AA vs STLD vs KALU Stock Comparison

Alcoa, Steel Dynamics and Kaiser Aluminum Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AA Alcoa Corp
$39.94 -6.8% 1M +0.1% 1Y
Market cap
$10.54B
P/E
6.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.31B
Div. yield
1.25%
Aluminum Basic Materials
3 wins
STLD Steel Dynamics Inc
$246.80 +5.6% 1M +56.2% 1Y
Market cap
$35.16B
P/E
18.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$22.22B
Div. yield
0.85%
Steel Basic Materials
7 wins
KALU Kaiser Aluminum Corp
$116.25 -23.8% 1M +24.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.90B
P/E
8.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.51B
Div. yield
2.65%
Aluminum Basic Materials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Steel Dynamics leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Steel Dynamics 7, Alcoa 3, Kaiser Aluminum 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAASTLDKALULeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.54B $35.16B $1.90B STLD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.9x 18.1x 8.7x AA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 6.1x 14.4x 7.8x AA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.2% +26.0% +40.4% KALU
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 8.8% 4.8% STLD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.6% 12.8% STLD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.0x 2.1x STLD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.25% 0.85% 2.65% KALU
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +0.1% +56.2% +24.9% STLD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.0%/yr +30.4%/yr +3.1%/yr STLD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 53.5% 36.1% 57.8% STLD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 56/100 68/100 AA

Percentile Scorecard

AASTLDKALU

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

AxisAASTLDKALU
Valuation 96 #8 of 162 69 #51 of 162 90 #17 of 162
Growth 73 #41 of 147 50 #74 of 147 85 #23 of 147
Profitability 72 #35 of 122 63 #46 of 122 60 #50 of 122
Financial Health 24 #125 of 164 37 #104 of 164 22 #129 of 164
Shareholder Returns 81 #21 of 107 61 #42 of 107 85 #17 of 107
Overall 69 56 68
  • AA ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • STLD 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

PeriodAASTLDKALUSPY
1 month -6.8%+5.6%-23.8% -0.2%
3 months -10.0%-5.0%-28.3% +3.9%
6 months -36.8%+8.7%-32.7% +8.2%
Year to date -24.8%+45.6%+1.2% +12.9%
1 year +0.1%+56.2%+24.9% +12.3%
3 years +69.9%+137.1%+114.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +19.3%+33.4%+28.9% +23.3%
5 years -14.0%+276.9%+16.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.0%+30.4%+3.1% +10.9%
10 years +76.7%+818.8%+62.0% +261.1%
10 years, per year +5.9%+24.8%+4.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAASTLDKALUSPY
Volatility, 1Y 53.5%36.1%57.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.3%36.5%67.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.631.062.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.001.560.43 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.3%-32.5%-54.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -52.3%-12.7%-40.6% -1.2%
52-week high $83.79$282.76$195.63 $779.14
52-week low $35.26$151.62$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.

MultipleAASTLDKALU
P/E now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 13.3x 18.1xmedian 13.3x 8.7xmedian 13.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 3.2x 1.6xmedian 3.2x 0.4xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.3x 11.9xmedian 7.3x 6.1xmedian 7.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.5xmedian 14.7x 32.1xmedian 14.7x 15.2xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 2.2x 3.6xmedian 2.2x 1.9xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.15median 0.31 -3.25median 0.31 0.06median 0.31

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 monthsAASTLDKALU
Revenue $14.31B $22.22B $4.51B
Gross profit – $3.53B $601.70M
Operating income – $2.56B $347.30M
Net income $1.51B $1.95B $218.50M
Free cash flow – $1.09B $124.80M
R&D $18.00M – $2.20M
EPS (diluted) $5.74 $13.58 $12.94
Cash & equivalents $4.41B $928.56M $117.30M
Total debt – $4.20B $1.09B
Shares (diluted) 266.00M 143.62M 16.89M
Enterprise value $10.54B $31.76B $1.69B

