Reliance Inc. Common Stock (RS)

FairStock Score: 54/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I look at Reliance as a cyclical metals distributor, not a franchise. It buys, processes, and distributes alloy, aluminum, carbon steel, stainless, titanium, and specialty metals to manufacturers, construction, transportation, aerospace, and energy customers. Scale and processing services give it some customer stickiness, but this is still a competitive, capital-intensive industry where returns depend on metal spreads and industrial demand. The numbers bear that out. In fiscal 2025, the year ended 2025-12-31, revenue was $14.3B, net income $739.4M, and diluted EPS $13.98. That was below fiscal 2023, when revenue was $14.8B, net income $1.3B, and diluted EPS $22.64. So the cycle has softened. Yet the fiscal Q1 2026 quarter ended 2026-03-31 showed revenue of $4.0B, net income of $264.9M, and diluted EPS of $5.10, up from $3.5B, $199.7M, and $3.74 in fiscal Q1 2025—a real rebound. Financial health is reasonable: debt-to-equity is 0.27, Altman Z-Score 5.19, and trailing free cash flow $539.5M. But ROCE is only 7.33% and ROE 12.23%, not the hallmark of a wide moat. At the close on 2026-10-13, the price was $404.06, or 23.48 times earnings and 2.79 times book. The FairStock Graham Number is $236.94, leaving a negative margin of safety of -70.53%. FCF yield is 2.6%, and EV/EBITDA is 13.71. The Piotroski F-Score is 5/9, and FairStock score 54/100. A PEG of 0.62 looks cheap only if growth persists, but steel cycles rarely cooperate. FairStock's Lynch category is cyclical steel. I would want a larger discount before calling this a bargain.

In plain English: Reliance is a metals distributor and processor. It sells steel, aluminum, and other metals to factories, builders, and other businesses. The business is cyclical, so profits can swing with the economy; recent annual earnings were weaker than a couple of years ago, though a recent quarter improved. At $404.06, the stock looks expensive compared with its earnings, accounting value, and a conservative value estimate, even though the balance sheet looks solid.

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Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-03-31) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer