Reliance Inc's Competitiveness
A competitive positioning analysis and financial ratio benchmarking of Reliance Inc (RS) against its publicly traded competitors: sales growth, net income, profitability, valuation and market share, plus each peer's market capitalization, revenue, income and employees. Free below: the top 5 peers. Subscriber access adds the full competitor list and CSV downloads.
Key Findings: Reliance Inc vs Its Competitors
- TTM: Trailing 12-month revenue of 14,836M vs 90,662M combined for tracked competitors (14.1% combined share).
- Trending: Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+8.5% annualized vs trailing 12 months), vs accelerating (+2.6%) for its tracked peer group.
- Growth: Reliance Inc generated 15.5% revenue growth year over year in Q1 2026, vs 17.0% for its tracked competitors combined.
- Profitability: Its 6.6% net margin compares with 6.5% for the peer group.
- Scale: Reliance Inc ranks #6 of 30 companies by market capitalization in the Iron & Steel industry, holding 6.9% of industry market cap.
- Peer revenue share: Reliance Inc accounted for 14.8% of combined revenue among its tracked peer group, down from 14.9% a year earlier.
- Peer differentiation: Revenue per employee of $0.94M compares with $0.89M for the peer group (1.1x).
Every figure above is sourced and cited in detail further down this page (Market Structure, Profitability & Cost Structure, Productivity vs Peers).
RS Sales vs. its Competitors, Q1 2026
Reliance Inc reported revenue growth of 15.53 % year on year in Q1 2026, below its competitors' combined revenue growth of 16.98 %.
With a net margin of 6.60 %, Reliance Inc achieved higher profitability than its competitors (6.54 %).
Reliance Inc generated 14.76 % of the combined sales of its peer group, down from 14.92 % a year earlier.
Reliance Inc vs. its Competitors, Q1 2026
Revenue growth, year on year
Net income growth, year on year
Net margin
Revenue run-rate vs trailing 12 months
TTM net margin
TTM = trailing twelve months. Run-rate annualizes the latest quarter (×4) and compares it to TTM. In millions of $. High-Confidence Competitors are named as a competitor directly in an SEC filing; Similar-Size Competitors are the closest peers by market-cap rank within the same industry; Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors are the closest peers by combined revenue growth, operating margin and ROIC, all independent of the competitor list.
TTM revenue, latest-quarter run-rate and net income/margin benchmarked across Reliance Inc and its 4 competitor groupings. Available under Commercial License.
| Entity | TTM Revenue | Rev Run-rate vs TTM |
|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Competitors combined | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| High-Confidence Competitors (2) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar-Size Competitors (5) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar Growth & Profitability (4) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
TTM revenue, run-rate and net margin benchmarking across Reliance Inc's competitor groups requires a Commercial License.
For context: the Iron & Steel industry grew revenue 0.0% year over year, combined, vs 15.5% for Reliance Inc. Reliance Inc's share of combined industry revenue moved from 1.57% to 1.81%, a gain of 0.24 percentage points.
Reliance Inc's Competitor Quality Breadth
Share of each group, trailing 12 months: profitable (net margin > 0), expanding (revenue growth > 0), growing faster than the industry's own median, and financially distressed (Piotroski F-Score of 2 or below).
| Entity | Profitable | Expanding | Above Industry Growth | Distressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Competitors combined (16) | ||||
| High-Confidence Competitors (3) | ||||
| Similar-Size Competitors (10) | ||||
| Similar Growth & Profitability (8) | 75.00 % (6 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 62.50 % (5 of 8) | 25.00 % (2 of 8) |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Altman Z-Score is not shown here: it is not populated in the underlying data for any company. Percentages are of companies in each group that report the relevant metric, not of the full group size.
RS Stock Performance relative to its Competitors
RS Stock Performance relative to High-Confidence Competitors
RS Stock Performance relative to Similar-Size Competitors
RS Stock Performance relative to Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors
5 Best-Performing Tracked Competitors, Trailing 12 Months
| # | Competitor | TTM Share Price Return | vs U.S.A. 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nucor Corporation | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 2 | Steel Dynamics Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 3 | United States Steel Corp | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 4 | Mcewen Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 5 | Metallus Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
TTM share price return and U.S.A. 500 outperformance for Reliance Inc's best-performing tracked competitors requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months.
