BA vs NOC vs AER Stock Comparison

Boeing, Northrop Grumman and AerCap Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BA Boeing Co
$168.16 -15.1% 1M -24.6% 1Y
Market cap
$132.25B
P/E
18.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$94.91B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
3 wins
AER AerCap Holdings N.V.
$150.07 +0.5% 1M +24.0% 1Y
Market cap
$27.14B
P/E
8.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.96B
Div. yield
0.01%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

AerCap Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (AerCap Holdings 7, Boeing 3, Northrop Grumman 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBANOCAERLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $132.25B $78.56B $27.14B BA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.1x 17.4x 8.0x AER
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 17.9x 8.4x AER
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.5% +6.5% +12.2% BA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.7% 10.4% 37.9% AER
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.2% 12.2% 9.1% BA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 1.7x 4.9x NOC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.01% NOC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -24.6% -7.5% +24.0% AER
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.2%/yr +9.0%/yr +19.8%/yr AER
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.2% 28.7% 26.9% AER
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 58/100 72/100 AER

Percentile Scorecard

BANOCAER

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

AxisBANOCAER
Valuation 65 #36 of 100 78 #23 of 100 96 #5 of 100
Growth 87 #14 of 97 38 #61 of 97 72 #28 of 97
Profitability 66 #33 of 96 78 #22 of 96 91 #10 of 96
Financial Health 13 #92 of 105 40 #63 of 105 6 #99 of 105
Shareholder Returns – 58 #28 of 65 94 #5 of 65
Overall 57 58 72
  • BA ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • AER 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

PeriodBANOCAERSPY
1 month -15.1%+8.0%+0.5% -0.2%
3 months -24.1%+0.4%-2.6% +3.9%
6 months -27.1%-4.6%+9.4% +8.2%
Year to date -22.5%-3.3%+4.4% +12.9%
1 year -24.6%-7.5%+24.0% +12.3%
3 years -6.4%+16.5%+152.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year -2.2%+5.2%+36.2% +23.3%
5 years -19.1%+53.7%+146.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year -4.2%+9.0%+19.8% +10.9%
10 years +17.3%+144.6%+266.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +1.6%+9.4%+13.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBANOCAERSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.2%28.7%26.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.5%28.4%25.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.19-0.010.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.68-0.260.89 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.3%-38.4%-45.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.3%-28.2%-3.3% -1.2%
52-week high $252.15$768.02$155.22 $779.14
52-week low $168.16$473.40$121.00 $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.

MultipleBANOCAER
P/E now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 26.5x 17.3xmedian 26.5x 7.6xmedian 26.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x 2.8xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.2xmedian 14.6x 14.5xmedian 14.6x 7.9xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8,329xmedian 26.4x 20.5xmedian 26.4x 12.0xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 20.3xmedian 2.5x 4.2xmedian 2.5x 1.4xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.31median 0.90 17.01median 0.90 0.21median 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 monthsBANOCAER
Revenue $94.91B $43.59B $8.96B
Gross profit $8.94B $8.73B –
Operating income $9.74B $4.63B –
Net income $7.66B $4.52B $3.39B
Free cash flow $16.00M $3.83B $2.09B
R&D $3.62B – –
EPS (diluted) $9.22 $31.74 $19.26
Cash & equivalents $9.50B $3.74B $1.69B
Total debt $45.92B $58.43B $42.77B
Shares (diluted) 792.90M 142.40M 176.12M
Enterprise value $41.21B $66.01B $20.78B

