Howmet Aerospace Inc.

Howmet Aerospace Inc. is an American aerospace and defense manufacturer that produces jet engine components, aerospace fastening systems, airframe structural parts, and forged aluminum commercial vehicle wheels, generating $8.25 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of jet engine turbine blades (airfoils) and a dominant force in aerospace fasteners, with roughly 70% of its revenue tied to the aerospace market and approximately 21% coming from the high-margin engine aftermarket.

This is a story about an industrial franchise that emerged from a complicated corporate history — Alcoa, then Arconic, then a 2020 spin-off — and has since transformed into one of the most focused and financially disciplined aerospace suppliers in the world. Under Chairman and CEO John Plant, the company has shed underperforming assets, redirected capital to its strongest businesses, expanded margins by more than 1,300 basis points in five years, and reduced net leverage from over 4x to 1.0x, all while growing revenue at a double-digit compound rate. The stock has compounded at roughly 40% annually since mid-2021, and the market now capitalises the company at approximately $101 billion.

The central question the file turns on is whether Howmet can sustain its extraordinary margin expansion and capital returns as the aerospace cycle matures, while simultaneously funding the organic investment required to capture what may be a once-in-a-generation demand surge in industrial gas turbines driven by data-centre electrification. It is a question about bandwidth — managerial, operational, and financial — and whether doing it all, as Plant insists the company can, is sustainable or a prelude to dilution of returns.