AA vs CENX vs KALU Stock Comparison

Alcoa, Century Aluminum and Kaiser Aluminum Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AA Alcoa Corp
$37.93 -13.9% 1M -5.5% 1Y
Market cap
$10.18B
P/E
8.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.60B
Div. yield
0.01%
Aluminum Basic Materials
2 wins
CENX Century Aluminum Co
$31.42 -19.1% 1M +4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$3.18B
P/E
5.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.67B
Div. yield
–
Aluminum Basic Materials
7 wins
KALU Kaiser Aluminum Corp
$107.28 -31.3% 1M +15.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.75B
P/E
8.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.51B
Div. yield
–
Aluminum Basic Materials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Century Aluminum leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Century Aluminum 7, Alcoa 2, Kaiser Aluminum 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAACENXKALULeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.18B $3.18B $1.75B AA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 8.0x 5.3x 8.0x CENX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 6.0x 3.3x 7.2x CENX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +9.7% +40.4% KALU
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.4% 22.6% 4.8% CENX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.7% 34.5% 12.8% CENX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.4x 0.2x 2.1x CENX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.5% +4.9% +15.2% KALU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.1%/yr +15.0%/yr +1.5%/yr CENX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 53.4% 62.9% 57.1% AA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 73/100 69/100 CENX

Percentile Scorecard

AACENXKALU

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAACENXKALU
Valuation 86 #23 of 162 88 #20 of 162 91 #16 of 162
Growth 64 #54 of 147 95 #8 of 147 86 #22 of 147
Profitability 60 #49 of 122 72 #35 of 122 61 #48 of 122
Financial Health 26 #124 of 166 36 #107 of 166 21 #131 of 166
Shareholder Returns 68 #35 of 107 – 87 #15 of 107
Overall 61 73 69
  • AA ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • CENX ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • KALU ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAACENXKALUSPY
1 month -13.9%-19.1%-31.3% -1.0%
3 months -14.3%-32.0%-34.3% +2.9%
6 months -42.5%-48.3%-39.7% +6.4%
Year to date -28.6%-19.8%-6.6% +11.4%
1 year -5.5%+4.9%+15.2% +13.1%
3 years +61.8%+419.3%+66.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +17.4%+73.2%+18.6% +21.5%
5 years -23.0%+101.0%+7.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year -5.1%+15.0%+1.5% +10.9%
10 years +76.2%+335.8%+49.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +5.8%+15.9%+4.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAACENXKALUSPY
Volatility, 1Y 53.4%62.9%57.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.2%64.5%67.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.601.461.99 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.100.080.27 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.3%-82.1%-54.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -54.7%-54.3%-45.2% -2.5%
52-week high $83.79$68.77$195.63 $779.14
52-week low $35.26$26.19$88.63 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAACENXKALU
P/E now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 12.7x 5.2xmedian 12.7x 8.0xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 3.1x 1.2xmedian 3.1x 0.4xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 6.9x 4.3xmedian 6.9x 5.8xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.4xmedian 15.1x 20.6xmedian 15.1x 14.1xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 2.1x 2.0xmedian 2.1x 1.8xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.21median 0.27 0.05median 0.27 0.05median 0.27

