x | 41% above |
| PE % | 97 | 68 | 29 pts above |
ESAB 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.
ESAB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $72.0 | 15% above |
| 20 week MA | $78.2 | 5.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $96.0 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $107.8 | 23% below |
| 200 week MA | $96.5 | 14% below |
ESAB has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 14% below 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 ESAB on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ESAB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $50.0 | $49.1 | -1.8% |
| 2023 | $49.1 | $86.6 | +76% |
| 2024 | $86.6 | $121.4 | +40% |
| 2025 | $121.4 | $114.2 | -5.9% |
| 2026 YTD | $114.2 | $82.6 | -28% |
ESAB has finished lower in two of the last four years. It's down 28% so far in 2026.
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 has the edge over ESAB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.