FA
First Advantage Corporation
FA has the edge over RDW overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
RDW
Redwire Corporation
RDW offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
FA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
FA's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak.
RDW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Unavailable |
RDW's revenue is currently healthy, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
FA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 15x | $21.36 | — |
| Cheap | 36x | $9.38 | -56% |
| Fair | 61x | $15.91 | -26% |
| Current | 82x | $21.36 | — |
| Expensive | 191x | $49.63 | +132% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FA's PE is in its expensive range at 82x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 15x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
RDW PE Valuation
RDW has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
FA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FA, with profitability improving.
RDW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect RDW's losses to shrink, with revenue growing.
FA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.44 | +455% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.26 | +$1.16 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.15 | +$1.12 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.05 | +$1.01 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.20 | +$0.54 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.90 | -2350% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.97 | -671% |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.96 | -517% |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.74 | -385% |
FA has the edge over RDW on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
RDW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$1.17 | +$2.01 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.37 | +$1.89 |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.59 | -$0.32 |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.28 | +$0.07 |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.18 | -$1.97 |
| Q2 2025 | -$3.26 | -$2.28 |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.27 | -$1.55 |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.35 | -$1.62 |
RDW is still losing money, but far less than before: $1.17 per share over the past year, against $3.26 at its worst in mid-2025.
FA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $465.8M | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $448.8M | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $385.2M | +8.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $420M | +37% |
| Q3 2025 | $409.2M | +105% |
| Q2 2025 | $390.6M | +112% |
| Q1 2025 | $354.6M | +109% |
| Q4 2024 | $307.1M | +52% |
FA has the edge over RDW on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | +2.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +3.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.7% | +6.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | +37 points |
| Q3 2025 | 10% | +5.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.7% | +4.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.1% | +2.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | -26% | -41 points |
FA has the edge over RDW on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
RDW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $109M | +5.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $117.1M | +90% |
| Q1 2026 | $97M | +58% |
| Q4 2025 | $108.8M | +56% |
| Q3 2025 | $103.4M | +51% |
| Q2 2025 | $61.8M | -21% |
| Q1 2025 | $61.4M | -30% |
| Q4 2024 | $69.6M | +9.6% |
RDW's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $109M last quarter, up 5.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -24% | +16 points |
| Q2 2026 | -19% | +130 points |
| Q1 2026 | -72% | -49 points |
| Q4 2025 | -75% | -48 points |
| Q3 2025 | -40% | -22 points |
| Q2 2025 | -149% | -140 points |
| Q1 2025 | -23% | -19 points |
| Q4 2024 | -27% | -17 points |
RDW's operating margin was −24% last quarter, up 16 points from the same quarter a year ago.
FA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $60.2M | -15% |
| Q2 2026 | $68.9M | +91% |
| Q1 2026 | $46.6M | +146% |
| Q4 2025 | $62.2M | +$148.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $71.2M | +65% |
| Q2 2025 | $36.1M | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $19M | -50% |
| Q4 2024 | -$86M | -252% |
FA has the edge over RDW on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
RDW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$65.3M | -$38.5M |
| Q2 2026 | -$33.5M | +$57.2M |
| Q1 2026 | -$11.4M | +$35.5M |
| Q4 2025 | -$26.5M | -659% |
| Q3 2025 | -$26.9M | -$7.6M |
| Q2 2025 | -$90.6M | -$80.2M |
| Q1 2025 | -$46.9M | -3996% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.7M | -65% |
RDW has burned cash in most quarters: −$137M over the past year, against −$160M the year before.
FA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.3% | +2.2M shares |
| 1 year | -0.1% | -114K shares |
| 3 years | +21% | +30.7M shares |
| 5 years | +15% | +23M shares |
| Available history | +192% | +115M shares |
FA has the edge over RDW on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $204,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $18.9M |
| Q1 2026 | $19.7M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | $3M |
RDW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +13% | +29.6M shares |
| 1 year | +179% | +160M shares |
| 3 years | +289% | +186M shares |
| 5 years | +319% | +190M shares |
RDW has 250M diluted shares, up 179% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | — |
FA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.7x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 6.2x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 6.8x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 7.5x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 15.7x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 25.9x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 55.8x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 133.3x | High |
FA's net debt is about 5.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 16 years a year ago.
RDW Net Leverage
RDW's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
FA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 62.8 | Neutral |
FA's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 63 (neutral).
RDW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.1 | Oversold |
RDW's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
FA PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | FA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 82x | 24x | 242% above |
| PE % | 68 | 62 | 6 pts above |
FA is trading at 82x earnings, a 242% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
RDW PE vs Industrials Sector
RDW has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
FA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $20.5 | 4.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $20.8 | 2.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $16.5 | 30% above |
| 100 week MA | $16.3 | 31% above |
| 200 week MA | $16.0 | 34% above |
FA has the edge over RDW on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
RDW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $9.06 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $10.1 | 20% below |
| 50 week MA | $10.6 | 24% below |
| 100 week MA | $11.6 | 31% below |
| 200 week MA | $8.07 | 0.5% below |
RDW is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 0.5% below its 200-week average.
FA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $20.5 | $18.2 | -12% |
| 2022 | $18.2 | $13.0 | -28% |
| 2023 | $13.0 | $16.6 | +27% |
| 2024 | $16.6 | $18.7 | +13% |
| 2025 | $18.7 | $15.5 | -17% |
| 2026 YTD | $15.5 | $21.4 | +38% |
FA has the edge over RDW on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
RDW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $10.2 | $7.34 | -28% |
| 2022 | $7.34 | $1.92 | -74% |
| 2023 | $1.92 | $2.85 | +48% |
| 2024 | $2.85 | $17.1 | +501% |
| 2025 | $17.1 | $7.15 | -58% |
| 2026 YTD | $7.15 | $8.03 | +12% |
RDW's yearly returns have swung widely, from +501% in 2024 to −74% in 2022. It's up 12% so far in 2026.