AERG vs LMT vs NOC Stock Comparison

Applied Energetics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (GD) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
LMT Lockheed Martin Corp
$643.60 +25.7% 1M +32.6% 1Y
Market cap
$148.67B
P/E
22.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$79.12B
Div. yield
2.14%
Defense Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lockheed Martin leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Lockheed Martin 8, Northrop Grumman 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAERGLMTNOCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $195.59M $148.67B $79.91B LMT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -12.1x 22.8x 17.7x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 21.8x 18.3x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -82.5% +7.9% +6.5% LMT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5,128.4% 8.2% 10.4% NOC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 26.5% 12.2% LMT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.3x 1.7x LMT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 2.14% 1.70% LMT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -50.6% +32.6% -3.8% LMT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -19.1%/yr +14.1%/yr +9.5%/yr LMT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 72.1% 30.1% 28.7% NOC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 15/100 61/100 57/100 LMT

Percentile Scorecard

AERGLMTNOC

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

AxisAERGLMTNOC
Valuation 3 #97 of 100 70 #31 of 100 75 #26 of 100
Growth 2 #94 of 96 60 #39 of 96 38 #60 of 96
Profitability 5 #90 of 95 89 #11 of 95 76 #24 of 95
Financial Health 40 #63 of 105 39 #65 of 105 38 #66 of 105
Shareholder Returns 25 #49 of 65 47 #35 of 65 59 #27 of 65
Overall 15 61 57
  • AERG ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LMT ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC 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

PeriodAERGLMTNOCSPY
1 month -5.6%+25.7%+11.4% +0.7%
3 months -32.0%+12.1%+5.2% +3.7%
6 months -37.0%+24.3%-2.9% +7.1%
Year to date -53.0%+33.1%-1.3% +12.8%
1 year -50.6%+32.6%-3.8% +11.9%
3 years -64.6%+44.4%+20.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year -29.3%+13.0%+6.3% +22.8%
5 years -65.3%+93.7%+57.5% +67.6%
5 years, per year -19.1%+14.1%+9.5% +10.9%
10 years —+159.5%+146.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+10.0%+9.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAERGLMTNOCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 72.1%30.1%28.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.2%26.7%28.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.08-0.09-0.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.701.08-0.13 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.1%-33.2%-38.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.4%-4.9%-26.8% -1.2%
52-week high $1.95$676.70$768.02 $779.14
52-week low $0.68$439.19$473.40 $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.

MultipleAERGLMTNOC
P/E now vs peer median -12.1xmedian 26.9x 22.8xmedian 26.9x 17.7xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 622.9xmedian 3.0x 1.9xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -12.4xmedian 15.0x 14.8xmedian 15.0x 14.7xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -18.8xmedian 27.2x 17.7xmedian 27.2x 20.9xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 89.5xmedian 2.5x 14.8xmedian 2.5x 4.3xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.36median 0.93 65.34median 0.93 17.36median 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 monthsAERGLMTNOC
Revenue $313.97K $79.12B $43.59B
Gross profit $143.70K $9.28B $8.73B
Operating income -$16.17M $9.32B $4.63B
Net income -$16.07M $6.51B $4.52B
Free cash flow -$10.40M $8.38B $3.83B
R&D $2.09M – –
EPS (diluted) $-0.07 $28.13 $31.74
Cash & equivalents $1.19M $5.96B $3.74B
Total debt – $20.50B $58.43B
Shares (diluted) 229.90M 231.50M 142.40M
Enterprise value $182.56M $132.91B $67.37B

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
MetricAERGLMTNOC
P/E -12.1x 22.8x 17.7x
P/FCF -18.8x 17.7x 20.9x
P/Operating cash flow -19.1x 14.7x 15.2x
P/S 622.9x 1.9x 1.8x
P/B 89.5x 14.8x 4.3x
P/Tangible book 89.5x 17.9x 4.3x
EV/EBITDA -12.4x 14.8x 14.7x
EV/EBIT -12.0x 17.5x 19.6x
EV/Revenue 619.2x 2.1x 2.1x
EV/FCF -18.7x 19.5x 23.7x
EV/Operating cash flow -19.0x 16.1x 17.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.36 65.34 17.36

