AA vs. JHX: Alcoa vs. James Hardie Industries Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX) 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX) both fall under the Materials industry group, but AA is classified in Metals & Mining while JHX is classified in Construction Materials.

Company profile comparison for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Profile Item	AA	JHX
Name	Alcoa Corporation	James Hardie Industries plc
Country/Region	United States	Ireland
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Metals & Mining	Construction Materials
GICS Sub-Industry	Aluminum	Construction Materials
Market Capitalization	10.44 billion USD	16.20 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	October 22, 2001
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

JHX

GSPC

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX), 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Metric	AA	JHX
Total Return (1Y)	12.55%	72.20%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	20.53%	0.38%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-1.46%	-5.23%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

JHX

GSPC

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX), 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Metric	AA	JHX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	53.37%	44.97%
Beta (5Y)	1.80	1.74
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-75.46%	-60.26%
Avg. Volume (3M)	4.61M	9.36M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AA and JHX 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Metric	AA	JHX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.16	1.51
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.23	2.59

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Alcoa (AA) at 20.58% sits in the top ROE quartile, while James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 5.46% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for AA.

AA

Materials industry group

20.58%

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

JHX

Materials industry group

5.46%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
JHX: 5.46%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Alcoa (AA) at 10.68% and James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 6.22% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

AA

Materials industry group

10.68%

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

JHX

Materials industry group

6.22%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
JHX: 6.22%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Alcoa (AA) at 16.01% and James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 19.56% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

AA

Materials industry group

16.01%

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

JHX

Materials industry group

19.56%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
JHX: 19.56%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Metric	AA	JHX
ROE (TTM)	20.58%	5.46%
ROA (TTM)	7.52%	4.42%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.68%	6.22%
Operating Margin (TTM)	16.01%	19.56%
Gross Margin (TTM)	22.76%	38.25%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Alcoa (AA) at 7.87% and James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 24.71% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Alcoa (AA) at 1,600.00% delivers above-range EPS growth, while James Hardie Industries (JHX) at -80.61% falls into the bottom quartile — a wide split in earnings momentum.

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Metric	AA	JHX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.87%	24.71%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	1.01%	8.59%
EPS Growth (YoY)	1,600.00%	-80.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-45.13%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Alcoa (AA) at 2.31 and James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.12 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

JHX

Materials industry group

2.12

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
JHX: 2.12
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Alcoa (AA) at 0.58 and James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 0.63 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

JHX

Materials industry group

0.63

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
JHX: 0.63
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Metric	AA	JHX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.31	2.12
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.58	0.63
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.14	2.43

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

James Hardie Industries (JHX) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Alcoa (AA) reports a yield of 1.04%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AA

Materials industry group

1.04%

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

JHX

Materials industry group

0.00%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
JHX: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

James Hardie Industries (JHX) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Alcoa (AA) reports a payout of 6.96%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AA

Materials industry group

6.96%

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

JHX

Materials industry group

0.00%

Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
JHX: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Metric	AA	JHX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.04%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	6.96%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Alcoa (AA) at 6.88 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 48.02 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

AA

Materials industry group

6.88

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

JHX

Materials industry group

48.02

Max: 59.00
JHX: 48.02
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.86 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

JHX

Materials industry group

2.86

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
JHX: 2.86
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Alcoa (AA) at 1.27 and James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.41 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

AA

Materials industry group

1.27

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

JHX

Materials industry group

2.41

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
JHX: 2.41
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

Alcoa (AA) vs. James Hardie Industries (JHX): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Alcoa (AA) and James Hardie Industries (JHX)
Metric	AA	JHX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	6.88	48.02
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.73	2.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.27	2.41
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.80%	0.98%