Alcoa vs Kaiser Aluminum
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Alcoa and Kaiser Aluminum side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Alcoa is the larger business, with $12.8B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.4B for Kaiser Aluminum, about 3.8 times as much.
- Kaiser Aluminum grew revenue faster (11.5%, against 7.9%).
- Alcoa turned more of its sales into free cash flow (4.4% FCF margin, against −0.8%).
- Alcoa earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (18.0%, against 7.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Kaiser Aluminum’s earnings: a P/E of 8.2x against 8.0x for Alcoa.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Alcoa
AA
5/9
Net marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDA
Kaiser Aluminum
KALU
4/9
Revenue growth5-year growthPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AA FY25 | KALU FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $10.3B | $1.8B |
| Revenue | $12.8B | $3.4B |
| Free cash flow | $567M | −$25.5M |
| Net income | $1.2B | $113M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 7.9% | 11.5% |
| 5-year growth | 6.7% | 23.5% |
| Share count change | 22.0% | 1.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 13.1% |
| Operating margin | — | 5.6% |
| Net margin | 9.0% | 3.3% |
| FCF margin | 4.4% | −0.8% |
| Return on capital | 18.0% | 7.7% |
| Return on equity | 20.5% | 14.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $851M | $1.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.5x | 3.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $104M | $51.3M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 8.0x | 8.2x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.