RIO vs SND vs CLF Stock Comparison

Rio Tinto, Smart Sand and Cleveland-Cliffs Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RIO Rio Tinto Plc
$83.71 -11.4% 1M +18.7% 1Y
Market cap
$138.84B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Iron Ore Basic Materials
2 wins
SND Smart Sand, Inc.
$4.84 -7.5% 1M +116.1% 1Y
Market cap
$195.51M
P/E
18.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$386.99M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Minerals Basic Materials
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionRIOSNDCLFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $138.84B $195.51M $7.91B RIO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only — 18.6x -16.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.7x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +26.5% +7.8% SND
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 2.7% -2.4% SND
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 3.1% -1.3% SND
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.1x 9.8x SND
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.7% +116.1% +1.8% SND
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.4%/yr +15.5%/yr -11.6%/yr SND
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.7% 70.8% 67.3% RIO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 73/100 38/100 SND

Percentile Scorecard

RIOSNDCLF

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

AxisRIOSNDCLF
Valuation – 96 #7 of 162 65 #57 of 162
Growth – 75 #37 of 147 40 #89 of 147
Profitability – 55 #55 of 122 37 #77 of 122
Financial Health 22 #129 of 165 45 #92 of 165 11 #147 of 165
Shareholder Returns 98 #3 of 107 94 #7 of 107 –
Overall – 73 38
  • RIO ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SND ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • CLF 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

PeriodRIOSNDCLFSPY
1 month -11.4%-7.5%+9.7% -0.8%
3 months -9.0%+2.5%+9.1% +3.5%
6 months -16.2%-10.5%+26.0% +7.0%
Year to date +4.6%+21.0%+0.7% +12.2%
1 year +18.7%+116.1%+1.8% +13.0%
3 years +31.3%+139.6%-16.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +9.5%+33.8%-5.9% +23.1%
5 years +29.9%+105.1%-46.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +5.4%+15.5%-11.6% +11.0%
10 years +144.7%—+115.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.4%—+8.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureRIOSNDCLFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.7%70.8%67.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.1%80.9%71.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.27-0.102.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.611.640.03 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.0%-70.3%-82.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.3%-16.8%-11.4% -1.8%
52-week high $112.04$5.82$15.09 $779.14
52-week low $67.89$2.09$7.82 $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.

MultipleRIOSNDCLF
P/E now vs peer median —median 12.8x 18.1xmedian 12.8x -16.2xmedian 12.8x
P/S now vs peer median —median 3.1x 0.5xmedian 3.1x 0.4xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.0x 5.0xmedian 7.0x 19.7xmedian 7.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 15.2x 5.4xmedian 15.2x -15.7xmedian 15.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.1x 0.8xmedian 2.1x 1.3xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.29 2.88median 0.29 0.34median 0.29

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 monthsRIOSNDCLF
Revenue – $386.99M $20.07B
Gross profit – $52.09M $309.00M
Operating income – $7.85M -$282.00M
Net income – $10.49M -$460.00M
Free cash flow – $34.63M -$485.00M
EPS (diluted) – $0.25 $-0.82
Cash & equivalents $8.87B $10.20M $77.00M
Total debt $16.90B $14.66M $7.65B
Shares (diluted) 1.63B 41.37M 574.00M
Enterprise value $99.34B $138.23M $7.66B

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
MetricRIOSNDCLF
P/E – 18.1x -16.2x
P/FCF – 5.4x -15.7x
P/Operating cash flow – 4.0x 65.8x
P/S – 0.5x 0.4x
P/B 2.0x 0.8x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 0.8x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA – 5.0x 19.7x
EV/EBIT – 24.6x -53.9x
EV/Revenue – 0.5x 0.8x
EV/FCF – 5.6x -31.3x
EV/Operating cash flow – 4.1x 131.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 2.88 0.34

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRIOSNDCLF
Revenue growth (1Y) – 26.5% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 8.6% -2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 64.5% 133.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 3.5% -35.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 193.0% 83.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 4.3% -35.2%
Net income growth (1Y) – 1,206% 72.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 9.4% -48.0%
EPS growth (1Y) – 1,143% 75.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 6.3% -47.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 350.4% 112.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 7.8% -61.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 16,392% 68.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 18.7% -32.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRIOSNDCLF
Gross margin – 13.5% 1.5%
EBITDA margin – 10.0% 3.8%
Operating margin – 2.0% -1.4%
Pretax margin – 1.9% -3.4%
Net margin – 2.7% -2.4%
FCF margin – 8.9% -2.4%
Operating cash flow margin – 12.1% 0.6%
Return on equity – 4.4% -7.3%
Return on assets – 3.1% -2.1%
Return on invested capital – 3.1% -1.3%
Return on capital employed – 2.7% -1.7%
Asset turnover – 1.1x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 4.5x -0.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRIOSNDCLF
Debt / assets – 4.2% 37.6%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.1x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.1x 9.8x
Debt / FCF – 0.4x -15.8x
Liabilities / assets – 31.4% 70.7%
Equity / assets – 68.6% 29.3%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.7x 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 2.64 1.40

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRIOSNDCLF
Dividend yield 5.6% 5.2% –
Net buyback yield – 0.8% –
Shareholder yield 5.6% 6.0% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusRIOSNDCLF
Forward P/E 10.7xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $7.84FY2026 $-0.27FY2026 $-0.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.2%FY2026 -1,000.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +9.1% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $67.58BFY2026 $380.19MFY2026 $21.93BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.2%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026 +17.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.0% – +1.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRIOSNDCLF
Held by institutions 7.9% 49.7% 83.1%
Institutions holding 968 91 583
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.1% +12.9% +1.4%
Institutions buying 504 69 279
Institutions selling 283 17 191
Buyers to sellers 1.78 4.06 1.46

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.

RIOSNDCLF
RIO 1.00 0.02 0.40
SND 0.02 1.00 -0.03
CLF 0.40 -0.03 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RIO, SND and CLF?

Rio Tinto (RIO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Rio Tinto (RIO) $138.84B, Smart Sand (SND) $195.51M, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) $7.91B.

Which company is growing faster?

Smart Sand (SND) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Smart Sand (SND) +26.5%, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Smart Sand (SND) has the highest net margin (Smart Sand (SND) 2.7%, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -2.4%). On return on invested capital, Smart Sand (SND) leads (Smart Sand (SND) 3.1%, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -1.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Smart Sand (SND) returned the most: Rio Tinto (RIO) +18.7%, Smart Sand (SND) +116.1%, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) +1.8%. Over five years, Smart Sand (SND) compounded fastest (Rio Tinto (RIO) +5.4%/yr, Smart Sand (SND) +15.5%/yr, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) -11.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Rio Tinto (RIO) has been the steadiest (Rio Tinto (RIO) 30.7%, Smart Sand (SND) 70.8%, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) 67.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RIO, SND and CLF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Smart Sand (SND) 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.