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAACENXKALU
Revenue $13.60B $2.67B $4.51B
Gross profit $2.56B $503.90M $601.70M
Operating income $1.29B $674.50M $347.30M
Net income $1.25B $603.50M $218.50M
Free cash flow $352.00M $151.20M $124.80M
R&D $21.00M – $2.20M
EPS (diluted) $4.80 $5.75 $12.94
Cash & equivalents $1.35B $343.40M $117.30M
Total debt $9.68B $2.26B $4.28B
Shares (diluted) 266.00M 104.80M 16.89M
Enterprise value $4.40B $2.31B $1.54B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAACENXKALU
P/E 7.8x 5.2x 8.0x
P/FCF 28.4x 20.6x 14.1x
P/Operating cash flow 9.5x 9.1x 7.7x
P/S 0.7x 1.2x 0.4x
P/B 1.4x 2.0x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 2.0x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 5.6x 4.3x 5.8x
EV/EBIT 8.4x 4.8x 7.9x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 1.2x 0.6x
EV/FCF 30.9x 21.5x 21.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.4x 9.5x 12.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.21 0.05 0.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAACENXKALU
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 9.7% 40.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 5.1% 12.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.9% 127.9% 45.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 55.1% 580.4% 25.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -38.0% 332.1% 108.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 75.4% 142.3% 88.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 24.7% 446.2% 109.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 41.1% 100.1% 154.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 24.3% 382.7% 106.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 37.1% 95.8% 151.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.2% 478.6% 29.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 140.0% 112.8% 19.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -39.5% 793.6% 860.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.5% 49.0% 67.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAACENXKALU
Gross margin 18.8% 18.9% 13.4%
EBITDA margin 14.3% 28.4% 10.4%
Operating margin 9.5% 25.3% 7.7%
Pretax margin 8.9% 21.3% 6.5%
Net margin 9.4% 22.6% 4.8%
FCF margin 2.6% 5.7% 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 7.7% 12.8% 5.0%
Return on equity 17.6% 40.3% 22.8%
Return on assets 7.4% 20.5% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 13.7% 34.5% 12.8%
Return on capital employed 10.0% 29.9% 15.1%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.0x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 0.6x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 2.0% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAACENXKALU
Debt / assets 13.2% 16.7% 37.5%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.3x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.4x 0.2x 2.1x
Debt / FCF 6.3x 3.2x 8.8x
Liabilities / assets 56.3% 46.6% 66.6%
Equity / assets 43.7% 53.4% 33.4%
Interest coverage 10.8x 15.1x 6.1x
Current ratio 1.5x 2.8x 2.6x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.1x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.7x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.88 2.96 3.03

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAACENXKALU
Dividend yield 1.1% – 3.6%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 1.1% 0.0% 3.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 8.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 29.8% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.0% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 13.9% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAACENXKALU
Forward P/E 6.0xFY2026 3.3xFY2026 7.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.30FY2026 $9.50FY2026 $14.83FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +67.1%FY2026 +286.2%FY2026 +145.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -1.7% +23.7% -24.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.77BFY2026 $3.18BFY2026 $4.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2026 +25.9%FY2026 +32.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.5% +34.9% +2.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAACENXKALU
Held by institutions 77.8% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 709 413 335
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.9% +3.3% +3.2%
Institutions buying 357 263 194
Institutions selling 242 110 101
Buyers to sellers 1.48 2.39 1.92

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AACENXKALU
AA 1.00 0.72 0.51
CENX 0.72 1.00 0.45
KALU 0.51 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AA, CENX and KALU?

Alcoa (AA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alcoa (AA) $10.18B, Century Aluminum (CENX) $3.18B, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) $1.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, AA, CENX and KALU?

Century Aluminum (CENX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alcoa (AA) 8.0x, Century Aluminum (CENX) 5.3x, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 8.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Century Aluminum (CENX) is cheapest (Alcoa (AA) 6.0x, Century Aluminum (CENX) 3.3x, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 7.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alcoa (AA) +6.5%, Century Aluminum (CENX) +9.7%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) +40.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Century Aluminum (CENX) has the highest net margin (Alcoa (AA) 9.4%, Century Aluminum (CENX) 22.6%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Century Aluminum (CENX) leads (Alcoa (AA) 13.7%, Century Aluminum (CENX) 34.5%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 12.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) returned the most: Alcoa (AA) -5.5%, Century Aluminum (CENX) +4.9%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) +15.2%. Over five years, Century Aluminum (CENX) compounded fastest (Alcoa (AA) -5.1%/yr, Century Aluminum (CENX) +15.0%/yr, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) +1.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Alcoa (AA) 0.01%, Century Aluminum (CENX) 0.00%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 0.00%. Century Aluminum (CENX) and Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alcoa (AA) has been the steadiest (Alcoa (AA) 53.4%, Century Aluminum (CENX) 62.9%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 57.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AA, CENX and KALU?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Century Aluminum (CENX) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.