Howmet currently trades at $278.48 and has been a dream stock for shareholders. It’s returned 761% since July 2021, blowing past the S&P 500’s 70.4% gain. The company has also beaten the index over the past six months as its stock price is up 27.9% thanks to its solid quarterly results.

Is now still a good time to buy HWM? Or are investors being too optimistic? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Why Is HWM a Good Business?

Inventing the first forged aluminum truck wheel, Howmet (NYSE: HWM) specializes in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing multi-material components used in vehicles.

1. Skyrocketing Revenue Shows Strong Momentum

Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Luckily, Howmet’s sales grew at an excellent 12.3% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. Its growth beat the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers.

2. Outstanding Long-Term EPS Growth

Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company’s incremental sales were profitable — for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Howmet’s EPS grew at 48.1% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, higher than its 12.3% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

3. Increasing Free Cash Flow Margin Juices Financials

If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills.

As you can see below, Howmet’s margin expanded by 13.2 percentage points over the last five years. This is encouraging, and we can see it became a less capital-intensive business because its free cash flow profitability rose more than its operating profitability. Howmet’s free cash flow margin for the trailing 12 months was 19.2%.

Final Judgment

These are just a few reasons why we think Howmet is an elite industrials company, and with its shares topping the market in recent months, the stock trades at 51.5× forward P/E (or $278.48 per share). Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More Than Howmet

ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.

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Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+214% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.