MSM
MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc.
MSM has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB has a slight edge over MSM overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
MSM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
MSM's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow 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.
MSM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $55.77 | -53% |
| Fair | 17x | $67.64 | -43% |
| Forward | 21x | $119 | — |
| Expensive | 25x | $98.52 | -18% |
| Current | 30x | $119 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSM's PE is in its expensive range at 30x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 21x next year's earnings.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MSM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MSM, 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.
MSM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.66 | +42% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.98 | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.15 | +17% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.73 | -1.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.67 | -12% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.57 | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.54 | -31% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.79 | -32% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.19 | -29% |
MSM 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.
MSM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $1B | +7.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $917.8M | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $965.7M | +4% |
| Q3 2025 | $978.2M | +2.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $971.1M | -0.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $891.7M | -4.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $928.5M | -2.7% |
MSM's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $1.1B last quarter, up 10% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.8% | -1.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 10% | +1.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7.1% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.9% | +0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.6% | -0.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.5% | -2.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7% | -2.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.8% | -2.9 points |
MSM 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 MSM 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.
MSM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $63.8M | +8.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $80.9M | +6.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $73.1M | +196% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.4M | -91% |
| Q3 2025 | $58.5M | -28% |
| Q2 2025 | $76M | -33% |
| Q1 2025 | $24.7M | -54% |
| Q4 2024 | $81.7M | +30% |
MSM 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.
MSM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | +0.2% | +96K shares |
| 3 years | -0.4% | -220K shares |
| 5 years | -0.2% | -103K shares |
| Available history | +1% | +546K shares |
MSM has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $73,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $171,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $764,000 |
| Q4 2025 | $13M |
| Q3 2025 | $179,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $8.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $12.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $18.1M |
MSM spent $14M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 64% 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 | — |
MSM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
MSM's net debt is about a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as 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.
MSM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 52.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 31.0 | Neutral |
MSM's weekly RSI is 52 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 31 (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).
MSM PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | MSM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 30x | 24x | 25% above |
| PE % | 97 | 58 | 39 pts above |
MSM is trading at 30x earnings, a 25% 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.
MSM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $122.4 | 2.4% below |
| 20 week MA | $122.4 | 2.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $106.6 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $95.0 | 26% above |
| 200 week MA | $93.0 | 28% above |
MSM has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 28% 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.
MSM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $79.0 | $85.9 | +8.7% |
| 2021 | $85.9 | $83.9 | -2.3% |
| 2022 | $83.9 | $83.3 | -0.8% |
| 2023 | $83.3 | $101.3 | +22% |
| 2024 | $101.3 | $74.8 | -26% |
| 2025 | $74.8 | $87.4 | +17% |
| 2026 YTD | $87.4 | $119.4 | +37% |
MSM 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.