Advertisement
RS vs WS
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Reliance, Inc. (RS) vs. Worthington Steel, Inc. (WS) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Reliance, Inc. (RS) has delivered stronger year-to-date (YTD) performance at 16.56% compared to Worthington Steel, Inc. (WS)'s 3.54%.
- RS commands a significantly larger market capitalization of $17.5 billion versus WS's $1.8 billion, reflecting greater scale.
- RS exhibits lower volatility with a beta of 0.87 (a measure of stock volatility relative to the market), compared to WS's 2.02.
- Recent analyst updates show optimism for RS, including raised price targets, amid infrastructure and defense contracts.
- Both operate in the metals sector, but RS benefits from broader diversification while WS focuses on steel processing.
- WS reported sales growth in its recent quarter but faced earnings pressure from margin compression.
Introduction
Reliance, Inc. (RS) and Worthington Steel, Inc. (WS) are key players in the metals processing and distribution sector, making them compelling comparables for investors tracking basic materials stocks. This analysis highlights their relative performance, business dynamics, and market positioning amid fluctuating industrial demand and economic signals. Traders focused on cyclical sectors, value opportunities, or momentum plays may find value in understanding how RS's scale stacks up against WS's specialized steel focus, especially in recent market activity.
RS Overview and Recent Performance
Reliance, Inc. (RS), a leading diversified metals service center, provides metal processing and distribution services across North America and internationally. In recent market activity, RS shares have shown resilience, trading around $335 with a year-to-date gain of 16.56% and a 52-week range of $260-$366. The stock has benefited from strong quarterly sales growth in late 2025, record tons sold, and multi-billion-dollar infrastructure and defense contracts secured by its units. Analyst sentiment has improved, with multiple buy ratings and raised price targets in recent weeks, driven by positive outlooks ahead of Q1 2026 earnings. Broader factors like industrial demand and supply chain stabilization have supported upward momentum, though valuation metrics like a P/E ratio (price-to-earnings) of 24.01 warrant monitoring.
WS Overview and Recent Performance
Worthington Steel, Inc. (WS) specializes in steel processing, offering carbon flat-rolled steel and tailor-welded blanks primarily in North America. Shares recently hovered near $36, with a modest YTD return of 3.54% and a wider 52-week range of $23-$49, reflecting higher volatility (beta of 2.02). In its fiscal Q3 2026 results, net sales rose 12% to $770 million, but operating income declined due to compressed margins and softer galvanized spreads. Earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27 missed expectations, contributing to mixed sentiment. Recent analyst adjustments, such as lowered price targets, highlight challenges from stable-to-soft market conditions, though sales volume growth signals underlying demand resilience.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots page features a curated selection of 25 top-performing AI trading bots out of over 350 available, each designed for copy trading across stocks, ETFs, and crypto. These bots employ diverse strategies like swing trading, dip buying, and technical analysis on timeframes from 5 minutes to 60 minutes, targeting sectors including industrials, semiconductors, and energy. Performance stats are impressive: annualized returns range from 30% to over 120%, win rates 55%-88%, and profit factors 1.5-6.9, with examples like an industrial stocks bot at +34% return (62% win rate) and another industrials-focused bot at +72% (56% win rate). Relevant for metals investors, these highlight adaptive AI in cyclical sectors. Explore the page to identify bots aligning with your trading style and current conditions.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Both RS and WS operate in the basic materials sector with exposure to steel and metals demand, but RS’s diversified model across multiple metals contrasts with WS’s narrower focus on flat-rolled steel processing. Growth drivers favor RS, buoyed by infrastructure catalysts, while WS grapples with margin pressures. Recent momentum tilts toward RS with steadier uptrends and positive analyst revisions versus WS’s post-earnings volatility. Risk profiles differ markedly: RS’s lower beta suits conservative positioning, while WS offers higher potential upside amid swings. Market sentiment leans toward RS for stability in uncertain industrials cycles.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI tools would currently lean toward RS over WS, based on superior trend consistency, lower volatility, stronger YTD relative performance, and near-term catalysts like infrastructure deals and earnings outlook. While WS shows sales resilience, its higher beta and recent earnings miss introduce greater uncertainty. This positioning reflects probabilistic signals from recent data rather than guarantees.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer. Disclaimers and Limitations
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is RS is a StrongBuy and WS is a StrongBuy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
RS’s FA Score shows that 3 FA rating(s) are green whileWS’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s).
- RS’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
- WS’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
RS’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while WS’s TA Score has 4 bullish TA indicator(s).
- RS’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
- WS’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
RS (@Steel) experienced а +4.82% price change this week, while WS (@Steel) price change was +5.03% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Steel industry was +179.67%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +134.84%, and the average quarterly price growth was +13.10%.
Reported Earning Dates
RS is expected to report earnings on Jul 22, 2026.
WS is expected to report earnings on Jun 24, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Steel (+179.67% weekly)The steel industry includes manufacturers of steel and steel-related products. Companies use iron ore and scrap steel to produce steel. The industry also includes companies involved in mining and marketing of steel products. Along with serving some of the domestic markets, U.S. steel output has, over the years, been used by international economies as well. Competition from imported steel has also increased over time. The industry could be susceptible to business cycles, since the element is an important input in industrial production. Some of the globally-renowned steel behemoths include Nucor Corporation, Vale, and ArcelorMittal SA.
| RS | WS | RS / WS | |
| Capitalization | 21.1B | 2.21B | 956% |
| EBITDA | 1.5B | 256M | 588% |
| Gain YTD | 44.192 | 26.589 | 166% |
| P/E Ratio | 26.95 | 18.10 | 149% |
| Revenue | 14.8B | 3.35B | 442% |
| Total Cash | 250M | N/A | - |
| Total Debt | 2.03B | 353M | 575% |
RS | ||
|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 45 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 20 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 9 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 67 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 39 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 32 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
| RS | WS | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 65% | 3 days ago 90% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 52% | 3 days ago 80% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 70% | 3 days ago 80% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 67% | 3 days ago 88% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 68% | 3 days ago 76% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 68% | 3 days ago 74% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 68% | 3 days ago 75% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 27 days ago 57% | 27 days ago 72% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 57% | 3 days ago 81% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 59% | 3 days ago 76% |
Advertisement
RS and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, RS has been closely correlated with CMC. These tickers have moved in lockstep 68% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if RS jumps, then CMC could also see price increases.
WS and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, WS has been loosely correlated with CMC. These tickers have moved in lockstep 63% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if WS jumps, then CMC could also see price increases.