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
MetricAASTLDKALU
P/E 6.9x 18.1x 8.7x
P/FCF 31.5x 32.1x 15.2x
P/Operating cash flow 6.6x 20.7x 8.4x
P/S 0.7x 1.6x 0.4x
P/B 1.3x 3.6x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 3.7x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA – 11.9x 6.1x
EV/EBIT – 15.0x 8.3x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 1.7x 0.6x
EV/FCF – 35.0x 23.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.6x 22.6x 12.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.15 -3.25 0.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAASTLDKALU
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.2% 26.0% 40.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 4.6% 12.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 53.3% 45.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -6.4% 25.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 82.1% 108.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -9.0% 88.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.9% 72.3% 109.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 52.7% -10.0% 154.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.8% 77.0% 106.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 46.5% -5.6% 151.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 51.4% 11.2% 29.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 426.9% -23.6% 19.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 252.0% 860.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -22.1% 67.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAASTLDKALU
Gross margin – 15.9% 13.4%
EBITDA margin – 14.4% 10.4%
Operating margin – 11.5% 7.7%
Pretax margin – 11.2% 6.5%
Net margin – 8.8% 4.8%
FCF margin – 4.9% 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 11.2% 7.6% 5.0%
Return on equity 19.3% 20.5% 22.8%
Return on assets 8.1% 11.2% 7.5%
Return on invested capital – 14.6% 12.8%
Return on capital employed – 17.1% 15.1%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.3x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 0.9x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.3% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAASTLDKALU
Debt / assets – 23.6% 37.5%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.0x 2.1x
Debt / FCF – 3.8x 8.8x
Liabilities / assets 59.5% 44.8% 66.6%
Equity / assets 40.5% 55.2% 33.4%
Interest coverage – 18.4x 6.1x
Current ratio 2.3x 3.1x 2.6x
Quick ratio – 1.4x 1.2x
Cash ratio – 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 6.07 3.08

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAASTLDKALU
Dividend yield 1.3% 0.8% 2.6%
Net buyback yield – 2.4% –
Shareholder yield 1.3% 3.2% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 7.0% 15.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 27.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.9% 3.4% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 4.4% –

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.

ConsensusAASTLDKALU
Forward P/E 6.1xFY2026 14.4xFY2026 7.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.50FY2026 $17.11FY2026 $14.83FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +72.4%FY2026 +114.1%FY2026 +145.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -11.4% +20.9% -24.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.74BFY2026 $22.96BFY2026 $4.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 +26.3%FY2026 +32.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.8% +15.9% +2.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAASTLDKALU
Held by institutions 77.8% 82.7% 100.0%
Institutions holding 709 1,022 335
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.9% +1.2% +3.2%
Institutions buying 357 501 194
Institutions selling 242 370 101
Buyers to sellers 1.48 1.35 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.

AASTLDKALU
AA 1.00 0.40 0.51
STLD 0.40 1.00 0.50
KALU 0.51 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AA, STLD and KALU?

Steel Dynamics (STLD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alcoa (AA) $10.54B, Steel Dynamics (STLD) $35.16B, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) $1.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, AA, STLD and KALU?

Alcoa (AA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alcoa (AA) 6.9x, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 18.1x, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 8.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alcoa (AA) is cheapest (Alcoa (AA) 6.1x, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 14.4x, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 7.8x). 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) +11.2%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +26.0%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) +40.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Steel Dynamics (STLD) has the highest net margin (Steel Dynamics (STLD) 8.8%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Steel Dynamics (STLD) leads (Steel Dynamics (STLD) 14.6%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 12.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Steel Dynamics (STLD) returned the most: Alcoa (AA) +0.1%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +56.2%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) +24.9%. Over five years, Steel Dynamics (STLD) compounded fastest (Alcoa (AA) -3.0%/yr, Steel Dynamics (STLD) +30.4%/yr, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) +3.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) has the highest dividend yield: Alcoa (AA) 1.25%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 0.85%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 2.65%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steel Dynamics (STLD) has been the steadiest (Alcoa (AA) 53.5%, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 36.1%, Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) 57.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AA, STLD 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, Steel Dynamics (STLD) 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.