RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
RBC (NYSE: RBC) is RBC Bearings Incorporated, a Connecticut-based maker of highly engineered precision bearings and components for aerospace, defense, and industrial markets (not to be confused with Royal Bank of Canada, which trades as RY). It is a specialized industrial compounder whose growth has increasingly tilted toward aerospace and defense.
RBC stock price
As of 2026-07-24, RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC) last closed at $595.07, up 53.2% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $369.71 and $648.89.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or RBC Bearings Incorporated's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC) do?
RBC Bearings Incorporated, founded in 1919 and headquartered in Oxford, Connecticut, manufactures highly engineered precision bearings, gearings, and essential components for demanding applications. It reports in two segments: Aerospace and Defense (bearings and precision parts for commercial aircraft, defense aircraft, and sea and ground defense platforms) and Industrial (bearings, gearings, and components used across diversified industrial machinery). Its products are often regulated or highly technical, requiring sophisticated design, testing, and manufacturing that create high switching costs once parts are qualified into a platform.
The investment picture centers on a shift toward higher-margin aerospace and defense revenue, amplified by the July 2025 acquisition of VACCO Industries (space and naval defense valves and subsystems) for roughly $275 million. Fiscal 2026 (ended March 2026) sales rose about 14% to roughly $1.87 billion, with Aerospace and Defense up about 33% while Industrial grew more modestly. A record backlog near $2.3 billion gives demand visibility, but the stock carries a premium multiple that leaves little room for disappointment if commercial aerospace build rates or industrial demand soften.
What's driving RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC)?
1. Aerospace and defense upcycle
The Aerospace and Defense segment grew roughly 33% in fiscal 2026 and drove most of the company's growth. Rising commercial aircraft production, sustained defense budgets, and long-cycle platform content position this segment as the primary growth engine. Qualified parts on aircraft programs tend to generate recurring aftermarket demand over decades.
2. VACCO acquisition and space exposure
The July 2025 purchase of VACCO Industries for about $275 million added valves, manifolds, regulators, and subsystems for space and naval defense channels. VACCO brought roughly $118 million in annual revenue and deepened RBC's mission-critical defense content. Integration into the Aerospace and Defense segment broadens the addressable market beyond bearings.
3. Record backlog and pricing power
Backlog reached about $2.3 billion by March 2026, up sharply from roughly $0.9 billion a year earlier, providing multi-quarter demand visibility. RBC's highly engineered, qualified products compete on breadth, service, and quality more than price, supporting gross margins in the mid-40% range. Management guided first-quarter fiscal 2027 sales to roughly $500 to $510 million.
4. Margin and cash-flow compounding
Adjusted gross margins expanded to roughly 45% in the most recent quarter as the higher-margin aerospace mix grew. Net income rose about 23% in fiscal 2026 to roughly $288 million. Consistent free cash flow supports debt reduction after acquisitions and funds further bolt-on deals, a pattern that has historically compounded the business.
What are the risks to RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC)?
The stock trades at a rich valuation, with a trailing P/E in the low 60s and a forward P/E in the mid 30s, above its multi-year average, so any growth disappointment could pressure the shares. Commercial aerospace demand is cyclical and dependent on airframer build rates that have faced supply-chain and production challenges. The Industrial segment grew only in the low single digits and is exposed to broader manufacturing cycles. Acquisition-driven growth carries integration and leverage risk, and customer concentration in aerospace and defense programs ties results to a handful of large platforms and government budgets.
How is RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC) valued? (approximate, July 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see RBC Bearings Incorporated's investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (FY2026): ~$1.87 billion
- Net income (FY2026): ~$288 million
- Diluted EPS (FY2026): ~$9.14
- Market cap: ~$18 billion
- P/E (trailing): ~62x
- Backlog: ~$2.3 billion
RBC Bearings closed fiscal 2026 (ended March 2026) with sales up about 14% and net income up about 23%, led by roughly 33% growth in Aerospace and Defense. The market values the company at a premium multiple that reflects high expectations for continued aerospace-driven growth. Figures are approximate and reflect data available as of July 2026.