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
MetricBANOCAER
P/E 18.2x 17.3x 7.6x
P/FCF 8,329x 20.5x 12.0x
P/Operating cash flow 33.2x 14.9x 4.5x
P/S 1.4x 1.8x 2.8x
P/B 20.3x 4.2x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 25.2x 4.2x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 13.2x 14.5x 7.9x
EV/EBIT 16.3x 19.2x 11.8x
EV/Revenue 1.7x 2.0x 7.4x
EV/FCF 9,904x 23.2x 31.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 39.5x 16.9x 11.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.31 17.01 0.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBANOCAER
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.5% 6.5% 12.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 4.1% 6.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 906.6% 9.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 3.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 217.8% 6.8% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 107.6% 6.4% –
Net income growth (1Y) 177.7% 12.5% 15.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 67.1% -1.1% 22.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 168.9% 13.3% 27.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 58.4% 1.0% 35.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 208.0% 53.2% 5.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.7% 12.5% 2.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 100.3% 108.8% 178.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -84.9% 22.3% 39.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBANOCAER
Gross margin 9.4% 20.0% –
EBITDA margin 12.7% 14.1% 93.1%
Operating margin 10.3% 10.6% –
Pretax margin 8.3% 12.0% 41.1%
Net margin 7.7% 10.4% 37.9%
FCF margin 0.0% 8.8% 23.3%
Operating cash flow margin 4.2% 12.1% 62.7%
Return on equity 121.0% 24.7% 18.4%
Return on assets 4.6% 8.8% 4.8%
Return on invested capital 18.2% 12.2% 9.1%
Return on capital employed 17.9% 12.2% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.2x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.3% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBANOCAER
Debt / assets 26.9% 27.5% 60.1%
Debt / equity 7.0x 0.8x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 1.7x 4.9x
Debt / FCF 2,870x 3.8x 20.5x
Liabilities / assets 96.2% 64.4% 74.1%
Equity / assets 3.8% 35.6% 25.9%
Interest coverage 4.0x 7.1x 2.9x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.2x –
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.0x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 1.47 3.08 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBANOCAER
Dividend yield – 1.7% 1.0%
Net buyback yield – 0.7% 11.7%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.4% 12.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 30.2% 6.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 35.6% 10.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 8.0% 15.6%
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.

ConsensusBANOCAER
Forward P/E – 17.9xFY2026 8.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.99FY2026 $30.81FY2026 $17.95FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -183.2%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 +16.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +3.7% +4.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $91.05BFY2026 $42.95BFY2026 $9.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.8%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.5% +3.7% -1.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBANOCAER
Held by institutions 75.6% 83.4% 78.7%
Institutions holding 2,626 1,809 689
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +0.3% -5.5%
Institutions buying 1,327 840 360
Institutions selling 843 639 237
Buyers to sellers 1.57 1.31 1.52

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.

BANOCAER
BA 1.00 0.26 0.29
NOC 0.26 1.00 0.08
AER 0.29 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BA, NOC and AER?

Boeing (BA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Boeing (BA) $132.25B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $78.56B, AerCap Holdings (AER) $27.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, BA, NOC and AER?

AerCap Holdings (AER) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Boeing (BA) 18.1x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.4x, AerCap Holdings (AER) 8.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, AerCap Holdings (AER) is cheapest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.9x, AerCap Holdings (AER) 8.4x). 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) +17.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, AerCap Holdings (AER) +12.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

AerCap Holdings (AER) has the highest net margin (Boeing (BA) 7.7%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, AerCap Holdings (AER) 37.9%). On return on invested capital, Boeing (BA) leads (Boeing (BA) 18.2%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, AerCap Holdings (AER) 9.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year AerCap Holdings (AER) returned the most: Boeing (BA) -24.6%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -7.5%, AerCap Holdings (AER) +24.0%. Over five years, AerCap Holdings (AER) compounded fastest (Boeing (BA) -4.2%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +9.0%/yr, AerCap Holdings (AER) +19.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest dividend yield: Boeing (BA) 0.00%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%, AerCap Holdings (AER) 0.01%. Boeing (BA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, AerCap Holdings (AER) has been the steadiest (Boeing (BA) 36.2%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.7%, AerCap Holdings (AER) 26.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BA, NOC and AER?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, AerCap Holdings (AER) 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.