FA
First Advantage Corporation
FA 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.
FA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
FA's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, 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.
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.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB 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.
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.
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 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.
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's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $466M last quarter, up 14% from the same quarter a year ago.
| 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 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 FA on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| 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.
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 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.
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 RKLB 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 |
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 | — |
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.
RKLB Net Leverage
RKLB'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).
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).
FA PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | FA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 82x | 24x | 241% above |
| PE % | 68 | 62 | 6 pts above |
FA is trading at 82x earnings, a 241% 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.
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 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.
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 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.