JHX vs. RIO: James Hardie Industries vs. Rio Tinto Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO) 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

James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO) both fall under the Materials industry group, but JHX is classified in Construction Materials while RIO is classified in Metals & Mining.

James Hardie Industries (JHX) trades as ordinary local shares, while Rio Tinto (RIO) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Profile Item	JHX	RIO
Name	James Hardie Industries plc	Rio Tinto plc ADR
Country/Region	Ireland	United Kingdom
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Construction Materials	Metals & Mining
GICS Sub-Industry	Construction Materials	Diversified Metals & Mining
Market Capitalization	16.20 billion USD	136.19 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	October 22, 2001	June 28, 1990
Security Type	Common Stock	ADR

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

JHX

RIO

GSPC

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Rio Tinto (RIO), 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Metric	JHX	RIO
Total Return (1Y)	72.20%	30.54%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	0.38%	16.90%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-5.23%	14.68%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

JHX

RIO

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

James Hardie Industries (JHX) has an aggressive beta of 1.74, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Rio Tinto (RIO) is defensive at 0.63 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Metric	JHX	RIO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	44.97%	30.72%
Beta (5Y)	1.74	0.63
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-60.26%	-35.25%
Avg. Volume (3M)	9.36M	2.35M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

JHX and RIO 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 James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Metric	JHX	RIO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.51	0.85
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.59	1.26

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 5.46% and Rio Tinto (RIO) at 19.31% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

JHX

Materials industry group

5.46%

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

RIO

Materials industry group

19.31%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
RIO: 19.31%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Rio Tinto (RIO) at 19.59% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 6.22%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

JHX

Materials industry group

6.22%

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

RIO

Materials industry group

19.59%

Max: 38.66%
RIO: 19.59%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 19.56% and Rio Tinto (RIO) at 28.05% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

JHX

Materials industry group

19.56%

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

RIO

Materials industry group

28.05%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
RIO: 28.05%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Metric	JHX	RIO
ROE (TTM)	5.46%	19.31%
ROA (TTM)	4.42%	8.11%
Net Margin (TTM)	6.22%	19.59%
Operating Margin (TTM)	19.56%	28.05%
Gross Margin (TTM)	38.25%	29.75%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 24.71% and Rio Tinto (RIO) at 7.42% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Rio Tinto (RIO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Rio Tinto (RIO) at -13.97% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while James Hardie Industries (JHX) at -80.61% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Rio Tinto (RIO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Metric	JHX	RIO
Revenue Growth (YoY)	24.71%	7.42%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.59%	1.24%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-80.61%	-13.97%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-45.13%	-7.23%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.12 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Rio Tinto (RIO) at 1.42 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for RIO.

JHX

Materials industry group

2.12

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

RIO

Materials industry group

1.42

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
RIO: 1.42
Min: 0.16

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 0.63 and Rio Tinto (RIO) at 0.32 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

JHX

Materials industry group

0.63

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

RIO

Materials industry group

0.32

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
RIO: 0.32
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Metric	JHX	RIO
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.12	1.42
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.63	0.32
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.43	0.58

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 Rio Tinto (RIO) reports a yield of 5.59%, ranking against industry peers normally.

JHX

Materials industry group

0.00%

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

RIO

Materials industry group

5.59%

RIO: 5.59%
Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Rio Tinto (RIO): 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 Rio Tinto (RIO) reports a payout of 54.46%, ranking against industry peers normally.

JHX

Materials industry group

0.00%

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

RIO

Materials industry group

54.46%

Max: 83.62%
RIO: 54.46%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Metric	JHX	RIO
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	5.59%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	54.46%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Rio Tinto (RIO) at 11.35 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.

JHX

Materials industry group

48.02

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

RIO

Materials industry group

11.35

Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
RIO: 11.35
Min: 3.93

James Hardie Industries (JHX) vs. Rio Tinto (RIO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.86 and Rio Tinto (RIO) at 2.20 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

JHX

Materials industry group

2.86

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

RIO

Materials industry group

2.20

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
RIO: 2.20
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both James Hardie Industries (JHX) at 2.41 and Rio Tinto (RIO) at 2.08 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

JHX

Materials industry group

2.41

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

RIO

Materials industry group

2.08

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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for James Hardie Industries (JHX) and Rio Tinto (RIO)
Metric	JHX	RIO
P/E Ratio (TTM)	48.02	11.35
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.86	2.20
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.41	2.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.98%	2.64%