Reliance Inc's Comment on Competition and Industry Peers
The metals distribution industry is highly fragmented and competitive. We
have numerous competitors in each of our product lines and geographic locations,
and competition is most frequently local or regional. Our domestic service center
competitors are generally smaller than we are, but we also face strong competition
from national, regional and local independent metals distributors and the producers
themselves, some of which have greater resources than we do.
We compete with other companies on price, service, quality, processing capability
and availability of products. We maintain relationships with our major suppliers
at the executive and local levels. We believe that this division of responsibility
has increased our ability to obtain competitive prices of metals by leveraging
our total size and to provide more responsive service to our customers by allowing
our local management teams to make the purchasing decisions. In addition, we
believe that the size of our inventory, the diversity of metals and products
we have available, and the wide variety of processing services we can provide
distinguish us from our competition. We believe that our competitors do not
have the financial ability or risk tolerance to grow their businesses, and it
is difficult for them to compete with our state-of-the-art processing equipment.
We believe that we have increased our market share during recent years due to
our strong financial condition, our high quality of products and services from
significant investments in our equipment and facilities, and our acquisitions,
as well as our continued focus on small order sizes with quick turnaround.
Publicly Traded Peers of Reliance Inc
Revenue and income for trailing 12 months, in millions of $, except employees| Company | Market Cap | Revenues |
|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | 20,349.38 | 14,835.60 |
| Nucor Corporation | 55,865.97 | 36,101.00 |
| Msci Inc | 39,564.29 | 3,333.75 |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | 33,312.32 | 20,538.68 |
| United States Steel Corp | 12,374.37 | 15,207.00 |
| Commercial Metals Company | 7,204.49 | 8,850.09 |
| SUBTOTAL | 178,725.29 | 120,704.29 |
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Sources: Reliance Inc's official press releases and regulatory filings; CSIMarket.com's market research; and the financial filings and press releases of the other companies cited.
Updated on:
Focus of this report: publicly traded companies. Ten additional tables on Reliance Inc versus competitors, including market share analysis, are in the navigation menu under Competition. To download the tables, please subscribe.
Reliance Inc's Competitors Named by the Company
Competitive relationships identified from SEC filings and corroborating sources, each with a basis and confidence.| Competitor | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Aemetis Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
| Sify Technologies Ltd | Named by the company | 85% |
| Ames National Corporation | Named by the company | 85% |
| IBISWorld Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
| Dune Acquisition Corp | Named by the company | 85% |
| Msci Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
| Lanzatech Global Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
| Masonite International Corporation | Named by the company | 85% |
| Ur energy inc | Named by the company | 85% |
Filing basis, confidence, active dates and source counts for Reliance Inc's named competitors require a Commercial License.
Methodology: relationships are extracted from SEC filings (named-competitor disclosures) and corroborating sources. Named by the company = explicitly disclosed as a competitor; Inferred = derived from corroborating signals. Confidence reflects evidence strength.
Reliance Inc's Business Segment Mix vs Peers
Revenue by operating segment or division, as named and reported by each company. Segment names are the filer's own and are not standardized across companies. Do not assume a same-named or similarly-named segment is defined identically between two companies. Shares are of each company's own total revenue and are not required to sum to 100% (intersegment revenue, unallocated items).| Company | Largest Segment |
|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | Metals Service Centers Segment 100.00 % |
| Nucor Corporation | Steel mills 63.56 % |
| Msci Inc | Index 58.94 % |
| United States Steel Corp | Flat Rolled Products 60.10 % |
| Commercial Metals Company | North America Steel Group 72.06 % |
| Cleveland cliffs Inc | Steelmaking 97.51 % |
Source: operating segment revenue as reported in each company's SEC filings (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API, leaf-level reportable segments only (parent roll-up segments are excluded where sub-segments are separately disclosed).
