PLPC
Preformed Line Products Company
PLPC has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
PLPC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
PLPC'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.
PLPC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9x | $108 | -63% |
| Fair | 11x | $136 | -54% |
| Forward | 21x | $294 | — |
| Expensive | 23x | $269 | -8.4% |
| Current | 25x | $294 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLPC's PE is in its expensive range at 25x. 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.
PLPC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PLPC, 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.
PLPC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.95 | +17% |
| Q3 2026 | $11.91 | +58% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.88 | +3.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.95 | -12% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.14 | -4.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.55 | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.56 | +5% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.89 | -24% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.50 | -41% |
PLPC 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.
PLPC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $209.5M | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $212.7M | +25% |
| Q1 2026 | $176.3M | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $173.1M | +3.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $178.1M | +21% |
| Q2 2025 | $169.6M | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $148.5M | +5.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $167.1M | +15% |
PLPC's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $210M last quarter, up 18% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 12% | +4.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7.8% | -1.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.8% | -3.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.4% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 10% | +2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.8% | +0.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 10% | +5.7 points |
PLPC 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 PLPC 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.
PLPC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $10.1M | +22% |
| Q2 2026 | $18.3M | -1.6% |
| Q1 2026 | -$3.9M | +$1.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $11.8M | -43% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.3M | +44% |
| Q2 2025 | $18.6M | -24% |
| Q1 2025 | -$5.3M | -390% |
| Q4 2024 | $20.6M | +86% |
PLPC 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.
PLPC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +5.8% | +278K shares |
| 1 year | +2.7% | +131K shares |
| 3 years | +1.6% | +82K shares |
| 5 years | +1.9% | +97K shares |
| Available history | -0.3% | -15K shares |
PLPC has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $285,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $286,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $652,000 |
| Q4 2025 | $660,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $258,000 |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $131,000 |
| Q4 2024 | $113,000 |
PLPC spent $2M buying back its own shares over the past year, about four times what it spent 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 | — |
PLPC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
PLPC has more cash than debt.
RKLB Net Leverage
RKLB's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
PLPC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 9.7 | Oversold |
PLPC's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 10 (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).
PLPC PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | PLPC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 25x | 24x | 2.5% above |
| PE % | 85 | 58 | 27 pts above |
PLPC is trading at 25x 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.
PLPC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $346.2 | 15% below |
| 20 week MA | $374.0 | 21% below |
| 50 week MA | $324.1 | 9.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $242.6 | 21% above |
| 200 week MA | $187.8 | 56% above |
PLPC has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 56% 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 PLPC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
PLPC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $60.7 | $65.7 | +8.3% |
| 2021 | $65.7 | $60.8 | -7.5% |
| 2022 | $60.8 | $81.9 | +35% |
| 2023 | $81.9 | $133.9 | +64% |
| 2024 | $133.9 | $127.0 | -5.1% |
| 2025 | $127.0 | $212.8 | +68% |
| 2026 YTD | $212.8 | $293.8 | +38% |
PLPC 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.