HWM
Howmet Aerospace Inc.
HWM has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
HWM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
HWM's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
HWM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 35x | $177 | -21% |
| Forward | 35x | $223 | — |
| Fair | 43x | $221 | -1.1% |
| Current | 44x | $223 | — |
| Expensive | 58x | $297 | +33% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HWM's PE is in its fair range at 44x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 35x 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.
HWM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for HWM, 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.
HWM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.31 | +24% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.11 | +44% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.64 | +36% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.31 | +41% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.71 | +32% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.55 | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.41 | +51% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.06 | +48% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.81 | +54% |
HWM 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.
HWM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.5B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.3B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.2B | +15% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.1B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.1B | +9.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | +6.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.9B | +9.2% |
HWM's revenue has grown year over year for 21 quarters in a row: $2.7B last quarter, up 29% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 29% | +2.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 28% | +2.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 33% | +7.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 23% | -1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | +3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 25% | +4.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 25% | +5.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 24% | +4.7 points |
HWM 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 HWM 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.
HWM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $562M | +33% |
| Q2 2026 | $479M | +39% |
| Q1 2026 | $359M | +168% |
| Q4 2025 | $530M | +40% |
| Q3 2025 | $423M | +161% |
| Q2 2025 | $344M | +0.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $134M | +41% |
| Q4 2024 | $378M | -6.2% |
HWM 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.
HWM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -2M shares |
| 1 year | -1.2% | -5M shares |
| 3 years | -3.6% | -15M shares |
| 5 years | -7.8% | -34M shares |
| Available history | -14% | -63M shares |
HWM has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $300M |
| Q1 2026 | $300M |
| Q4 2025 | $200M |
| Q3 2025 | $200M |
| Q2 2025 | $175M |
| Q1 2025 | $125M |
| Q4 2024 | $190M |
HWM spent $1.3B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 88% 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 | — |
HWM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
HWM's net debt is about 1.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.1 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.
HWM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 22.0 | Neutral |
HWM's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 22 (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).
HWM PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | HWM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 44x | 24x | 81% above |
| PE % | 51 | 58 | 7 pts below |
HWM is trading at 44x earnings, a 81% 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.
HWM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $215.5 | 3.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $246.8 | 9.6% below |
| 50 week MA | $241.8 | 7.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $201.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $133.0 | 68% above |
HWM's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 68% above 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's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 104% above its 200-week average.
HWM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $31.1 | $27.4 | -12% |
| 2021 | $27.4 | $31.1 | +14% |
| 2022 | $31.1 | $39.1 | +25% |
| 2023 | $39.1 | $54.1 | +39% |
| 2024 | $54.1 | $111.2 | +106% |
| 2025 | $111.2 | $211.2 | +90% |
| 2026 YTD | $211.2 | $223.1 | +5.6% |
HWM 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.