CW vs ESLT vs GD Stock Comparison

Curtiss Wright, Elbit Systems and General Dynamics Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CW Curtiss Wright Corp
$497.14 -6.9% 1M -17.4% 1Y
Market cap
$17.79B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.65B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
1 win
ESLT Elbit Systems Ltd
$807.41 +14.8% 1M +68.9% 1Y
Market cap
$35.69B
P/E
56.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.55B
Div. yield
0.00%
Defense Industrials
5 wins
GD General Dynamics Corp
$371.29 +11.7% 1M +8.1% 1Y
Market cap
$101.53B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.86B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

General Dynamics leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (General Dynamics 5, Elbit Systems 5, Curtiss Wright 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCWESLTGDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.79B $35.69B $101.53B GD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.9x 56.1x 22.6x GD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 34.6x 58.0x 21.1x GD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.5% +13.7% +9.1% ESLT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.8% 7.4% 8.2% CW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.7% 17.8% 13.6% ESLT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x -0.9x 0.5x ESLT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.4% +68.9% +8.1% ESLT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +31.3%/yr +38.5%/yr +12.9%/yr ESLT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.0% 44.8% 22.6% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 59/100 69/100 GD

Percentile Scorecard

CWESLTGD

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

AxisCWESLTGD
Valuation 51 #50 of 100 43 #57 of 100 82 #19 of 100
Growth 59 #40 of 96 86 #14 of 96 42 #56 of 96
Profitability 94 #7 of 95 71 #28 of 95 77 #23 of 95
Financial Health 65 #37 of 105 59 #44 of 105 61 #42 of 105
Shareholder Returns 69 #21 of 65 34 #43 of 65 86 #10 of 65
Overall 67 59 69
  • CW ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • ESLT ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • GD 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

PeriodCWESLTGDSPY
1 month -6.9%+14.8%+11.7% +0.7%
3 months -30.6%+2.7%-2.9% +3.7%
6 months -31.0%-3.8%+7.8% +7.1%
Year to date -9.8%+39.8%+10.3% +12.8%
1 year -17.4%+68.9%+8.1% +11.9%
3 years +153.4%+333.8%+55.4% +85.2%
3 years, per year +36.4%+63.1%+15.8% +22.8%
5 years +289.4%+408.4%+83.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +31.3%+38.5%+12.9% +10.9%
10 years +455.6%+722.8%+145.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year +18.7%+23.5%+9.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCWESLTGDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.0%44.8%22.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%39.6%20.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.390.700.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.481.540.36 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-35.5%-23.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -37.3%-20.4%-6.2% -1.2%
52-week high $792.61$1,014.33$395.97 $779.14
52-week low $464.99$454.95$312.53 $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.

MultipleCWESLTGD
P/E now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 26.9x 58.0xmedian 26.9x 22.4xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 3.0x 4.4xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.4xmedian 15.0x 37.8xmedian 15.0x 15.8xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.4xmedian 27.2x 37.8xmedian 27.2x 15.6xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 2.5x 8.5xmedian 2.5x 3.7xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.65median 0.93 1.84median 0.93 2.18median 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 monthsCWESLTGD
Revenue $3.65B $8.55B $54.86B
Gross profit $1.38B $2.14B $8.44B
Operating income $686.21M $787.82M $5.66B
Net income $541.18M $636.61M $4.49B
Free cash flow $625.29M $992.19M $6.45B
R&D $98.16M $582.72M –
EPS (diluted) $14.58 $13.56 $16.40
Cash & equivalents $477.15M $255.34M $4.33B
Total debt $957.39M $92.13M $7.52B
Shares (diluted) 37.12M 46.92M 273.52M
Enterprise value $16.37B $32.25B $88.64B

