AA vs CENX: Alcoa and Century Aluminum compared
The short version
From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.
- Alcoa is the larger company, worth $10.2B, about 3.2 times Century Aluminum.
- Alcoa grew revenue faster over the last year (+31.4% vs +19.7%).
- On earnings, Century Aluminum is the cheaper stock (9.7x vs 9.9x).
- Century Aluminum's price assumes faster free cash flow growth: about 13% a year, against 4% for Alcoa (reverse DCF).
Side by side
The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.
| Measure | AA | CENX |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $10.2B | $3.2B |
| Share price | $42.20 | $36.76 |
| Revenue (last fiscal year) | $12.8B | $2.5B |
| Free cash flow (last fiscal year) | $567M | $85M |
| Revenue growth, last year | +31.4% | +19.7% |
| Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years | +1.4% | +3.4% |
| Operating margin | — | 25.3% |
| Net margin | 9.4% | 22.6% |
| Return on equity | 17.3% | 43.0% |
| P/E (trailing) | 9.89x | 9.66x |
| Price / free cash flow | 17.9x | 37.9x |
| EV / EBITDA | 5.74x | 13.8x |
| FCF growth the price implies | 3.6% | 13.4% |
| Dividend yield | 0.99% | — |
| Debt / equity | 1.28x | 0.96x |
| Fundamental grade | B | B |
| Superinvestors holding it | 4 | 4 |
| Insider purchases, last 12 months | 0 | 0 |
Results from SEC filings
Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.
Alcoa
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $12.2B | $530M | — |
| 2022 | $12.5B | $342M | — |
| 2023 | $10.6B | -$440M | — |
| 2024 | $11.9B | $42M | — |
| 2025 | $12.8B | $567M | — |
Century Aluminum
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $2.2B | -$148M | 3.0% |
| 2022 | $2.8B | -$60M | -5.4% |
| 2023 | $2.2B | $11M | 1.3% |
| 2024 | $2.2B | -$107M | 4.9% |
| 2025 | $2.5B | $85M | 6.3% |
Where the revenue comes from
Alcoa · by products, 2025
Aluminum$8.5B65%
Alumina$3.7B28%
Bauxite$727M6%
Energy$190M1%
Century Aluminum · by products, 2025
Aluminum$2.2B89%
Alumina$284M11%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open AA in InvestinglyQuestions
Which is bigger, Alcoa or Century Aluminum?
Alcoa (AA), at $10.2B against $3.2B.
Is AA or CENX cheaper?
By trailing P/E, Century Aluminum (9.66x) is cheaper than Alcoa (9.89x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.
Which grows faster, AA or CENX?
Alcoa: revenue grew +31.4% over the last year, against +19.7%.
More comparisons
Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.