FLY vs RDW vs RKLB Stock Comparison

Firefly Aerospace, Redwire and Rocket Lab Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FLY Firefly Aerospace Inc.
$18.23 -16.8% 1M -29.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.95B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$287.01M
Div. yield
–
Space Industrials
2 wins
RDW Redwire Corp
$8.36 -25.8% 1M +8.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.83B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$426.27M
Div. yield
–
Space Industrials
1 win
RKLB Rocket Lab Corp
$52.60 -25.2% 1M -17.3% 1Y
Market cap
$33.90B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$769.15M
Div. yield
–
Space Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Rocket Lab leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Rocket Lab 6, Firefly Aerospace 2, Redwire 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFLYRDWRKLBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.95B $1.83B $33.90B RKLB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -8.0x -7.1x -204.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +179.2% +63.1% +52.5% FLY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -129.1% -60.7% -21.5% RKLB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -25.8% -15.1% -6.7% RKLB
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 3.1x 14.4x FLY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -29.8% +8.0% -17.3% RDW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -7.2%/yr +32.3%/yr RKLB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 106.8% 112.1% 92.6% RKLB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 39/100 42/100 RKLB

Percentile Scorecard

FLYRDWRKLB

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

AxisFLYRDWRKLB
Valuation 17 #83 of 100 34 #66 of 100 18 #82 of 100
Growth 59 #40 of 97 42 #57 of 97 50 #49 of 97
Profitability 22 #75 of 96 25 #72 of 96 31 #67 of 96
Financial Health 70 #33 of 106 83 #19 of 106 88 #14 of 106
Shareholder Returns 9 #59 of 65 13 #57 of 65 22 #51 of 65
Overall 36 39 42
  • FLY ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • RDW ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • RKLB ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFLYRDWRKLBSPY
1 month -16.8%-25.8%-25.2% -1.0%
3 months -7.4%-3.8%-17.7% +2.9%
6 months -48.1%-13.6%-34.0% +6.4%
Year to date -18.5%+10.0%-24.6% +11.4%
1 year -29.8%+8.0%-17.3% +13.1%
3 years —+209.6%+1,170.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year —+45.8%+133.5% +21.5%
5 years —-31.3%+304.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year —-7.2%+32.3% +10.9%

Risk

MeasureFLYRDWRKLBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 106.8%112.1%92.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 99.1%102.6%90.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.434.033.87 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.280.07-0.19 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.0%-87.3%-78.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -69.0%-67.7%-65.0% -2.5%
52-week high $58.81$25.90$150.23 $779.14
52-week low $16.31$5.06$39.48 $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.

MultipleFLYRDWRKLB
P/E now vs peer median -8.0xmedian 26.2x -7.1xmedian 26.2x -200.2xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 2.9x 4.9xmedian 2.9x 40.9xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -8.3xmedian 14.7x -9.5xmedian 14.7x -182.9xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.3xmedian 24.9x -21.2xmedian 24.9x -84.8xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 2.4x 1.3xmedian 2.4x 9.0xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.92 0.89median 0.92 -24.20median 0.92

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 monthsFLYRDWRKLB
Revenue $287.01M $426.27M $769.15M
Gross profit $65.79M $85.66M $286.62M
Operating income -$338.66M -$215.26M -$223.49M
Net income -$363.46M -$244.10M -$165.46M
Free cash flow -$326.49M -$98.20M -$371.14M
R&D $245.37M $42.36M $312.42M
EPS (diluted) $-2.29 $-1.17 $-0.26
Cash & equivalents $459.82M $557.72M $2.13B
Total debt $372.55M $48.06M $1.72M
Shares (diluted) 161.78M 220.47M 629.68M
Enterprise value -$123.28M $978.54M $28.22B

