AERG vs GD vs MSI Stock Comparison

Applied Energetics, General Dynamics and Motorola Solutions Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GD General Dynamics Corp
$371.29 +11.7% 1M +8.1% 1Y
Market cap
$100.46B
P/E
22.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.86B
Div. yield
1.69%
Defense Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionAERGGDMSILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $195.59M $100.46B $81.43B GD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -12.1x 22.4x 38.2x GD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 21.1x 26.7x GD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -82.5% +9.1% +10.3% MSI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5,128.4% 8.2% 17.4% MSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 13.6% 20.3% MSI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.5x 2.3x GD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.69% 0.98% GD
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -50.6% +8.1% +13.9% MSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -19.1%/yr +12.9%/yr +14.6%/yr MSI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 72.1% 22.6% 26.1% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 15/100 69/100 55/100 GD

Percentile Scorecard

AERGGDMSI

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

AxisAERGGDMSI
Valuation 3 #97 of 100 82 #19 of 100 46 #55 of 100
Growth 2 #94 of 96 42 #56 of 96 48 #50 of 96
Profitability 5 #90 of 95 77 #23 of 95 98 #3 of 95
Financial Health 40 #63 of 105 61 #42 of 105 19 #85 of 105
Shareholder Returns 25 #49 of 65 86 #10 of 65 63 #25 of 65
Overall 15 69 55
  • AERG ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • GD 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

PeriodAERGGDMSISPY
1 month -5.6%+11.7%+10.3% +0.7%
3 months -32.0%-2.9%+14.2% +3.7%
6 months -37.0%+7.8%+12.1% +7.1%
Year to date -53.0%+10.3%+28.4% +12.8%
1 year -50.6%+8.1%+13.9% +11.9%
3 years -64.6%+55.4%+78.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year -29.3%+15.8%+21.2% +22.8%
5 years -65.3%+83.1%+97.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year -19.1%+12.9%+14.6% +10.9%
10 years —+145.1%+575.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+9.4%+21.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAERGGDMSISPY
Volatility, 1Y 72.1%22.6%26.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.2%20.7%26.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.080.320.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.700.360.53 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.1%-23.0%-27.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.4%-6.2%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $1.95$395.97$492.05 $779.14
52-week low $0.68$312.53$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.

MultipleAERGGDMSI
P/E now vs peer median -12.1xmedian 26.9x 22.4xmedian 26.9x 38.2xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 622.9xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x 6.7xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -12.4xmedian 15.0x 15.8xmedian 15.0x 25.0xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -18.8xmedian 27.2x 15.6xmedian 27.2x 30.4xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 89.5xmedian 2.5x 3.7xmedian 2.5x 30.3xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.36median 0.93 2.18median 0.93 2.89median 0.93

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 monthsAERGGDMSI
Revenue $313.97K $54.86B $12.24B
Gross profit $143.70K $8.44B $6.36B
Operating income -$16.17M $5.66B $3.05B
Net income -$16.07M $4.49B $2.14B
Free cash flow -$10.40M $6.45B $2.68B
R&D $2.09M – $1.02B
EPS (diluted) $-0.07 $16.40 $12.76
Cash & equivalents $1.19M $4.33B $710.00M
Total debt – $7.52B $9.03B
Shares (diluted) 229.90M 273.52M 167.20M
Enterprise value $182.56M $87.57B $77.80B

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
MetricAERGGDMSI
P/E -12.1x 22.4x 38.2x
P/FCF -18.8x 15.6x 30.4x
P/Operating cash flow -19.1x 13.0x 27.4x
P/S 622.9x 1.8x 6.7x
P/B 89.5x 3.7x 30.3x
P/Tangible book 89.5x 3.9x -309.6x
EV/EBITDA -12.4x 15.8x 25.0x
EV/EBIT -12.0x 18.3x 29.4x
EV/Revenue 619.2x 1.9x 7.3x
EV/FCF -18.7x 16.1x 33.5x
EV/Operating cash flow -19.0x 13.5x 30.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.36 2.18 2.89

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAERGGDMSI
Revenue growth (1Y) -82.5% 9.1% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -47.4% 10.3% 8.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -83.3% 8.9% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -54.8% 8.6% 11.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -41.9% 9.4% 8.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.6% 10.3% 15.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -41.0% 9.8% 0.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% 10.0% 12.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.1% 8.8% 1.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -33.4% 10.2% 13.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -56.2% – 13.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.5% 23.0% 19.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -34.3% – 12.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.0% 28.7% 21.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAERGGDMSI
Gross margin 45.8% 15.4% 52.0%
EBITDA margin -4,975% 12.0% 29.4%
Operating margin -5,150% 10.3% 24.9%
Pretax margin -5,118% 9.9% 22.6%
Net margin -5,128% 8.2% 17.4%
FCF margin -3,312% 11.8% 21.9%
Operating cash flow margin -3,260% 14.0% 24.3%
Return on equity -440.1% 17.0% 81.5%
Return on assets -300.4% 7.5% 11.2%
Return on invested capital – 13.6% 20.3%
Return on capital employed -409.2% 13.9% 22.4%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.9x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 1.7x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1,759% 0.4% 2.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAERGGDMSI
Debt / assets – 12.5% 46.9%
Debt / equity – 0.3x 3.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.5x 2.3x
Debt / FCF – 1.2x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 46.3% 55.4% 86.0%
Equity / assets 53.7% 44.6% 14.0%
Interest coverage – – 6.9x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.4x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.9x 2.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.32 4.25 4.34

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAERGGDMSI
Dividend yield – 1.7% 1.0%
Net buyback yield -5.6% 0.4% 1.3%
Shareholder yield -5.6% 2.0% 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.

ConsensusAERGGDMSI
Forward P/E – 21.1xFY2026 26.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $17.56FY2026 $18.41FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +13.7%FY2026 +19.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +8.9% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $53.43BFY2026 $12.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +1.7%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +12.6% +8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAERGGDMSI
Held by institutions 0.0% 86.6% 88.3%
Institutions holding 1 2,220 1,467
Change in shares held, QoQ – +0.1% +3.4%
Institutions buying 0 1,020 640
Institutions selling 0 832 596
Buyers to sellers – 1.23 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.

AERGGDMSI
AERG 1.00 -0.04 0.05
GD -0.04 1.00 0.23
MSI 0.05 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AERG, GD and MSI?

General Dynamics (GD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Energetics (AERG) $195.59M, General Dynamics (GD) $100.46B, Motorola Solutions (MSI) $81.43B.

Which stock is cheaper, AERG, GD and MSI?

General Dynamics (GD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Energetics (AERG) -12.1x, General Dynamics (GD) 22.4x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 38.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, General Dynamics (GD) is cheapest (General Dynamics (GD) 21.1x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Energetics (AERG) -82.5%, General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) has the highest net margin (Applied Energetics (AERG) -5,128.4%, General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 17.4%). On return on invested capital, Motorola Solutions (MSI) leads (General Dynamics (GD) 13.6%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 20.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Motorola Solutions (MSI) returned the most: Applied Energetics (AERG) -50.6%, General Dynamics (GD) +8.1%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +13.9%. Over five years, Motorola Solutions (MSI) compounded fastest (Applied Energetics (AERG) -19.1%/yr, General Dynamics (GD) +12.9%/yr, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +14.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

General Dynamics (GD) has the highest dividend yield: Applied Energetics (AERG) 0.00%, General Dynamics (GD) 1.69%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 0.98%. Applied Energetics (AERG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (Applied Energetics (AERG) 72.1%, General Dynamics (GD) 22.6%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AERG, GD 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, General Dynamics (GD) 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.