Who competes with RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC)?
Global bearing majors
SKF, Timken, Schaeffler Group, and NTN Corporation are large diversified bearing manufacturers that compete across industrial and aerospace product lines. Timken, at roughly $4.6 billion in revenue, is the largest American-headquartered roller bearing maker and RBC's closest domestic scale peer, though RBC skews more toward highly engineered aerospace and defense parts.
Aerospace and defense components
Kaman and other aerospace-focused suppliers compete for precision components and specialized bearings on aircraft and defense platforms. Competition here centers on product qualification, engineering breadth, quality, and service rather than price, given the regulated, mission-critical nature of the parts.
Diversified industrial suppliers
Regal Rexnord, New Hampshire Ball Bearings, and NORD compete in the Industrial segment across bearings, gearings, and motion components used in general machinery. RBC differentiates through highly engineered, application-specific products with high switching costs once designed in.
How to invest in RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC)
There are three common ways to get RBC exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so RBC sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where RBC fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC)
RBC Bearings is a high-quality precision components maker riding an aerospace and defense upcycle, trading at a premium valuation that already prices in strong growth.
More on RBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC)
Whether RBC is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is RBC a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the RBC stock forecast.
For income investors, whether RBC pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does RBC pay a dividend?
Build a basket around RBC with Walnut
Use RBC Bearings Incorporated as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
Is ticker RBC the same as Royal Bank of Canada?
+
No. On the NYSE, RBC is RBC Bearings Incorporated, a precision bearings and components manufacturer for aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Royal Bank of Canada trades under the ticker RY. The two are unrelated companies despite the shared RBC letters.
What does RBC Bearings do?
+
RBC Bearings makes highly engineered precision bearings, gearings, and essential components used in commercial and defense aircraft, sea and ground defense platforms, and diversified industrial machinery. Its parts are often regulated or highly technical, requiring sophisticated design, testing, and qualification.
How did RBC Bearings perform in fiscal 2026?
+
Fiscal 2026 (ended March 2026) net sales rose about 14% to roughly $1.87 billion, and net income increased about 23% to roughly $288 million, with diluted EPS near $9.14. Aerospace and Defense grew about 33% while Industrial grew in the low single digits.
What was the VACCO Industries acquisition?
+
In July 2025, RBC Bearings completed its acquisition of VACCO Industries for roughly $275 million in cash. VACCO makes valves, manifolds, regulators, and subsystems for space and naval defense applications, and it was integrated into RBC's Aerospace and Defense segment.
Who are RBC Bearings' main competitors?
+
Competitors include large bearing majors such as SKF, Timken, Schaeffler, and NTN, aerospace-focused suppliers like Kaman, and diversified industrial firms such as Regal Rexnord, New Hampshire Ball Bearings, and NORD. RBC competes largely on engineering, qualification, and quality.
Is RBC Bearings stock expensive?
+
As of July 2026, RBC trades at a premium, with a trailing P/E in the low 60s and a forward P/E in the mid 30s, above its multi-year average. That valuation reflects high expectations for continued aerospace-driven growth, which increases sensitivity to any slowdown.
What are the biggest risks for RBC Bearings?
+
Key risks include a rich valuation, cyclical commercial aerospace demand tied to airframer build rates, slower Industrial-segment growth, integration and leverage risk from acquisitions, and concentration in defense and aerospace programs dependent on large platforms and government budgets.
How could I invest in RBC through Walnut?
+
With Walnut you can add RBC Bearings to a thematic basket (for example an aerospace and defense or industrials theme), set a target weight alongside other holdings, connect your own brokerage, and place orders that move the basket toward those targets. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not investment advice; you decide and approve every trade at your broker.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with RBC Bearings Incorporated's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.