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAERGLMTNOC
Revenue growth (1Y) -82.5% 7.9% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -47.4% 5.3% 4.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -83.3% 55.0% 9.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -54.8% 3.0% 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -41.9% 52.8% 6.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.6% 3.1% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -41.0% 55.1% 12.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% -2.2% -1.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.1% 55.9% 13.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -33.4% 0.3% 1.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -56.2% 59.0% 53.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.5% 10.6% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -34.3% 82.5% 108.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.0% 13.0% 22.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAERGLMTNOC
Gross margin 45.8% 11.7% 20.0%
EBITDA margin -4,975% 13.9% 14.1%
Operating margin -5,150% 11.8% 10.6%
Pretax margin -5,118% 9.7% 12.0%
Net margin -5,128% 8.2% 10.4%
FCF margin -3,312% 10.6% 8.8%
Operating cash flow margin -3,260% 12.8% 12.1%
Return on equity -440.1% 69.2% 24.7%
Return on assets -300.4% 10.3% 8.8%
Return on invested capital – 26.5% 12.2%
Return on capital employed -409.2% 23.9% 12.2%
Asset turnover 0.1x 1.2x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 1.6x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1,759% 0.5% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAERGLMTNOC
Debt / assets – 31.8% 27.5%
Debt / equity – 2.0x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.3x 1.7x
Debt / FCF – 2.4x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 46.3% 84.4% 64.4%
Equity / assets 53.7% 15.6% 35.6%
Interest coverage – 8.6x 7.1x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.3x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.1x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.32 3.83 3.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAERGLMTNOC
Dividend yield – 2.1% 1.7%
Net buyback yield -5.6% 0.5% 0.7%
Shareholder yield -5.6% 2.6% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 49.2% 30.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 38.3% 35.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.8% 8.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.6% 7.4%

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.

ConsensusAERGLMTNOC
Forward P/E – 21.8xFY2026 18.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $29.52FY2026 $30.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +37.4%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +7.7% +3.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $85.91BFY2026 $42.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +14.5%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +4.1% +3.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAERGLMTNOC
Held by institutions 0.0% 75.5% 83.4%
Institutions holding 1 2,782 1,810
Change in shares held, QoQ – +0.4% +0.3%
Institutions buying 0 1,337 840
Institutions selling 0 1,028 640
Buyers to sellers – 1.30 1.31

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.

AERGLMTNOC
AERG 1.00 0.04 -0.04
LMT 0.04 1.00 0.71
NOC -0.04 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AERG, LMT and NOC?

Lockheed Martin (LMT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Energetics (AERG) $195.59M, Lockheed Martin (LMT) $148.67B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $79.91B.

Which stock is cheaper, AERG, LMT and NOC?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Energetics (AERG) -12.1x, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 22.8x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (Lockheed Martin (LMT) 21.8x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lockheed Martin (LMT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Energetics (AERG) -82.5%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +7.9%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest net margin (Applied Energetics (AERG) -5,128.4%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 8.2%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%). On return on invested capital, Lockheed Martin (LMT) leads (Lockheed Martin (LMT) 26.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lockheed Martin (LMT) returned the most: Applied Energetics (AERG) -50.6%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +32.6%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -3.8%. Over five years, Lockheed Martin (LMT) compounded fastest (Applied Energetics (AERG) -19.1%/yr, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +14.1%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +9.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lockheed Martin (LMT) has the highest dividend yield: Applied Energetics (AERG) 0.00%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 2.14%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 1.70%. Applied Energetics (AERG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been the steadiest (Applied Energetics (AERG) 72.1%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 30.1%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AERG, LMT and NOC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Lockheed Martin (LMT) leads on 8. 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.