AA vs. GFI: Alcoa vs. Gold Fields Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI) both belong to the Metals & Mining industry, though AA is classified under Aluminum while GFI falls under Gold.

Alcoa (AA) trades as ordinary local shares, while Gold Fields (GFI) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Profile Item	AA	GFI
Name	Alcoa Corporation	Gold Fields Ltd. Sponsored ADR
Country/Region	United States	South Africa
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Metals & Mining	Metals & Mining
GICS Sub-Industry	Aluminum	Gold
Market Capitalization	10.44 billion USD	34.65 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	ADR

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GFI

GSPC

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Metric	AA	GFI
Total Return (1Y)	12.55%	9.54%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	20.53%	51.07%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-1.46%	38.08%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GFI

GSPC

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Alcoa (AA) has an aggressive beta of 1.80, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Gold Fields (GFI) is defensive at 0.64 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Metric	AA	GFI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	53.37%	60.41%
Beta (5Y)	1.80	0.64
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-75.46%	-56.22%
Avg. Volume (3M)	4.61M	3.78M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AA and GFI are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Metric	AA	GFI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.16	0.09
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.23	0.12

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both companies show strong equity returns, but Gold Fields (GFI) at 58.68% is the standout with ROE above its industry range; Alcoa (AA) at 20.58% also sits in the top quartile.

AA

Materials industry group

20.58%

Max: 52.88%
AA: 20.58%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

GFI

Materials industry group

58.68%

GFI: 58.68%
Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Gold Fields (GFI) at 38.66% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Alcoa (AA) at 10.68%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AA

Materials industry group

10.68%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
AA: 10.68%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

GFI

Materials industry group

38.66%

GFI: 38.66%
Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Gold Fields (GFI) at 55.00% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Alcoa (AA) at 16.01%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

AA

Materials industry group

16.01%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
AA: 16.01%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

GFI

Materials industry group

55.00%

Max: 66.70%
GFI: 55.00%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Metric	AA	GFI
ROE (TTM)	20.58%	58.68%
ROA (TTM)	7.52%	28.52%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.68%	38.66%
Operating Margin (TTM)	16.01%	55.00%
Gross Margin (TTM)	22.76%	57.77%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Gold Fields (GFI) at 68.24% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Alcoa (AA) at 7.87% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for GFI.

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both companies show strong earnings momentum, but Alcoa (AA) at 1,600.00% is the standout with EPS growth above its industry range; Gold Fields (GFI) at 185.51% also sits in the top quartile.

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Metric	AA	GFI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.87%	68.24%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	1.01%	26.86%
EPS Growth (YoY)	1,600.00%	185.51%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	71.58%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Alcoa (AA) at 2.31 and Gold Fields (GFI) at 1.87 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

AA

Materials industry group

2.31

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
AA: 2.31
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

GFI

Materials industry group

1.87

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
GFI: 1.87
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Alcoa (AA) at 0.58 and Gold Fields (GFI) at 0.29 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

AA

Materials industry group

0.58

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
AA: 0.58
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

GFI

Materials industry group

0.29

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
GFI: 0.29
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Metric	AA	GFI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.31	1.87
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.58	0.29
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.14	0.06

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Alcoa (AA) at 1.04% pays an industry-typical yield; Gold Fields (GFI) at 5.65% is above its entire peer range — the higher number, but one that calls for a look at payout sustainability before treating it as an advantage.

AA

Materials industry group

1.04%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
AA: 1.04%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

GFI

Materials industry group

5.65%

GFI: 5.65%
Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Alcoa (AA) at 6.96% and Gold Fields (GFI) at 31.81% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

AA

Materials industry group

6.96%

Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
AA: 6.96%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

GFI

Materials industry group

31.81%

Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
GFI: 31.81%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Metric	AA	GFI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.04%	5.65%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	6.96%	31.81%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Alcoa (AA) at 6.88 and Gold Fields (GFI) at 8.03 sit in the cheaper earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, with the market paying less for a dollar of trailing earnings than it pays for typical peers.

AA

Materials industry group

6.88

Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
AA: 6.88
Min: 3.93

GFI

Materials industry group

8.03

Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
GFI: 8.03
Min: 3.93

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Alcoa (AA) at 0.73 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Gold Fields (GFI) at 3.05 prices around its industry’s middle — AA costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

AA

Materials industry group

0.73

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
AA: 0.73
Min: 0.00

GFI

Materials industry group

3.05

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
GFI: 3.05
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Alcoa (AA) at 1.27 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Gold Fields (GFI) at 7.78 prices above its benchmark range — GFI looks rich relative to book.

AA

Materials industry group

1.27

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
AA: 1.27
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

GFI

Materials industry group

7.78

GFI: 7.78
Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

Alcoa (AA) vs. Gold Fields (GFI): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Alcoa (AA) and Gold Fields (GFI)
Metric	AA	GFI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	6.88	8.03
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.73	3.05
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.27	7.78
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.80%	12.05%