AER vs. RKLB: AerCap vs. Rocket Lab Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) 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

AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but AER is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while RKLB is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Profile Item	AER	RKLB
Name	AerCap Holdings N.V.	Rocket Lab Corporation
Country/Region	Ireland	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	25.76 billion USD	33.93 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	November 21, 2006	November 24, 2020
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AER

RKLB

GSPC

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB), 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 AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Metric	AER	RKLB
Total Return (1Y)	32.17%	12.96%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	39.43%	138.86%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	21.06%	31.49%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AER

RKLB

GSPC

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB), 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 AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Rocket Lab (RKLB) carries a highly aggressive beta of 3.14, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, whereas AerCap (AER) is closer to market-like at 0.95 — a noticeable difference in market-sensitivity profile.

Risk profile metrics for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Metric	AER	RKLB
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	26.10%	95.71%
Beta (5Y)	0.95	3.14
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-44.81%	-78.32%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.13M	19.51M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AER and RKLB 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 AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Metric	AER	RKLB
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.07	0.09
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.59	0.14

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Rocket Lab (RKLB) reports a negative ROE of -7.92%; negative ROE can reflect losses or negative shareholders’ equity, so it is harder to read as capital efficiency. Meanwhile AerCap (AER) reports 17.00%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

17.00%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
AER: 17.00%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

-7.92%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
RKLB: -7.92%
Min: -17.12%

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Rocket Lab (RKLB) reports a negative net margin of -21.51%, usually indicating a net loss over the period. Meanwhile AerCap (AER) reports 34.47%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

34.47%

AER: 34.47%
Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

-21.51%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%
RKLB: -21.51%

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Rocket Lab (RKLB) reports a negative operating margin of -24.57%, usually indicating that operating costs exceeded revenue at the operating-income line. Meanwhile AerCap (AER) reports 62.55%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

62.55%

AER: 62.55%
Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

-24.57%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%
RKLB: -24.57%

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Metric	AER	RKLB
ROE (TTM)	17.00%	-7.92%
ROA (TTM)	4.52%	-4.62%
Net Margin (TTM)	34.47%	-21.51%
Operating Margin (TTM)	62.55%	-24.57%
Gross Margin (TTM)	63.02%	37.26%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Rocket Lab (RKLB) at 37.96% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while AerCap (AER) at 6.50% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for RKLB.

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: AerCap (AER) reports EPS growth of 97.41%, ranked against its industry; Rocket Lab (RKLB) has no EPS growth figure this period.

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Metric	AER	RKLB
Revenue Growth (YoY)	6.50%	37.96%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.69%	41.82%
EPS Growth (YoY)	97.41%	--
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

AerCap (AER) at 1.45 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Rocket Lab (RKLB) at 5.48 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

1.45

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
AER: 1.45
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

5.48

RKLB: 5.48
Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Rocket Lab (RKLB) at 0.04 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while AerCap (AER) at 2.33 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

2.33

AER: 2.33
Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

0.04

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
RKLB: 0.04
Min: 0.00

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Metric	AER	RKLB
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.45	5.48
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	2.33	0.04
Net Debt / EBITDA	7.77	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Rocket Lab (RKLB) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile AerCap (AER) reports a yield of 0.96%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

0.96%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
AER: 0.96%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
RKLB: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Rocket Lab (RKLB) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile AerCap (AER) reports a payout of 7.52%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

7.52%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
AER: 7.52%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
RKLB: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Metric	AER	RKLB
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.96%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	7.52%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

An earnings multiple is available for just one side: AerCap (AER) trades at 8.67 times trailing earnings, ranked against its peers, while Rocket Lab (RKLB) has no P/E ratio this period.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

8.67

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
AER: 8.67
Min: 3.03

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03
RKLB: --

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): RKLB does not report P/E ratio, so it has no value marker; AER is benchmarked against the Capital Goods industry group.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

AerCap (AER) at 2.84 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Rocket Lab (RKLB) at 44.12 clears its benchmark range — RKLB looks notably rich on sales.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

2.84

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
AER: 2.84
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

44.12

RKLB: 44.12
Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

AerCap (AER) at 1.36 looks cheap against book in the lower P/B ratio quartile, while Rocket Lab (RKLB) at 9.09 carries a premium in the upper quartile — a clear price-to-book gap.

AER

Capital Goods industry group

1.36

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
AER: 1.36
Min: -1.08

RKLB

Capital Goods industry group

9.09

Max: 9.66
RKLB: 9.09
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

AerCap (AER) vs. Rocket Lab (RKLB): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for AerCap (AER) and Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Metric	AER	RKLB
P/E Ratio (TTM)	8.67	--
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.84	44.12
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.36	9.09
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-6.60%	-0.74%