The main metal commodity story dominating 2025 is unquestionably the huge price escalation of gold (~+70%) and silver (~+169%). Less covered, but certainly related and also followed by investors and analysts, was the concurrent rise of copper (+36%). However, another industrial metal commodity advanced by an even larger amount under the radar of many investors focused on precious metals: Aluminum. From April 25 to the time of this writing, aluminum prices have gained over +842 points, or roughly +38%, to a near all time high of $3,090 per ton.
There are a myriad of reasons for aluminum’s price surge, but lower supply and higher demand, combined with geopolitical policy domino effects, are the primary causes. Nevertheless, the price trajectory, like that of gold and silver, shows little signs of abating. Therefore, stocks that will be able to capitalize on this continued price elevation may be of interest to investors. Some major companies’ stocks to keep an eye on are:
- Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK | CCK Price Prediction)
- Constellium SE (NYSE: CSTM)
- Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ: KALU)
- Reliance, Inc. (NYSE: RS)
When Tariffs Move Markets
President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs policy was part of a perfect storm of inventory shortages and increased demand that escalated aluminum prices in 2025.
Like pretty much all market prices, Aluminum fell precipitously shortly following President Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement at the end of March. Since China, the EU, and the US are the three largest global aluminum market consumers, the US deployment of tariffs on aluminum imports triggered a price hike that has continued to the present. The US market was impacted in a number of ways that contributed to the global price elevation:
- Since the goal of the tariffs was to support domestic production, imports, with some aluminum items taxed as much as 50%, were subsequently priced too expensively to make it worthwhile for export nations to ship to the US.
- With imports curtailed and domestic production having no lead time to gear up for production, US inventory supplies dwindled, causing accelerated price demand.
- Ironically, the BBB tax cuts have boosted US manufacturing in automobiles, aircraft, consumer and industrial container packaging, construction, and other domestic production industries, along with the new huge demand from AI data centers. These industries are all dependent upon aluminum, and the low inventory levels contributed to the price squeeze.
- Geological difficulties in locating new sources of bauxite to produce aluminum have also caused international commodity market prices of aluminum to elevate over future shortage concerns.
Crown Holdings, Inc.
CCK has supplied aluminum cans to all of the major multinational beverage companies for decades, giving it a strangle hold on a large segment of the market.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA with a history dating back to the end of the 19th century (1892), Crown Holdings is one of the premier global manufacturers of aluminum cans, packaging, and specialty containers. The company has operations in the Americas, Western Europe (out of Switzerland distributing also to Africa and the Middle East), and Asia (via Singapore). A short list of their global customer list includes such multinational brands as:
- Anheuser-Busch
- Conagra Brands
- Abbot Labs
- Clorox
- Coca-Cola
- Campbell’s
- Diageo
- Federal Express
- Dupont
- General Mills
- Kraft-Heinz
- Pitney Bowes
- Pepsico…. And the list goes on.
With a $261 million stake, Impactive Capital is CCK’s largest shareholder. Morgan Stanley recently upgraded their rating on CCK to “overweight”, citing increases in energy drinks, hard teas, and other new beverages. Additionally, CCK’s stranglehold on supplying aluminum containers for so many global brands over so many years gives it a commanding supply chain control over its customers, who would likely find switching to another supplier too costly.
Constellium SE
BMW is one of Constellium’s major aluminum customers.
A joint American-Swiss and French amalgam as result of M&A deals combining Alcan, Alusuisse, and Pechiney, Constellium is a global producer of rolled and extruded aluminum and various alloys, as well as of custom parts. Its customers include:
- Airbus
- BMW
- Mercedes-Benz
- Boeing
- Ford
- Audi
Headquartered in Paris, France, Constellum also has offices in Zurich, Switzerland, and Baltimore, MD. Constellum’s large aluminum use clientele has certainly driven its stock price in sympathy with the aluminum market price: since April 2025, its stock has zoomed from $7.56 to $21.00. Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and UBS all rate CTSM a “buy”.
Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser’s factory in its early post-WW II days.
Formed in 1946 right after WW II, Kaiser has had a history of acquisitions, divestments, military and government projects, unionwide labor disputes and even a 4-year long bankruptcy period. However, the Franklin, TN company has bounced back each time to pick up the pieces and get back into the ring. Kaiser’s primary products are rolled aluminum, plate, sheet, can sheet, and extruded bar, tube, and wire products. Its unique, special niche is its specialty fabricated ALH26 products for the aerospace and automotive industries. Among Kaiser’s 750 regular corporate customers are:
- Boeing
- General Electric
- Avid Technology
- Weyerhauser
- Whirlpool
- Stanley, Black & Decker
- Stellantis
- Northrop Grumman
- Lockheed Martin
Similar to Constellium, Kaiser’s stock has also made triple digit gains since April, going from $48 to $123. From a fundamental analysis perspective, KALU has an attractive 2.50% yield and 2025 revenue is expected to report 10.64% growth with 12.95% in 2026, and estimated earnings to report +135.53% for 2025 with an extra +22.45% in 2026.
Reliance, Inc.
Reliance is the largest metals processor in the US, and aluminum is a staple product manufactured by the company.
When it comes to US metals processing services, Reliance is the #1 largest metal solutions provider, distributing and processing over 100,000 metal products through a vast network of service centers. In addition to aluminum, Reliance also processes carbon steel, stainless steel, brass, titanium, and a range of alloys. Reliance also handles cutting, inventory, and specialty fabrication. Its 320 locations handle 15% of cumulative US metals processing.
Among the 125,000 Reliance customers coordinates from its Scottsdale, AZ headquarters are such companies as:
- Alcoa
- Martin Marietta
- Newmont Corp.
- U.S. Steel
- Nucor
- Arecelormittal
- Metallus, Inc.
Institutional ownership of RS is 82%, and longer-term holders have done especially well – the company’s 5-year returns are +155.41%. JP Morgan give Reliance an “overweight” rating, while BMO Capital Markets rates it an “outperform”.
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