Munger Mode rating: 3 out of 5 — Hold. Our own rating from the research report below, on business quality first: moat durability and management, with price separating the top three.
Charlie and I have spent considerable time studying Howmet Aerospace, and we are forced to acknowledge a difficult truth: this is one of the finest industrial businesses listed on a public exchange in America today, run by management of unusually high caliber, in an industry with extraordinary structural protection. We say "difficult" because the market plainly agrees with us. The shares trade in the neighborhood of $246 — the level at which the company itself was buying back stock in April 2026 — implying a market capitalization of roughly $98 to $100 billion against expected free cash flow that, even on optimistic projections for 2026, will struggle to exceed $1.6 billion. That is a free-cash-flow yield well below 2%, an earnings multiple north of forty times, and an enterprise value of more than 30 times forward EBITDA.
Recent filings analysed: 8-K (2026-08-06), 10-Q (2026-08-06), 8-K (2026-05-28), 8-K (2026-05-26).
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