Reliance Inc's Productivity vs Peers Comparison
Revenue and income per employee, trailing 12 months, in $; market cap in millions of $| Company | Market Cap | Revenue / Employee | Income / Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | 20,349 | 944,943 | 51,382 |
| Nucor Corporation | 55,866 | 1,093,970 | 98,667 |
| Msci Inc | 39,564 | 531,869 | 216,665 |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | 33,312 | 1,426,297 | 111,065 |
| United States Steel Corp | 12,374 | 633,625 | 4,042 |
| Commercial Metals Company | 7,204 | 697,406 | 61,777 |
| PEERS TOTAL | 158,376 | 889,960 | 54,588 |
Reliance Inc's Geographic Revenue Exposure vs Peers
Revenue by country/region as reported in each company's most recent filing. Disclosure granularity varies by filer (some report by country, others by broad region) and is shown as disclosed.| Company | Largest Market |
|---|---|
| Msci Inc | United States 39.64 % |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | US 92.24 % |
| Insteel Industries Inc | US 99.77 % |
| Lanzatech Global Inc | Asia 53.88 % |
Source: revenue geography as reported in each company's SEC filings (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API. Percentages are of that company's own total consolidated revenue for its most recent reported period.
Reliance Inc's Position in Industry Market Structure
Market-capitalization share and concentration across all 29 companies in Reliance Inc's industry classification, broader than the peer set above. Market cap in millions of $.Reliance Inc ranks #6 of 29 companies by market capitalization in its industry, holding 6.89 % of total industry market cap. The industry's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is 1,141, indicating a unconcentrated market structure (U.S. antitrust guidance: below 1,500 unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately concentrated, above 2,500 highly concentrated).
| Rank | Company | Market Cap | Industry Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nucor Corporation | 55,866 | 18.91 % |
| 2 | Arcelormittal | 53,505 | 18.11 % |
| 3 | Steel Dynamics Inc | 33,312 | 11.28 % |
| 4 | Tenaris Sa | 29,629 | 10.03 % |
| 5 | Ati Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 6 | Reliance Inc | 20,349 | 6.89 % |
| 7 | Carpenter Technology Corporation | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Posco Holdings Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 9 | Ternium S a | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 10 | Gerdau S a | 1,234 | 5.2% |
Market cap and industry share for the rest of Reliance Inc's industry peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation) across CSIMarket's industry classification, market capitalization as of 2026-09-28.
Reliance Inc's Same-Size Peers & Stock Performance
Peers chosen by closeness in market-cap rank within the same industry classification (not the named-competitor list above). Trailing 12-month total return, 3-month price momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio vs the broad U.S. market.| Rank | Company | Market Cap | TTM Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nucor Corporation | 55,866 | 81.51 % |
| 2 | Arcelormittal | 53,505 | 92.76 % |
| 3 | Steel Dynamics Inc | 33,312 | 69.52 % |
| 4 | Tenaris Sa | 29,629 | 61.39 % |
| 5 | Ati Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 6 | Reliance Inc | 20,349 | 37.77 % |
| 7 | Carpenter Technology Corporation | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 8 | Posco Holdings Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 9 | Ternium S a | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 10 | Gerdau S a | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 11 | Commercial Metals Company | 1,234 | 12.3% |
Market cap, return, momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio for the rest of Reliance Inc's same-size peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation); returns and risk metrics as of 2026-09-28. Beta and Sharpe ratio are versus the broad U.S. equity market, not this industry.
Reliance Inc's Profitability & Cost Structure
Trailing 12-month margins from SEC-filed financials. Operating margin is compared to the Iron & Steel industry median; gross margin, EBITDA margin and capital intensity are compared to the live industry average (39 companies). See the full Iron & Steel industry profitability benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 28.62 % | 24.76 % (avg) | +3.9 pp |
| Operating Margin | 7.46 % | industry median | +3.3 pp |
| EBITDA Margin | 9.00 % | 3.07 % (avg) | +5.9 pp |
| Capital Intensity (Capex / Revenue) | 2.06 % | 4.65 % (avg) | -2.6 pp |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. SG&A and R&D as a share of revenue have limited coverage as this data is backfilled and appear only where reported. Higher capital intensity is not inherently negative; it reflects the industry's asset requirements.
