Compare StocksSTLD vs TSLA

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) vs Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)

STLD
Steel Dynamics, Inc.
$167.56
VS
TSLA
Tesla, Inc.
$380.30

Rewards

STLD
  • Share count has been reduced by 16% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
  • Each dollar of retained earnings has created $1.77 of market value — management is creating shareholder value.
  • PEG ratio of 0.60 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
TSLA
  • Each dollar of retained earnings has created $50.04 of market value — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • Altman Z-Score of 19.94 indicates very low bankruptcy risk — the company is firmly in the safe zone.
  • Net debt/EBITDA of -2.8x means the company holds more cash than debt — a net cash position.

Risks

STLD
  • ROIC has declined by 29.5 percentage points over the observed period, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • Gross margin of 13.2% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
TSLA
  • ROIC has declined by 17.7 percentage points over the observed period, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • Gross margin of 18.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • Share count has increased by 19% over the past 4 years, diluting existing shareholders.

Key Valuation Metrics

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STLD
TSLA
Valuation
$-109.41M
Free Cash Flow
$6.22B
-0.45%
FCF Yield
0.44%
20.97
Trailing P/E
358.77
10.68
Forward P/E
135.32
Quality & Moat
7.58%
ROIC
3.61%
13.28%
ROE
4.58%
13.16%
Gross Margin
18.03%
0.60
PEG Ratio
N/A
Balance Sheet Safety
0.49
Debt / Equity
0.18
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
1.78
Net Debt / EBITDA
-2.79
1.21%
Dividend Yield
N/A
STLD: 4Ties: 1TSLA: 5
STLDTSLA

Historical Fundamentals

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STLD

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

TSLA

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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STLD
$1.77
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Value Creator
Σ Retained
$4.33B
Δ Market Cap
+$7.66B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
TSLA
$50.04
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$25.92B
Δ Market Cap
+$1.30T
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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STLD
31.5% Margin of Safety
Price is 31.5% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $167.56
Fair Value: $244.56
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
TSLA
367.6% Overvalued
Price is 367.6% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $380.30
Fair Value: $81.33
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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STLD

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

TSLA

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $380?

+49.4%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +41.8%

The market implies +49.4% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +41.8%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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STLD
52/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with roic consistency as the key competitive advantage. Improving margin stability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
TSLA
31/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though revenue predictability shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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STLD
-2.41
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
TSLA
-2.86
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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STLD
Insiders 6.5%Institutions 86.1%Retail & Other 7.4%
No. of Institutional Holders1,303
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
TSLA
Insiders 11.1%Institutions 44.6%Retail & Other 44.3%
No. of Institutional Holders5,299
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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STLD
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
TSLA
0
Buys (3M)
2
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.00B
MUSK ELON REEVE
Chief Executive Officer
$999.96M
@ $389.28 · 2025-09-12
GEBBIA JOSEPH
Director
$1.03M
@ $256.31 · 2025-04-24
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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STLD
0
Sells (3M)
4
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $4.05M
ALVAREZ MIGUEL
Officer
$1.34M
@ $162.79 · 2025-10-29
GRAHAM CHRISTOPHER A.
Officer
$1.52M
@ $126.70 · 2025-07-30
SHAHEEN GABRIEL L
Director
$168,174
@ $134.11 · 2025-06-06
ALVAREZ MIGUEL
Officer
$1.01M
@ $135.26 · 2025-05-20
PUSHIS GLENN A
Officer
$3.18M
@ $134.67 · 2025-02-11
POINSATTE RICHARD A
Officer
$277,500
@ $138.75 · 2024-11-15
ALVAREZ MIGUEL
Officer
$950,950
@ $143.00 · 2024-11-13
BICKFORD CHAD
Officer
$269,720
@ $134.86 · 2024-10-28
ANDERSON JAMES STANLEY
Officer
$1.30M
@ $129.54 · 2024-10-22
PUSHIS GLENN A
Officer
$2.39M
@ $133.09 · 2024-10-21
POINSATTE RICHARD A
Officer
$212,994
@ $118.33 · 2024-09-19
SHAHEEN GABRIEL L
Director
$236,848
@ $129.78 · 2024-07-30
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
TSLA
2
Sells (3M)
17
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $319.71M
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$899,077
@ $397.12 · 2026-03-06
WILSON - THOMPSON KATHLEEN
Director
$10.69M
@ $415.56 · 2026-02-25
MUSK KIMBAL J
Director
$25.61M
@ $450.66 · 2025-12-09
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.17M
@ $443.93 · 2025-12-08
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$918,137
@ $352.45 · 2025-09-08
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.77M
@ $295.26 · 2025-07-08
ZHU XIAOTONG
Officer
$4.86M
@ $323.81 · 2025-06-12
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$732,573
@ $285.71 · 2025-06-09
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.40M
@ $342.30 · 2025-06-03
EHRENPREIS IRA MATTHEW
Director
$170.64M
@ $357.30 · 2025-05-27
MUSK KIMBAL J
Director
$32.73M
@ $357.39 · 2025-05-27
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.05M
@ $350.11 · 2025-05-16
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.20M
@ $300.00 · 2025-05-09
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$30.81M
@ $274.12 · 2025-05-06
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.14M
@ $284.40 · 2025-05-01
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$32.10M
@ $285.58 · 2025-04-29
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.00M
@ $250.00 · 2025-04-07
MURDOCH JAMES RUPERT
Director
$13.19M
@ $240.79 · 2025-03-10
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$718,111
@ $268.75 · 2025-03-06
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$33.67M
@ $299.61 · 2025-03-03
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.78M
@ $296.02 · 2025-03-03
MUSK KIMBAL J
Director
$27.59M
@ $367.87 · 2025-02-06
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$43.16M
@ $384.04 · 2025-02-03
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.68M
@ $383.11 · 2025-02-03
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.89M
@ $413.56 · 2025-01-06
WILSON - THOMPSON KATHLEEN
Director
$41.16M
@ $411.63 · 2025-01-06
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$975,015
@ $374.29 · 2024-12-06
WILSON - THOMPSON KATHLEEN
Director
$35.25M
@ $352.54 · 2024-12-04
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$39.79M
@ $354.06 · 2024-12-02
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.48M
@ $354.43 · 2024-12-02
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$35.34M
@ $314.44 · 2024-11-15
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$3.80M
@ $316.91 · 2024-11-11
WILSON - THOMPSON KATHLEEN
Director
$34.60M
@ $346.02 · 2024-11-11
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.01M
@ $251.76 · 2024-11-01
MUSK KIMBAL J
Director
$15.14M
@ $250.23 · 2024-11-01
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$1.00M
@ $250.00 · 2024-10-24
TANEJA VAIBHAV
Chief Financial Officer
$2.00M
@ $250.00 · 2024-09-23
ZHU XIAOTONG
Officer
$65,867
@ $221.77 · 2024-09-06
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$14.60M
@ $219.96 · 2024-07-25
ZHU XIAOTONG
Officer
$113,151
@ $174.35 · 2024-06-06
DENHOLM ROBYN M
Director
$17.32M
@ $184.86 · 2024-05-06
BAGLINO ANDREW D
Officer
$1.85M
@ $176.20 · 2024-04-01
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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STLD
FearGreed
😐Neutral(44/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
TSLA
FearGreed
😐Neutral(47/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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STLD
Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (44)
TSLA
Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (47)
View STLD Full AnalysisView TSLA Full Analysis
Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) vs Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) Stock Comparison | SafetyMargin.io