Howmet's Transportation Market Shrinks: What's the Path Forward?

Group 1: Company Performance - Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM) is experiencing a decline in its commercial transportation market, with revenues falling 14% year-over-year in Q1 2025, primarily due to weaker OEM builds, especially in the Forged Wheels segment [1][7] - Production issues related to Boeing's 787 aircraft are causing quality control challenges, which are expected to negatively impact both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft production rates, potentially reducing demand for maintenance parts and products [2] - Despite challenges in the commercial transportation market, strong demand in the commercial and defense aerospace markets, particularly for F-35 engine spares and aerospace fastening systems, is supporting HWM's overall performance [3][7] Group 2: Industry Context - Textron Inc.'s Aviation segment is showing growth, with a 2% increase in revenues year-over-year to $1.21 billion in Q1 2025, supported by improving commercial air passenger traffic [4] - GE Aerospace is benefiting from solid demand for its engines and services, with a significant deal with Qatar Airways for over 400 GE9X and GEnx engines, marking the largest widebody engine deal in the company's history [5] Group 3: Valuation and Estimates - HWM's shares have surged 130.4% over the past year, significantly outperforming the industry's growth of 17.2% [6] - The company is currently trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 47.53X, which is above the industry average of 27.95X, and carries a Value Score of D [9] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWM's earnings has been increasing over the past 60 days, with current estimates for Q2 2025 at $0.87 and for the current year at $3.47 [11][12]