BA vs CR vs NOC Stock Comparison

Boeing, Crane and Northrop Grumman Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BA Boeing Co
$188.24 -4.9% 1M -15.0% 1Y
Market cap
$132.91B
P/E
63.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$94.00B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
2 wins
CR Crane Co
$190.45 -7.9% 1M -0.7% 1Y
Market cap
$11.14B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.59B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Northrop Grumman leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Northrop Grumman 5, Crane 4, Boeing 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBACRNOCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $132.91B $11.14B $78.25B BA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 63.6x 33.1x 17.3x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 28.6x 18.4x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.8% +16.3% +6.5% BA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% 13.0% 10.4% CR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.7% 10.7% 12.2% NOC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.8x 1.4x 1.7x CR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -15.0% -0.7% -6.6% CR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.8%/yr — +7.8%/yr NOC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.5% 33.4% 28.6% NOC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 66/100 57/100 CR

Percentile Scorecard

BACRNOC

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

AxisBACRNOC
Valuation 44 #56 of 100 53 #48 of 100 74 #27 of 100
Growth 81 #19 of 97 74 #26 of 97 39 #60 of 97
Profitability 54 #45 of 96 87 #13 of 96 77 #23 of 96
Financial Health 12 #93 of 105 64 #38 of 105 39 #65 of 105
Shareholder Returns – 54 #30 of 64 59 #27 of 64
Overall 48 66 57
  • BA ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • CR 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

PeriodBACRNOCSPY
1 month -4.9%-7.9%+10.8% -0.8%
3 months -11.0%-15.9%+3.3% +3.5%
6 months -18.6%+4.1%-1.7% +7.0%
Year to date -13.3%+3.3%-0.8% +12.2%
1 year -15.0%-0.7%-6.6% +13.0%
3 years +4.8%+108.7%+19.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +1.6%+27.8%+6.1% +23.1%
5 years -8.9%—+45.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year -1.8%—+7.8% +11.0%
10 years +29.3%—+147.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.6%—+9.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBACRNOCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.5%33.4%28.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.1%36.9%28.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.231.440.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.43-0.02-0.23 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.3%-28.2%-38.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.3%-15.9%-26.4% -1.8%
52-week high $252.15$226.38$768.02 $779.14
52-week low $179.12$160.86$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.

MultipleBACRNOC
P/E now vs peer median 71.2xmedian 26.8x 32.7xmedian 26.8x 17.8xmedian 26.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.9x 4.2xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 15.2x 21.6xmedian 15.2x 14.8xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -708.5xmedian 25.5x 28.9xmedian 25.5x 21.0xmedian 25.5x
P/B now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 2.5x 5.0xmedian 2.5x 4.3xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 2.15median 0.94 1.62median 0.94 17.45median 0.94

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 monthsBACRNOC
Revenue $94.00B $2.59B $43.59B
Gross profit $4.40B $1.08B $8.73B
Operating income $4.60B $464.60M $4.63B
Net income $2.43B $336.10M $4.52B
Free cash flow -$210.00M $380.30M $3.83B
R&D $3.69B – –
EPS (diluted) $2.64 $5.73 $31.74
Cash & equivalents $7.24B $350.40M $3.74B
Total debt $45.90B $1.10B $58.43B
Shares (diluted) 790.80M 58.70M 142.40M
Enterprise value $39.60B $9.53B $65.71B

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
MetricBACRNOC
P/E 71.2x 32.7x 17.8x
P/FCF -708.5x 28.9x 21.0x
P/Operating cash flow 40.9x 25.7x 15.3x
P/S 1.6x 4.2x 1.8x
P/B 24.3x 5.0x 4.3x
P/Tangible book 32.5x 7.2x 4.3x
EV/EBITDA 25.7x 21.6x 14.8x
EV/EBIT 38.0x 25.3x 19.7x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 4.5x 2.1x
EV/FCF -831.7x 30.9x 23.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 48.0x 27.4x 17.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.15 1.62 17.45

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBACRNOC
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.8% 16.3% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 17.2% 4.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1,902% 16.4% 9.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -3.6% 17.4% 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 149.8% 19.4% 6.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 49.8% 194.4% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 122.8% -4.5% 12.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 36.4% 32.3% -1.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 118.3% -4.8% 13.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.1% 20.2% 1.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 158.8% 27.5% 53.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -26.6% 41.3% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 97.5% 33.9% 108.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -26.6% 38.9% 22.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBACRNOC
Gross margin 4.7% 41.7% 20.0%
EBITDA margin 7.2% 21.0% 14.1%
Operating margin 4.9% 17.9% 10.6%
Pretax margin 3.0% 17.1% 12.0%
Net margin 2.2% 13.0% 10.4%
FCF margin -0.2% 14.7% 8.8%
Operating cash flow margin 3.9% 16.5% 12.1%
Return on equity 40.4% 15.7% 24.7%
Return on assets 1.5% 8.3% 8.8%
Return on invested capital 7.7% 10.7% 12.2%
Return on capital employed 8.2% 13.2% 12.2%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.8% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBACRNOC
Debt / assets 27.7% 27.3% 27.5%
Debt / equity 7.5x 0.5x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.8x 1.4x 1.7x
Debt / FCF -218.6x 2.9x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 96.3% 45.9% 64.4%
Equity / assets 3.7% 54.1% 35.6%
Interest coverage 1.8x 12.9x 7.1x
Current ratio 1.1x 2.8x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.6x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.7x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.47 5.45 3.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBACRNOC
Dividend yield – 0.5% 1.7%
Net buyback yield – 0.0% 0.7%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.6% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 30.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 35.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 8.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 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.

ConsensusBACRNOC
Forward P/E – 28.6xFY2026 18.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.99FY2026 $6.66FY2026 $30.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -183.2%FY2026 +10.1%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +21.8% +3.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $91.05BFY2026 $2.96BFY2026 $42.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.8%FY2026 +28.1%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.5% -2.8% +3.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBACRNOC
Held by institutions 75.6% 78.3% 83.4%
Institutions holding 2,626 598 1,809
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +5.6% +0.3%
Institutions buying 1,327 314 840
Institutions selling 843 187 639
Buyers to sellers 1.57 1.68 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.

BACRNOC
BA 1.00 0.38 0.25
CR 0.38 1.00 0.09
NOC 0.25 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BA, CR and NOC?

Boeing (BA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Boeing (BA) $132.91B, Crane (CR) $11.14B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $78.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, BA, CR and NOC?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Boeing (BA) 63.6x, Crane (CR) 33.1x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (Crane (CR) 28.6x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Boeing (BA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Boeing (BA) +24.8%, Crane (CR) +16.3%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Crane (CR) has the highest net margin (Boeing (BA) 2.2%, Crane (CR) 13.0%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%). On return on invested capital, Northrop Grumman (NOC) leads (Boeing (BA) 7.7%, Crane (CR) 10.7%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Crane (CR) returned the most: Boeing (BA) -15.0%, Crane (CR) -0.7%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -6.6%. Over five years, Northrop Grumman (NOC) compounded fastest (Boeing (BA) -1.8%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Boeing (BA) 0.00%, Crane (CR) 0.00%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%. Boeing (BA) and Crane (CR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been the steadiest (Boeing (BA) 34.5%, Crane (CR) 33.4%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BA, CR 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, Northrop Grumman (NOC) leads on 5. 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.