KEX
Kirby Corporation
KEX has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
KEX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
KEX'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.
KEX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 15x | $129 | — |
| Current | 19x | $129 | — |
| Cheap | 20x | $142 | +11% |
| Fair | 24x | $168 | +30% |
| Expensive | 41x | $286 | +122% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KEX's PE is in its cheap range at 19x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 15x next year's earnings.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
KEX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for KEX, 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.
KEX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.31 | +20% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.94 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.50 | +23% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.50 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.33 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.39 | +3.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.29 | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.05 | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.91 | +32% |
KEX 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.
KEX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $977.2M | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $922.4M | +7.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $844.1M | +7.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $851.8M | +6.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $871.2M | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $855.5M | +3.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $785.7M | -2.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $802.3M | +0.4% |
KEX's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $977M last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | -2.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | +9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | +0.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6.3% | -5.4 points |
KEX 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 KEX 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.
KEX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $73.9M | -54% |
| Q2 2026 | $758K | -97% |
| Q1 2026 | $49.4M | +$91.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $265.2M | +76% |
| Q3 2025 | $160.3M | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $22.4M | -75% |
| Q1 2025 | -$42.1M | -200% |
| Q4 2024 | $150.7M | +69% |
KEX 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.
KEX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.3% | -677K shares |
| 1 year | -5.3% | -3M shares |
| 3 years | -11% | -6.7M shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -6.9M shares |
KEX has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $111.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $59.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $52.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $101.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $120M |
| Q2 2025 | $31.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $101.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $33.3M |
KEX spent $326M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 14% 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 | — |
KEX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.2x | Healthy |
KEX's net debt is about 1.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 1.5 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.
KEX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.6 | Neutral |
KEX's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (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).
KEX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | KEX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 24x | 23% below |
| PE % | 6 | 58 | 52 pts below |
KEX is trading at 19x earnings, a 23% discount 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.
KEX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $133.3 | 3.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $136.6 | 5.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $133.2 | 3.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $117.7 | 9.1% above |
| 200 week MA | $105.2 | 22% above |
KEX has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 22% 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 has the edge over KEX on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
KEX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $88.5 | $51.4 | -42% |
| 2021 | $51.4 | $59.7 | +16% |
| 2022 | $59.7 | $64.4 | +7.9% |
| 2023 | $64.4 | $78.5 | +22% |
| 2024 | $78.5 | $106.0 | +35% |
| 2025 | $106.0 | $110.9 | +4.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $110.9 | $128.5 | +16% |
KEX 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.