Is AA or NUE cheaper?

On trailing earnings, AA is cheaper: AA trades at a 17.24 P/E and NUE at 26.37.

Which has grown faster, AA or NUE?

Over the past five years, NUE grew revenue faster — AA at a 5.08% CAGR versus NUE at 9.67%.

Does AA or NUE pay a bigger dividend?

AA yields 0.58% and NUE yields 0.83% based on trailing dividends and the latest price.

Is AA or NUE more profitable?

AA runs the higher net margin — AA at 8.17% versus NUE at 6.82%.

Which has been the better investment, AA or NUE?

Over the past 10-year, NUE delivered the higher annualized total return — AA at 13.03% versus NUE at 20.73%. Past performance doesn't predict future results.

Alcoa Corporation (AA) vs Nucor Corporation (NUE)

AA leads on 11 of 17 compared metrics.

A side-by-side comparison of Alcoa Corporation and Nucor Corporation across valuation, profitability, dividends, and growth — built entirely from reported fundamentals, as of June 14, 2026. The ● marks the stronger figure on each row (cheaper multiple, higher margin/return).

Alcoa Corporation

$18.15B

$68.77Basic Materials

NUE

Nucor Corporation

$60.66B

$266.35Basic Materials

Total return — AA vs NUE

growth of $100 · last 30y

AA +108.6%NUE +1979.2%NUE compounded faster

Log scale — wide-divergence pair

AA NUE

AA vs NUE: by the numbers

•NUE is the larger company ($60.66B vs $18.15B market cap).
•AA trades at the lower earnings multiple (17.24 vs 26.37 P/E).
•AA converts more revenue to profit (8.17% vs 6.82% net margin).
•NUE grew revenue faster over the past five years (9.67% vs 5.08% CAGR).
•NUE pays the higher dividend yield (0.83% vs 0.58%).

Which is better, AA or NUE?

Metric tally: AA 11 · NUE 6

It depends on what you're optimizing for:

ValueAA(lower P/E)

GrowthNUE(faster 5Y revenue CAGR)

IncomeNUE(higher dividend yield)

QualityNUE(higher ROIC)

Valuation

Metric	AA	NUE
P/E ratio	17.24●	26.37
Forward P/E	8.77●	16.03
P/S ratio	1.44●	1.79
P/B ratio	2.68●	2.85
PEG ratio	0.01●	1.01
EV / EBITDA	11.56●	13.38
FCF yield	1.57%●	0.87%

Profitability

Metric	AA	NUE
Gross margin	15.20%●	13.98%
Operating margin	3.82%	10.04%●
Net margin	8.17%●	6.82%
ROE	15.15%●	10.87%
ROIC	6.12%	6.74%●

Dividends

Metric	AA	NUE
Dividend yield	0.58%	0.83%●
Payout ratio	8.95%	29.48%

Growth (annualized)

Metric	AA	NUE
Revenue CAGR (5Y)	5.08%	9.67%●
EPS CAGR (5Y)	20.38%	26.02%●
FCF CAGR (5Y)	13.41%●	-19.62%
Total return CAGR (5Y)	14.06%	21.93%●

Frequently asked

Which is better, AA or NUE?: It depends on your goal. value: AA (lower P/E); growth: NUE (faster 5Y revenue CAGR); income: NUE (higher dividend yield); quality: NUE (higher ROIC). Across all compared metrics, AA leads 11 to 6.
Is AA or NUE cheaper?: On trailing earnings, AA is cheaper: AA trades at a 17.24 P/E and NUE at 26.37.
Which has grown faster, AA or NUE?: Over the past five years, NUE grew revenue faster — AA at a 5.08% CAGR versus NUE at 9.67%.
Does AA or NUE pay a bigger dividend?: AA yields 0.58% and NUE yields 0.83% based on trailing dividends and the latest price.
Is AA or NUE more profitable?: AA runs the higher net margin — AA at 8.17% versus NUE at 6.82%.
Which has been the better investment, AA or NUE?: Over the past 10-year, NUE delivered the higher annualized total return — AA at 13.03% versus NUE at 20.73%. Past performance doesn't predict future results.

Go deeper

Full AA analysis Full NUE analysis Interactive comparison tool

Dig into the metrics

Alcoa P/E ratio Nucor P/E ratio Alcoa dividend yield Nucor dividend yield Alcoa ROE Nucor ROE Alcoa operating margin Nucor operating margin Alcoa revenue growth Nucor revenue growth Alcoa free cash flow Nucor free cash flow

Alcoa & Nucor appear in these rankings

Dividend Aristocrats Best 10-Year Total Return Stocks

Figures are sourced from reported fundamentals and the latest end-of-day price. This comparison is informational only and is not investment advice. Past performance does not predict future results. See our methodology. Compiled by TGMCharts Research · data verified June 14, 2026.