Which Is a Better Investment, Alcoa Corporation or Century Aluminum Company Stock?

By Tudor Pop
May 29, 2026
Large versus logo comparing two stocks in the same industry
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Metals & Mining industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Century Aluminum Company or Alcoa Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces primary aluminum and alumina in the United States and Iceland. The company engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products. It also owns and operates a carbon anode production facility in Vlissingen, the Netherlands; and operates aluminum reduction facilities or smelters; and bauxite mining and alumina refining in Jamaica. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminum production, and energy generation business in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Spain, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Alumina and Aluminum. It operates bauxite and other aluminous ores mining and processes bauxite into alumina for sale to aluminum smelter customers and customers who process it into industrial chemical products through supply contracts to third parties, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses. The company also offers aluminium powder and scrap and primary aluminum in the form of commodity grade ingot and value-add ingot to customers that produce products for transportation, building and construction, packaging, wire, and other industrial markets. In addition, it provides energy that generates and sells electricity in the wholesale market to traders, large industrial consumers, distribution companies, and other generation companies. The company was formerly known as Alcoa Upstream Corporation and changed its name to Alcoa Corporation in May 2016. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Latest Metals & Mining and Century Aluminum Company, Alcoa Corporation Stock News

As of May 28, 2026, Century Aluminum Company had a $6.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Metals & Mining median of $2.0 million. Century Aluminum Company’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 312.78% in the past year.

Currently, Century Aluminum Company’s price-earnings ratio is 18.7. Century Aluminum Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.5 billion with a 13.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.850 per share for the current fiscal year. Century Aluminum Company does not currently pay a dividend.

Currently, Alcoa Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 19.3. Alcoa Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $12.7 billion with a 8.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -5.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.170 per share for the current fiscal year. Alcoa Corporation currently has a 0.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
Century Aluminum Company CENX F
Alcoa Corporation AA D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Century Aluminum Company has a Value Score of 14, which is Ultra Expensive. Alcoa Corporation has a Value Score of 39, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Century Aluminum Company or Alcoa Corporation has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Century Aluminum Company or Alcoa Corporation is the better investment when it comes to value.

Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
Century Aluminum Company CENX C
Alcoa Corporation AA A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Century Aluminum Company has a Growth Score of 57, which is Average. Alcoa Corporation has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Alcoa Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Alcoa Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than Century Aluminum Company. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Alcoa Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Century Aluminum Company CENX D
Alcoa Corporation AA D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Century Aluminum Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 37, which is Negative. Alcoa Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 34, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Century Aluminum Company or Alcoa Corporation has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Century Aluminum Company or Alcoa Corporation is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

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Other Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation Grades

In addition to Growth, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

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Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Century Aluminum Company or Alcoa Corporation Stock?

Overall, Century Aluminum Company stock has a Value Score of 14, Growth Score of 57 and Estimate Revisions Score of 37.

Alcoa Corporation stock has a Value Score of 39, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 34.

Comparing Century Aluminum Company and Alcoa Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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