MSA
MSA Safety Incorporated
MSA has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
MSA's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
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.
MSA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $175 | — |
| Current | 22x | $175 | — |
| Cheap | 24x | $183 | +5% |
| Fair | 36x | $276 | +58% |
| Expensive | 127x | $988 | +466% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSA's PE is in its cheap range at 22x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MSA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MSA, 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.
MSA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.72 | +25% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.78 | +9.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.04 | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.40 | +2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.08 | -1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.09 | +2.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.01 | +1.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.25 | +7.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.21 | +397% |
MSA 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.
MSA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $536.4M | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $503.3M | +6.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $463.6M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $510.9M | +2.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $468.4M | +8.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $474.1M | +2.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $421.3M | +1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $499.7M | +0.9% |
MSA's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $536M last quarter, up 15% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 16% | -3.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | +4.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | +1.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 22% | -1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | -1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | -3.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 24% | +2.9 points |
MSA 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 MSA 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.
MSA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $68.2M | -32% |
| Q2 2026 | $82.7M | +118% |
| Q1 2026 | $65.1M | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $106M | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $100.5M | +43% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.9M | -2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $51M | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $93.5M | -36% |
MSA 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.
MSA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -50K shares |
| 1 year | -1.6% | -633K shares |
| 3 years | -2% | -803K shares |
| 5 years | -2% | -783K shares |
| Available history | -1.4% | -542K shares |
MSA has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $26M |
| Q1 2026 | $60.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $39.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $30.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $18.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $9.9M |
MSA spent $139M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 132% 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 | — |
MSA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.8x | Very low |
MSA's net debt is about 1.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from a year 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.
MSA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.5 | Oversold |
MSA's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (oversold).
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).
MSA PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | MSA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 6.8% below |
| PE % | 8 | 58 | 50 pts below |
MSA is trading at 22x earnings, in line with 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.
MSA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $178.6 | 2.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $181.0 | 3.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $176.3 | 0.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $169.6 | 3% above |
| 200 week MA | $168.1 | 3.9% above |
MSA has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 3.9% 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 MSA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MSA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $127.4 | $149.0 | +17% |
| 2021 | $149.0 | $147.2 | -1.2% |
| 2022 | $147.2 | $140.7 | -4.4% |
| 2023 | $140.7 | $168.8 | +20% |
| 2024 | $168.8 | $167.2 | -1% |
| 2025 | $167.2 | $163.9 | -2% |
| 2026 YTD | $163.9 | $174.6 | +6.6% |
MSA 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.