Reliance Inc's Valuation vs Competitive Position
Valuation multiples vs the Iron & Steel industry average (39 companies, excluding loss-making/negative-equity outliers), alongside returns on capital for context on whether a premium or discount lines up with measurably stronger or weaker returns. See the full Iron & Steel industry valuation benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 21.1x | 31.3x | -10.2x |
| EV / EBITDA | 13.5x | 13.1x | +0.3x |
| P/B | 2.3x | 2.4x | -0.1x |
| Return on Equity | 11.18 % | industry aggregate | -0.64 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 6.52 % | 1.14 % (avg) | 5.38 % |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. A valuation premium or discount is not, by itself, a judgment of over- or under-valuation. Compare it against the return and growth context shown elsewhere on this page.
Reliance Inc's Multi-Year Financial Trajectory
Fiscal-year revenue growth, operating margin, return on invested capital and P/E, as reported in SEC filings.| Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | 18.66 % | -4.86 % | -19.70 % | 59.93 % | 20.80 % | -13.03 % | -6.56 % | 3.32 % |
| Operating Margin | 8.13 % | 9.24 % | 6.42 % | 13.83 % | 14.72 % | 11.75 % | 8.38 % | 7.08 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 7.62 % | 8.07 % | 4.54 % | 13.90 % | 16.19 % | 10.38 % | 6.80 % | 6.03 % |
| P/E | 8.9x | 11.5x | 21.3x | 7.2x | 7.0x | 12.1x | 19.1x | 21.1x |
Source: CSIMarket API, fiscal-year figures. P/E is this company's own historical ratio at each fiscal year end and can swing sharply around an earnings trough: that is real, not a data error.
Reliance Inc's Strategic Group Map
Every company in Reliance Inc's industry and named-competitor list, plotted by trailing 12-month revenue growth and operating margin. Reliance Inc is shown in red; its closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC (the Similar Growth & Profitability group above) are labeled.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Extreme outlier values (from near-zero-revenue companies) are excluded from the plotted cloud but never from the highlighted company or its labeled peers.
Reliance Inc's BCG Growth-Share Matrix
Relative market share (vs Reliance Inc's largest competitor by market cap) against industry revenue growth, using the standard textbook thresholds (1.0x share, 10% growth) a common framework, not a precision instrument.
Reliance Inc falls in the Dog quadrant: relative market share of 0.36x vs its largest competitor, in an industry growing revenue 5.0% (median, trailing 12 months).
Source: CSIMarket API (market-cap share and industry revenue growth). The 10% growth and 1.0x share lines are standard textbook thresholds, not derived from this industry's own distribution.
Reliance Inc's Competitive Forces (Porter's Five Forces)
Only the forces this data can support honestly are shown; the other three are marked as such rather than guessed.| Force | Assessment | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive Rivalry | High | Industry HHI of 1,141 (see Industry Market Structure & Concentration above) |
| Barriers to Entry | Lower than typical for the industry | Capital intensity (capex / revenue) of 2.06 % vs industry average 4.65 % (see Profitability & Cost Structure above) |
| Supplier Power | Not covered on this page | See Reliance Inc's dedicated suppliers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Buyer Power | Not covered on this page | See Reliance Inc's dedicated customers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Threat of Substitutes | - | No systematic data source for cross-product substitution exists in this system; not estimated |
Note: this is a partial, data-grounded application of the framework, not a complete strategic assessment. Rivalry and barriers-to-entry readings are mechanical translations of the HHI and capital-intensity figures shown elsewhere on this page, not independent judgments.
Reliance Inc's Industry Attractiveness & Competitive Strength
A CSIMarket composite, not a standard field: each axis is an equal-weighted average of three factors already shown elsewhere on this page (industry growth, industry profitability and rivalry for attractiveness; relative market share, profitability and growth vs industry for strength). Disclosed as a designed methodology, not a precision measurement.
Reliance Inc falls in the Low attractiveness / Medium strength cell: Harvest.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Each axis score is a simple 1(low)/2(medium)/3(high) average across its three inputs -- a transparent, disclosed simplification, not a validated academic scoring model.
