BA vs LMT vs NOC Stock Comparison

Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BA Boeing Co
$168.16 -15.1% 1M -24.6% 1Y
Market cap
$133.26B
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$94.91B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
1 win
LMT Lockheed Martin Corp
$623.10 +19.9% 1M +28.0% 1Y
Market cap
$143.94B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$79.12B
Div. yield
2.21%
Defense Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lockheed Martin leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Lockheed Martin 7, Northrop Grumman 4, Boeing 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBALMTNOCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $133.26B $143.94B $78.32B LMT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.2x 22.1x 17.3x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 21.1x 17.9x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.5% +7.9% +6.5% BA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.7% 8.2% 10.4% NOC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.2% 26.5% 12.2% LMT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 1.3x 1.7x LMT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 2.21% 1.73% LMT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -24.6% +28.0% -7.5% LMT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.2%/yr +13.5%/yr +9.0%/yr LMT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.2% 30.0% 28.7% NOC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 60/100 58/100 LMT

Percentile Scorecard

BALMTNOC

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

AxisBALMTNOC
Valuation 65 #36 of 100 70 #31 of 100 78 #23 of 100
Growth 87 #14 of 97 62 #38 of 97 38 #61 of 97
Profitability 66 #33 of 96 90 #11 of 96 78 #22 of 96
Financial Health 13 #92 of 105 41 #62 of 105 40 #63 of 105
Shareholder Returns – 39 #40 of 65 58 #28 of 65
Overall 57 60 58
  • BA 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

PeriodBALMTNOCSPY
1 month -15.1%+19.9%+8.0% -0.2%
3 months -24.1%+7.2%+0.4% +3.9%
6 months -27.1%+21.6%-4.6% +8.2%
Year to date -22.5%+28.8%-3.3% +12.9%
1 year -24.6%+28.0%-7.5% +12.3%
3 years -6.4%+40.5%+16.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year -2.2%+12.0%+5.2% +23.3%
5 years -19.1%+88.0%+53.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year -4.2%+13.5%+9.0% +10.9%
10 years +17.3%+150.7%+144.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +1.6%+9.6%+9.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBALMTNOCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.2%30.0%28.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.5%26.5%28.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.19-0.08-0.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.680.93-0.26 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.3%-33.2%-38.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.3%-7.9%-28.2% -1.2%
52-week high $252.15$676.70$768.02 $779.14
52-week low $168.16$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.

MultipleBALMTNOC
P/E now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 26.5x 22.1xmedian 26.5x 17.3xmedian 26.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.2xmedian 14.6x 14.4xmedian 14.6x 14.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8,329xmedian 26.4x 17.2xmedian 26.4x 20.5xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 20.3xmedian 2.5x 14.3xmedian 2.5x 4.2xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.31median 0.90 63.26median 0.90 17.01median 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 monthsBALMTNOC
Revenue $94.91B $79.12B $43.59B
Gross profit $8.94B $9.28B $8.73B
Operating income $9.74B $9.32B $4.63B
Net income $7.66B $6.51B $4.52B
Free cash flow $16.00M $8.38B $3.83B
R&D $3.62B – –
EPS (diluted) $9.22 $28.13 $31.74
Cash & equivalents $9.50B $5.96B $3.74B
Total debt $45.92B $20.50B $58.43B
Shares (diluted) 792.90M 231.50M 142.40M
Enterprise value $42.23B $128.17B $65.77B

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
MetricBALMTNOC
P/E 18.2x 22.1x 17.3x
P/FCF 8,329x 17.2x 20.5x
P/Operating cash flow 33.2x 14.2x 14.9x
P/S 1.4x 1.8x 1.8x
P/B 20.3x 14.3x 4.2x
P/Tangible book 25.2x 17.3x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA 13.2x 14.4x 14.5x
EV/EBIT 16.3x 17.0x 19.2x
EV/Revenue 1.7x 2.0x 2.0x
EV/FCF 9,904x 18.9x 23.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 39.5x 15.7x 16.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.31 63.26 17.01

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBALMTNOC
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.5% 7.9% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 5.3% 4.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 906.6% 55.0% 9.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 3.0% 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 217.8% 52.8% 6.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 107.6% 3.1% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 177.7% 55.1% 12.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.1% -2.2% -1.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 168.9% 55.9% 13.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 58.4% 0.3% 1.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 208.0% 59.0% 53.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.7% 10.6% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 100.3% 82.5% 108.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -84.9% 13.0% 22.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBALMTNOC
Gross margin 9.4% 11.7% 20.0%
EBITDA margin 12.7% 13.9% 14.1%
Operating margin 10.3% 11.8% 10.6%
Pretax margin 8.3% 9.7% 12.0%
Net margin 7.7% 8.2% 10.4%
FCF margin 0.0% 10.6% 8.8%
Operating cash flow margin 4.2% 12.8% 12.1%
Return on equity 121.0% 69.2% 24.7%
Return on assets 4.6% 10.3% 8.8%
Return on invested capital 18.2% 26.5% 12.2%
Return on capital employed 17.9% 23.9% 12.2%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.2x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.6x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.5% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBALMTNOC
Debt / assets 26.9% 31.8% 27.5%
Debt / equity 7.0x 2.0x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 1.3x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 2,870x 2.4x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 96.2% 84.4% 64.4%
Equity / assets 3.8% 15.6% 35.6%
Interest coverage 4.0x 8.6x 7.1x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.3x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.1x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.47 3.77 3.08

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBALMTNOC
Dividend yield – 2.2% 1.7%
Net buyback yield – 0.5% 0.7%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.7% 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.

ConsensusBALMTNOC
Forward P/E – 21.1xFY2026 17.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.99FY2026 $29.52FY2026 $30.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -183.2%FY2026 +37.4%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +7.7% +3.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $91.05BFY2026 $85.91BFY2026 $42.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.8%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.5% +4.1% +3.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBALMTNOC
Held by institutions 75.6% 75.5% 83.4%
Institutions holding 2,626 2,780 1,809
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +0.4% +0.3%
Institutions buying 1,327 1,336 840
Institutions selling 843 1,027 639
Buyers to sellers 1.57 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.

BALMTNOC
BA 1.00 0.17 0.26
LMT 0.17 1.00 0.71
NOC 0.26 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BA, LMT and NOC?

Lockheed Martin (LMT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Boeing (BA) $133.26B, Lockheed Martin (LMT) $143.94B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $78.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, BA, LMT and NOC?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Boeing (BA) 18.2x, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 22.1x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (Lockheed Martin (LMT) 21.1x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.9x). 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) +17.5%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +7.9%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest net margin (Boeing (BA) 7.7%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 8.2%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%). On return on invested capital, Lockheed Martin (LMT) leads (Boeing (BA) 18.2%, 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: Boeing (BA) -24.6%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +28.0%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -7.5%. Over five years, Lockheed Martin (LMT) compounded fastest (Boeing (BA) -4.2%/yr, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +13.5%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +9.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lockheed Martin (LMT) has the highest dividend yield: Boeing (BA) 0.00%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 2.21%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 1.73%. Boeing (BA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been the steadiest (Boeing (BA) 36.2%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 30.0%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BA, 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 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.