NDSN
Nordson Corporation
NDSN has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
NDSN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
NDSN'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.
NDSN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 25x | $327 | — |
| Cheap | 26x | $258 | -21% |
| Fair | 29x | $289 | -11% |
| Current | 33x | $327 | — |
| Expensive | 35x | $343 | +4.9% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NDSN's PE is in its expensive range at 33x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 25x 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.
NDSN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for NDSN, 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.
NDSN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $12.90 | +31% |
| Q3 2026 | $9.87 | +24% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.36 | +20% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.24 | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.51 | +4.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.96 | -3% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.78 | -7.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.86 | -8.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.11 | -4.1% |
NDSN 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.
NDSN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $817.7M | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $740.8M | +8.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $669.5M | +8.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $751.8M | +1% |
| Q3 2025 | $741.5M | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $682.9M | +5% |
| Q1 2025 | $615.4M | -2.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $744.5M | +3.5% |
NDSN's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $818M last quarter, up 10% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 27% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 27% | +1.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 25% | +2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 29% | +4.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 25% | +0.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 25% | -1.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 23% | -2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 24% | -1.7 points |
NDSN 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 NDSN 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.
NDSN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $236.8M | +4.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $170.5M | +65% |
| Q1 2026 | $122.9M | -11% |
| Q4 2025 | $193.9M | +156% |
| Q3 2025 | $226.4M | +58% |
| Q2 2025 | $103.1M | -4.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $137.7M | -16% |
| Q4 2024 | $75.8M | -50% |
NDSN 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.
NDSN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -73K shares |
| 1 year | -1.2% | -701K shares |
| 3 years | -2.6% | -1.5M shares |
| 5 years | -4.6% | -2.7M shares |
| Available history | -3.7% | -2.2M shares |
NDSN has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $29.5M |
| Q2 2026 | $43.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $86M |
| Q4 2025 | $88.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $71.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $86.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $60.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $766,000 |
NDSN spent $247M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 13% 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 | — |
NDSN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.6x | Moderate |
NDSN's net debt is about 1.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 2.4 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.
NDSN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 59.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 52.5 | Neutral |
NDSN's weekly RSI is 60 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 52 (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).
NDSN PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | NDSN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 33x | 24x | 37% above |
| PE % | 79 | 58 | 21 pts above |
NDSN is trading at 33x earnings, a 37% 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.
NDSN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $323.5 | 1% above |
| 20 week MA | $313.4 | 4.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $289.4 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $251.8 | 30% above |
| 200 week MA | $246.9 | 32% above |
NDSN 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.
NDSN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $162.8 | $199.0 | +22% |
| 2021 | $199.0 | $253.7 | +27% |
| 2022 | $253.7 | $236.3 | -6.8% |
| 2023 | $236.3 | $264.2 | +12% |
| 2024 | $264.2 | $211.3 | -20% |
| 2025 | $211.3 | $244.0 | +15% |
| 2026 YTD | $244.0 | $326.6 | +34% |
NDSN 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.