Reliance Inc's SWOT
Every point below is a fixed rule applied to a metric already shown elsewhere on this page (Market Structure, Profitability, Valuation, Run-Rate, Stock Performance, Quality Breadth) not an independent strategic assessment. A blank quadrant means no rule was met, not that none apply.Strengths
- Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+8.5% annualized vs trailing 12 months).
- Outperforming the U.S.A. 500 over the trailing 12 months.
Weaknesses
- Low relative market share vs the industry leader (0.36x).
Opportunities
- Trades at a lower P/E than the industry average (21.1x vs 31.3x) despite a higher return on invested capital -- a possible re-rating opportunity.
Threats
No rule matched.
Methodology: mechanical, rule-based SWOT. Each bullet reuses a figure already sourced and cited elsewhere on this page; nothing here is generated narrative or independent analyst judgment.
Reliance Inc's Financial Strength vs Peers Comparison
Quick ratio, working capital, debt to equity and asset turnover, trailing 12 months| Company | Quick Ratio | Working Capital | Debt / Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | 0.23 | 4.15 | 0.21 |
| Nucor Corporation | 0.52 | 2.76 | 0.31 |
| Msci Inc | 0.25 | 0.89 | - |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | 0.31 | 3.12 | 0.46 |
| United States Steel Corp | 0.42 | 1.60 | 0.37 |
| Commercial Metals Company | 0.58 | 2.55 | 0.74 |
Quick ratio = cash / current liabilities; working capital ratio = current assets / current liabilities; asset turnover = revenue / total assets. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Reliance Inc's Revenue and Income Growth vs Peers
Quarterly revenue and net income growth, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Revenue Y/Y | Income Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | Q1 2026 | +15.5 % | +32.5 % |
| Nucor Corporation | Q2 2026 | +23.0 % | +81.3 % |
| Msci Inc | Q2 2026 | +12.2 % | +12.6 % |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | Q2 2026 | +33.4 % | +76.2 % |
| United States Steel Corp | Q1 2025 | -10.4 % | - |
| Commercial Metals Company | Q2 2026 | +22.9 % | +335.3 % |
| PEERS TOTAL | +15.5 % | +120.9 % |
Growth is shown only where both periods are positive. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Reliance Inc's Peers' Costs of Sales and Capital Expenditures
Context for revenue growth: peer costs and capex, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Costs Y/Y | Capex Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | Q1 2026 | +16.4 % | -26.1 % |
| Nucor Corporation | Q2 2026 | +15.6 % | -40.1 % |
| Msci Inc | Q2 2026 | +8.9 % | +28.5 % |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | Q2 2026 | +30.0 % | -57.0 % |
| United States Steel Corp | Q1 2025 | -4.7 % | -43.9 % |
| Commercial Metals Company | Q2 2026 | +17.9 % | +74.6 % |
Reliance Inc's Returns and Turnover vs Peers
ROA, ROI and ROE (trailing 12 months), receivables and inventory turnover| Company | ROA | ROI | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | 7.64% | 8.27% | 11.18% |
| Nucor Corporation | 9.14% | 9.96% | 14.49% |
| Msci Inc | 24.43% | 34.02% | - |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | 9.66% | 10.53% | 17.76% |
| United States Steel Corp | 0.48% | 0.55% | 0.85% |
| Commercial Metals Company | 9.30% | 9.96% | 18.10% |
ROA = net income / total assets; ROI = net income / investments; ROE = net income / equity; turnover ratios use trailing 12 month revenue (receivables) and cost of sales (inventory).
Reliance Inc's Valuation vs Peers
P/E, price to sales, PEG, price to cash flow and price to book| Company | P/E | Price / Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Reliance Inc | 25.57 | 1.37 |
| Nucor Corporation | 19.51 | 1.55 |
| Msci Inc | 29.85 | 11.87 |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | 20.94 | 1.62 |
| United States Steel Corp | 156.69 | 0.81 |
| Commercial Metals Company | 12.19 | 0.81 |
| PEERS AVERAGE | 24.48 | 1.48 |
P/E = price / diluted EPS (trailing 12 months); PEG = P/E divided by EPS growth; the average row divides the peers' combined market cap by their combined income, sales, cash flow and equity.