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
MetricCWESLTGD
P/E 33.9x 58.0x 22.4x
P/FCF 29.4x 37.8x 15.6x
P/Operating cash flow 25.5x 37.8x 13.0x
P/S 5.0x 4.4x 1.8x
P/B 6.6x 8.5x 3.7x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 8.5x 3.9x
EV/EBITDA 23.4x 37.8x 15.8x
EV/EBIT 27.5x 46.5x 18.3x
EV/Revenue 5.2x 4.3x 1.9x
EV/FCF 30.1x 36.9x 16.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.1x 36.9x 13.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.65 1.84 2.18

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCWESLTGD
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.5% 13.7% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 14.4% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 18.5% 8.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 14.1% 8.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.3% 37.1% 9.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.6% 26.5% 10.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 19.9% 58.0% 9.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.1% 33.7% 10.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 22.4% 50.8% 8.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 20.6% 31.5% 10.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 25.1% 22.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 82.7% 23.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.2% 105.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 175.7% 28.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCWESLTGD
Gross margin 37.7% 25.0% 15.4%
EBITDA margin 22.0% 11.3% 12.0%
Operating margin 18.8% 9.2% 10.3%
Pretax margin 18.9% 8.1% 9.9%
Net margin 14.8% 7.4% 8.2%
FCF margin 17.1% 11.6% 11.8%
Operating cash flow margin 19.7% 11.6% 14.0%
Return on equity 20.0% 14.7% 17.0%
Return on assets 10.1% 4.7% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 14.7% 17.8% 13.6%
Return on capital employed 17.3% 11.0% 13.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.6x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.3% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCWESLTGD
Debt / assets 17.5% 0.7% 12.5%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.0x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x -0.9x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 0.1x 1.2x
Liabilities / assets 49.2% 68.2% 55.4%
Equity / assets 50.8% 31.8% 44.6%
Interest coverage 16.2x – –
Current ratio 1.6x 1.4x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.4x 0.8x 2.8x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 6.54 – 4.25

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCWESLTGD
Dividend yield 0.2% 0.5% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 2.4% 0.0% 0.4%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 0.5% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 22.7% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 14.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -54.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -17.4% –

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.

ConsensusCWESLTGD
Forward P/E 34.6xFY2026 58.0xFY2026 21.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.35FY2026 $13.93FY2026 $17.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.5%FY2026 +22.3%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.6% +21.8% +8.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.03BFY2026 $8.84BFY2026 $53.43BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.2%FY2026 +11.3%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.9% +21.1% +12.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCWESLTGD
Held by institutions 85.6% 19.9% 86.6%
Institutions holding 947 385 2,220
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% -7.1% +0.1%
Institutions buying 480 202 1,020
Institutions selling 313 107 832
Buyers to sellers 1.53 1.89 1.23

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.

CWESLTGD
CW 1.00 0.37 0.38
ESLT 0.37 1.00 0.41
GD 0.38 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CW, ESLT and GD?

General Dynamics (GD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Curtiss Wright (CW) $17.79B, Elbit Systems (ESLT) $35.69B, General Dynamics (GD) $101.53B.

Which stock is cheaper, CW, ESLT and GD?

General Dynamics (GD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Curtiss Wright (CW) 32.9x, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 56.1x, General Dynamics (GD) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, General Dynamics (GD) is cheapest (Curtiss Wright (CW) 34.6x, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 58.0x, General Dynamics (GD) 21.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Elbit Systems (ESLT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Curtiss Wright (CW) +10.5%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +13.7%, General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Curtiss Wright (CW) has the highest net margin (Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.8%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 7.4%, General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%). On return on invested capital, Elbit Systems (ESLT) leads (Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.7%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 17.8%, General Dynamics (GD) 13.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Elbit Systems (ESLT) returned the most: Curtiss Wright (CW) -17.4%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +68.9%, General Dynamics (GD) +8.1%. Over five years, Elbit Systems (ESLT) compounded fastest (Curtiss Wright (CW) +31.3%/yr, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +38.5%/yr, General Dynamics (GD) +12.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (Curtiss Wright (CW) 36.0%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 44.8%, General Dynamics (GD) 22.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CW, ESLT and GD?

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 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.