Start here if you're new
what it is
RBC sells precision bearings and motion-control parts that keep aircraft, missiles, factory tools, and chip equipment running.
how it gets paid
Last year Rbc Bearings made $1.6B in revenue. Plain Bearings was the main engine at $0.56B, or 35% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 4.9% last year. The business kept riding strong aerospace and defense demand.
what just happened
RBC posted quarterly EPS of $3.04, beating the $2.80 estimate by 8.57%.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
75/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
39.6x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
10.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 59/100 — below average
What they do
RBC sells precision bearings and motion-control parts that keep aircraft, missiles, factory tools, and chip equipment running.
When your jet, missile, or chip tool needs a bearing, you do not shop by coupon. RBC’s operating margin was 22.6%, versus a 19.8% net margin, because customers pay for parts that cannot fail. Switching costs (changing suppliers takes testing and approvals) → changing a tiny part is slow and expensive → so what: once RBC gets specified into your system, leaving is painful.
How they make money
$1.6B
annual revenue · their business grew +4.9% last year
Plain Bearings
$0.56B
Roller Bearings
$0.40B
Ball Bearings
$0.32B
Other
$0.32B
The products that matter
precision motion components
Aerospace, Defense and Industrial Components
$1.4B revenue · 19.8% net margin
This source page does not break RBC into cleaner product buckets, so the investment case starts with the whole business. What matters is that the company turned $1.4B of revenue into a 19.8% net margin and ended the period with a $1.6B backlog. That's enough to tell you demand is real, even if the product mix detail is not.
$1.6B backlog
Key numbers
39.6x
trailing p/e
You are paying almost 40 times trailing earnings for an industrial parts business, so execution has to stay clean.
22.6%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: RBC keeps about 23 cents from each sales dollar before interest and taxes.
$1.1B
long-term debt
Debt is manageable at 7% of capital, but it still matters if demand cools or rates stay high.
10.5%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on money invested in the business → so what: solid, but not elite for a stock priced this rich.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 65 / 100
- long-term debt $1.1B (7% of capital)
- net profit margin 19.8% — keeps 20 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 11% — $0.11 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in RBC 3 years ago → it's now worth $22,130.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
RBC posted quarterly EPS of $3.04, beating the $2.80 estimate by 8.57%.
The business kept riding strong aerospace and defense demand, where sales rose nearly 39% vs. prior year. Gross margin was 44.4%, which tells you the pricing power is real.
$1.4B
revenue
$6.20
eps
44.4%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 44.4% gross margin mattered most because it shows RBC is not just growing — it is keeping a huge chunk of each sales dollar.
-
rbc bearings is rolling out strong operational gains in fiscal 2025 (year ends march 31st).
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performance is being driven by exceptionally strong aerospace and defense demand, where sales rose nearly 39% vs. prior year, supported by unprecedented commercial aircraft and submarine build rates.backlog expanded to $1.6 billion, largely aerospace-weighted, providing multi-year revenue visibility with orders extending into the 2030s. capacity utilization is effectively mixed across aerospace plants, with incremental shifts and capital investment improving overhead absorption and margins. pricing resets on boeing and airbus contracts, combined with proprietary, sole-source content across airframes, engines, and naval platforms, are further supporting margin expansion and cash generation.
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on point, we have raised our top- and bottom-line forecasts to reflect the positive momentum that has been generated of late.
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we now expect earnings to come in at $11.60 a share ($11.25 previously) for fiscal 2025.
-
the outlook for fiscal 2026 is promising, as well.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
RBC's risk is not abstract. The page gives you three pressure points right away: a $1.6B backlog tied largely to aerospace, a 39.6x trailing p/e, and a 19.8% net margin that the market already trusts to stay healthy.
med
aerospace demand is carrying the story
Management said backlog is largely aerospace-weighted, and aerospace and defense sales rose nearly 39% from a year ago. That's great while build schedules cooperate. It gets less comfortable if customers push deliveries out.
impact: the $1.6B backlog is the visibility argument. If it stops converting cleanly, the growth case weakens before the business looks broken.
med
39.6x earnings leaves little room for an ordinary quarter
This is not a cheap industrial stock waiting for attention. It already trades at $459.83 against a 52-week high of $466, and analysts already model $13.00 of fiscal 2026 EPS.
impact: even a mild miss versus the $13.00 EPS or $2B revenue setup can hit the multiple first and the narrative second.
med
margin pressure would matter more than usual
RBC runs at a healthy 19.8% net margin, but it also carries $1.1B in long-term debt. If mix shifts, production costs rise, or program execution gets messier, the cushion is smaller than the stock price suggests.
impact: the market is paying for clean execution. Margin moving the wrong way from 19.8% would challenge the premium setup fast.
RBC does not need a collapse to disappoint you. It just needs backlog conversion, margin, or fiscal 2026 expectations to stop improving.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
key metric
backlog versus revenue
$1.6B of backlog against $1.4B of annual revenue is the cleanest proof that demand still exists beyond one quarter. If that backlog stalls or shrinks, the premium multiple gets harder to defend.
trend
whether 51.8% growth settles or snaps back
The stock is priced for a decent landing, not for a cliff. What matters is whether growth cools gracefully or fast enough to make 39.6x earnings look like yesterday's enthusiasm.
risk
margin discipline
A 19.8% net margin is a strength today. It also becomes the first number you watch if costs, mix, or execution start eating into the thesis.
next check-in
the next earnings print
You want to see whether the company keeps marching toward the $2B revenue and $13.00 EPS setup. That is the bar the market has already set for you.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak, analysts are not seeing a special short-term signal here despite the big run.
risk profile
average
stability score 3. That puts RBC roughly in the middle on risk — not a bunker stock, not chaos.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3. The chart is not flashing danger, but it is not handing you a fresh edge either.
earnings predictability
75 / 100
Management has been reasonably reliable. You usually get a business that lands near expectations, which matters more when the stock is expensive.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 230 buyers vs. 196 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 31.2M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$387
$766
$460
current price
$577
target midpoint · +25% from current · 3-5yr high: $500 (+10% · 2% ann'l return)
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