RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
WCN
Waste Connections, Inc.
WCN has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
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.
WCN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure |
WCN's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
WCN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 33x | $194 | — |
| Cheap | 42x | $186 | -4.2% |
| Current | 43x | $194 | — |
| Fair | 53x | $236 | +22% |
| Expensive | 79x | $354 | +82% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
WCN's PE is in its cheap range at 43x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 33x next year's earnings.
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.
WCN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for WCN, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
WCN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.95 | +33% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.47 | +86% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.15 | +67% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.10 | +69% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.17 | +74% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.40 | -34% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.48 | -26% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.43 | -21% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.39 | -19% |
WCN has the edge over RKLB on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
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 WCN 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.
WCN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.6B | +7.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.6B | +6.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.4B | +6.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.4B | +5% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.5B | +5.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.4B | +7.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.2B | +7.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +11% |
WCN's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $2.6B last quarter, up 7.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 21% | +2.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 17% | -2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 15% | -2.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +27 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | -2.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 19% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | -8.8% | -20 points |
WCN has the edge over RKLB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
WCN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $397.1M | +4.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $430.9M | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $249M | -24% |
| Q4 2025 | $172.6M | +0.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $380.3M | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $352.9M | -10% |
| Q1 2025 | $329.1M | +2.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $172.2M | -27% |
WCN has the edge over RKLB on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
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 | — |
WCN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.8% | -2M shares |
| 1 year | -2.2% | -5.7M shares |
| 3 years | -2.5% | -6.4M shares |
| 5 years | -3.6% | -9.3M shares |
| Available history | -4.8% | -12.7M shares |
WCN has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $329.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $330.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $284M |
| Q4 2025 | $63.3M |
| Q3 2025 | $441.8M |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
WCN spent $1B buying back its own shares over the past year.
RKLB Net Leverage
RKLB's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
WCN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 3.7x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.6x | Elevated |
WCN's net debt is about 3.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 3.7 years a year ago.
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).
WCN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 69.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 90.8 | Overbought |
WCN's weekly RSI is 70 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 91 (overbought).
RKLB PE vs Industrials Sector
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
WCN PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | WCN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 43x | 24x | 80% above |
| PE % | 30 | 58 | 28 pts below |
WCN is trading at 43x earnings, a 80% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
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.
WCN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $173.0 | 12% above |
| 20 week MA | $169.0 | 15% above |
| 50 week MA | $166.1 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $174.7 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $165.1 | 17% above |
WCN has the edge over RKLB on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
WCN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $90.9 | $101.5 | +12% |
| 2021 | $101.5 | $132.2 | +30% |
| 2022 | $132.2 | $133.4 | +0.9% |
| 2023 | $133.4 | $149.3 | +12% |
| 2024 | $149.3 | $171.3 | +15% |
| 2025 | $171.3 | $178.1 | +4% |
| 2026 YTD | $178.1 | $193.9 | +8.9% |
WCN has the edge over RKLB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.