AERG vs CW vs MSI Stock Comparison

Applied Energetics, Curtiss Wright and Motorola Solutions Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CW Curtiss Wright Corp
$477.08 -11.6% 1M -16.8% 1Y
Market cap
$17.62B
P/E
32.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.65B
Div. yield
0.21%
Defense Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Motorola Solutions leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Motorola Solutions 7, Curtiss Wright 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAERGCWMSILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $209.40M $17.62B $80.06B MSI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -13.0x 32.6x 37.6x CW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 33.2x 26.3x MSI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -82.5% +10.5% +10.3% CW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5,128.4% 14.8% 17.4% MSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.7% 20.3% MSI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.6x 2.3x CW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.21% 1.00% MSI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -47.1% -16.8% +9.0% MSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -19.1%/yr +29.9%/yr +14.3%/yr CW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 71.9% 35.9% 26.1% MSI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 17/100 68/100 55/100 CW

Percentile Scorecard

AERGCWMSI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAERGCWMSI
Valuation 4 #96 of 100 52 #49 of 100 48 #53 of 100
Growth 2 #95 of 97 60 #39 of 97 48 #51 of 97
Profitability 5 #91 of 96 95 #6 of 96 99 #2 of 96
Financial Health 51 #52 of 105 66 #36 of 105 19 #85 of 105
Shareholder Returns 25 #49 of 65 67 #22 of 65 63 #25 of 65
Overall 17 68 55
  • AERG ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • CW ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • MSI ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAERGCWMSISPY
1 month +3.4%-11.6%+5.9% -0.2%
3 months -30.0%-34.5%+9.9% +3.9%
6 months -33.1%-32.4%+11.3% +8.2%
Year to date -49.7%-13.5%+26.2% +12.9%
1 year -47.1%-16.8%+9.0% +12.3%
3 years -60.9%+143.8%+77.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year -26.9%+34.6%+21.1% +23.3%
5 years -65.4%+269.8%+95.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year -19.1%+29.9%+14.3% +10.9%
10 years —+438.6%+558.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+18.3%+20.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAERGCWMSISPY
Volatility, 1Y 71.9%35.9%26.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.2%38.0%27.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.081.410.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.65-0.470.34 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.1%-41.3%-27.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -53.3%-39.8%-1.5% -1.2%
52-week high $1.95$792.61$491.32 $779.14
52-week low $0.68$464.99$363.83 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAERGCWMSI
P/E now vs peer median -13.0xmedian 26.5x 32.6xmedian 26.5x 37.6xmedian 26.5x
P/S now vs peer median 666.9xmedian 3.0x 4.8xmedian 3.0x 6.5xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -13.3xmedian 14.6x 22.5xmedian 14.6x 24.6xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -20.1xmedian 26.4x 28.2xmedian 26.4x 29.9xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 95.8xmedian 2.5x 6.4xmedian 2.5x 29.8xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.39median 0.90 1.58median 0.90 2.84median 0.90