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
MetricFLYRDWRKLB
P/E -8.0x -7.1x -200.2x
P/FCF -9.3x -21.2x -84.8x
P/Operating cash flow -11.5x -27.3x -141.4x
P/S 10.6x 4.9x 40.9x
P/B 2.5x 1.3x 9.0x
P/Tangible book 2.8x 1.6x 9.9x
EV/EBITDA -8.3x -9.5x -182.9x
EV/EBIT -7.2x -7.3x -130.5x
EV/Revenue 8.4x 3.7x 37.9x
EV/FCF -7.4x -16.0x -78.6x
EV/Operating cash flow -9.2x -20.7x -131.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.89 -24.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFLYRDWRKLB
Revenue growth (1Y) 179.2% 63.1% 52.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 26.9% 49.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1,165% 1,193% 95.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 22.4% 109.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -51.0% -56.3% -0.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -72.2% -11.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -46.1% -29.8% 28.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -70.8% -0.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 89.5% 57.9% 41.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -8.0% 8.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -63.7% 46.9% -100.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -40.8% -44.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -77.2% 35.4% -81.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -46.5% -45.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFLYRDWRKLB
Gross margin 22.9% 20.1% 37.3%
EBITDA margin -102.3% -38.9% -20.7%
Operating margin -118.0% -50.5% -29.1%
Pretax margin -139.6% -54.9% -24.9%
Net margin -129.1% -60.7% -21.5%
FCF margin -113.8% -23.0% -48.3%
Operating cash flow margin -92.1% -17.9% -28.9%
Return on equity -31.2% -18.0% -5.7%
Return on assets -23.2% -14.1% -4.7%
Return on invested capital -25.8% -15.1% -6.7%
Return on capital employed -26.6% -14.0% -7.5%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x 0.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 16.1% 17.4% 10.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFLYRDWRKLB
Debt / assets 1.6% 2.5% 0.0%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 3.1x 14.4x
Debt / FCF -0.1x -0.5x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 25.4% 16.1% 16.6%
Equity / assets 74.6% 83.9% 83.4%
Interest coverage -18.2x – -13.9x
Current ratio 2.7x 3.9x 5.5x
Quick ratio 2.4x 3.4x 4.8x
Cash ratio 2.2x 2.9x 4.4x
Altman Z-score 3.20 3.66 27.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFLYRDWRKLB
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -39.3% -36.4% -7.3%
Shareholder yield -39.3% -36.4% -7.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusFLYRDWRKLB
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.90FY2026 $-0.77FY2026 $-0.28FY2026
Revenue, next fiscal year $464.32MFY2026 $463.08MFY2026 $917.64MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +190.5%FY2026 +38.1%FY2026 +52.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +41.1% +25.7% +52.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFLYRDWRKLB
Held by institutions 57.0% 64.7% 51.2%
Institutions holding 267 324 1,128
Change in shares held, QoQ +46.3% +15.8% +10.9%
Institutions buying 211 253 810
Institutions selling 34 57 238
Buyers to sellers 6.21 4.44 3.40

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.

FLYRDWRKLB
FLY 1.00 0.71 0.76
RDW 0.71 1.00 0.76
RKLB 0.76 0.76 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FLY, RDW and RKLB?

Rocket Lab (RKLB) is the largest by market capitalisation: Firefly Aerospace (FLY) $2.95B, Redwire (RDW) $1.83B, Rocket Lab (RKLB) $33.90B.

Which company is growing faster?

Firefly Aerospace (FLY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Firefly Aerospace (FLY) +179.2%, Redwire (RDW) +63.1%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) +52.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Rocket Lab (RKLB) has the highest net margin (Firefly Aerospace (FLY) -129.1%, Redwire (RDW) -60.7%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) -21.5%). On return on invested capital, Rocket Lab (RKLB) leads (Firefly Aerospace (FLY) -25.8%, Redwire (RDW) -15.1%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) -6.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Redwire (RDW) returned the most: Firefly Aerospace (FLY) -29.8%, Redwire (RDW) +8.0%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) -17.3%. Over five years, Rocket Lab (RKLB) compounded fastest (Redwire (RDW) -7.2%/yr, Rocket Lab (RKLB) +32.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Rocket Lab (RKLB) has been the steadiest (Firefly Aerospace (FLY) 106.8%, Redwire (RDW) 112.1%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) 92.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FLY, RDW and RKLB?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Rocket Lab (RKLB) leads on 6. 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.