COMMERCIAL METALS COMPANY vs KAISER ALUMINUM CORPORATION, two Steel stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where CMC and KALU diverge most: on ev/ebitda, CMC reads 36.9 and KALU reads 8.1; on implied growth (priced in), CMC reads +2.6% and KALU reads +10.0%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's CMC price has a different growth bar priced in than KALU (+2.6% implied for CMC vs +10.0% for KALU); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What CMC's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What KALU's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | CMC | KALU |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $68.93 | $163.23 |
| Market cap | $7.7B | $2.8B |
| Sector | Steel | Steel |
| Stage | Cyclical | Cyclical |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +2.6% | +10.0% |
| P/E | 13.0 | 12.1 |
| P/B | 1.70 | 2.93 |
| P/S | 0.87 | 0.67 |
| EV/EBITDA | 36.9 | 8.1 |
| Revenue growth | +15.4% | +32.3% |
| Operating margin | — | 10.6% |
| Net margin | 6.7% | 5.5% |
| Return on equity | 13.1% | 24.1% |
| Return on assets | 6.1% | 7.8% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 13.2% |
| FCF yield | 5.3% | 3.1% |
| Dividend yield | 1.0% | 1.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.73 | 1.10 |
| Current ratio | 2.33 | 2.50 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.72 | 2.94 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.