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAERGCWMSI
Revenue $313.97K $3.65B $12.24B
Gross profit $143.70K $1.38B $6.36B
Operating income -$16.17M $686.21M $3.05B
Net income -$16.07M $541.18M $2.14B
Free cash flow -$10.40M $625.29M $2.68B
R&D $2.09M $98.16M $1.02B
EPS (diluted) $-0.07 $14.58 $12.76
Cash & equivalents $1.19M $477.15M $710.00M
Total debt – $957.39M $9.03B
Shares (diluted) 229.90M 37.12M 167.20M
Enterprise value $196.37M $16.20B $76.42B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAERGCWMSI
P/E -13.0x 32.6x 37.6x
P/FCF -20.1x 28.2x 29.9x
P/Operating cash flow -20.5x 24.4x 26.9x
P/S 666.9x 4.8x 6.5x
P/B 95.8x 6.4x 29.8x
P/Tangible book 95.8x 7.8x -304.4x
EV/EBITDA -13.3x 22.5x 24.6x
EV/EBIT -12.9x 26.4x 29.0x
EV/Revenue 663.1x 5.0x 7.2x
EV/FCF -20.0x 28.9x 33.0x
EV/Operating cash flow -20.3x 25.1x 29.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.39 1.58 2.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAERGCWMSI
Revenue growth (1Y) -82.5% 10.5% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -47.4% 10.3% 8.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -83.3% 11.7% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -54.8% 11.1% 11.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -41.9% 17.3% 8.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.6% 14.6% 15.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -41.0% 19.9% 0.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% 19.1% 12.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.1% 22.4% 1.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -33.4% 20.6% 13.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -56.2% 25.1% 13.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.5% 21.0% 19.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -34.3% 24.2% 12.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.0% 19.5% 21.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAERGCWMSI
Gross margin 45.8% 37.7% 52.0%
EBITDA margin -4,975% 22.0% 29.4%
Operating margin -5,150% 18.8% 24.9%
Pretax margin -5,118% 18.9% 22.6%
Net margin -5,128% 14.8% 17.4%
FCF margin -3,312% 17.1% 21.9%
Operating cash flow margin -3,260% 19.7% 24.3%
Return on equity -440.1% 20.0% 81.5%
Return on assets -300.4% 10.1% 11.2%
Return on invested capital – 14.7% 20.3%
Return on capital employed -409.2% 17.3% 22.4%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 1.3x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1,759% 0.7% 2.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAERGCWMSI
Debt / assets – 17.5% 46.9%
Debt / equity – 0.3x 3.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.6x 2.3x
Debt / FCF – 1.5x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 46.3% 49.2% 86.0%
Equity / assets 53.7% 50.8% 14.0%
Interest coverage – 16.2x 6.9x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.6x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.4x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.72 6.38 4.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAERGCWMSI
Dividend yield – 0.2% 1.0%
Net buyback yield -5.2% 2.5% 1.3%
Shareholder yield -5.2% 2.7% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 35.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 28.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 10.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 11.0%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAERGCWMSI
Forward P/E – 33.2xFY2026 26.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $14.35FY2026 $18.41FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +8.5%FY2026 +19.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +11.6% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $4.03BFY2026 $12.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +15.2%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – -3.9% +8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAERGCWMSI
Held by institutions 0.0% 85.6% 88.3%
Institutions holding 1 946 1,466
Change in shares held, QoQ – +2.8% +3.4%
Institutions buying 0 479 639
Institutions selling 0 313 596
Buyers to sellers – 1.53 1.07

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AERGCWMSI
AERG 1.00 0.07 0.06
CW 0.07 1.00 0.08
MSI 0.06 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AERG, CW and MSI?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Energetics (AERG) $209.40M, Curtiss Wright (CW) $17.62B, Motorola Solutions (MSI) $80.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, AERG, CW and MSI?

Curtiss Wright (CW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Energetics (AERG) -13.0x, Curtiss Wright (CW) 32.6x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 37.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Motorola Solutions (MSI) is cheapest (Curtiss Wright (CW) 33.2x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Curtiss Wright (CW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Energetics (AERG) -82.5%, Curtiss Wright (CW) +10.5%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) has the highest net margin (Applied Energetics (AERG) -5,128.4%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.8%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 17.4%). On return on invested capital, Motorola Solutions (MSI) leads (Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.7%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 20.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Motorola Solutions (MSI) returned the most: Applied Energetics (AERG) -47.1%, Curtiss Wright (CW) -16.8%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +9.0%. Over five years, Curtiss Wright (CW) compounded fastest (Applied Energetics (AERG) -19.1%/yr, Curtiss Wright (CW) +29.9%/yr, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +14.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) has the highest dividend yield: Applied Energetics (AERG) 0.00%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 0.21%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 1.00%. Applied Energetics (AERG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Motorola Solutions (MSI) has been the steadiest (Applied Energetics (AERG) 71.9%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 35.9%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AERG, CW and MSI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Motorola Solutions (MSI) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.