CW vs NOC vs MSI Stock Comparison

Curtiss Wright, Northrop Grumman and Motorola Solutions Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CW Curtiss Wright Corp
$464.99 -14.6% 1M -16.8% 1Y
Market cap
$17.57B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.65B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Motorola Solutions leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Motorola Solutions 5, Curtiss Wright 4, Northrop Grumman 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCWNOCMSILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.57B $80.39B $80.49B MSI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.5x 17.8x 37.7x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.5x 18.1x 26.2x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.5% +6.5% +10.3% CW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.8% 10.4% 17.4% MSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.7% 12.2% 20.3% MSI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.7x 2.3x CW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.01% NOC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -16.8% -8.9% +8.4% MSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +28.6%/yr +6.3%/yr +14.1%/yr CW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.9% 28.5% 26.2% MSI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 58/100 55/100 CW

Percentile Scorecard

CWNOCMSI

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

AxisCWNOCMSI
Valuation 52 #49 of 100 73 #28 of 100 48 #53 of 100
Growth 60 #39 of 97 41 #58 of 97 45 #54 of 97
Profitability 95 #6 of 96 76 #24 of 96 99 #2 of 96
Financial Health 67 #36 of 106 42 #62 of 106 21 #84 of 106
Shareholder Returns 67 #22 of 65 61 #26 of 65 63 #25 of 65
Overall 68 58 55
  • CW ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • MSI 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

PeriodCWNOCMSISPY
1 month -14.6%+7.2%+4.6% -1.0%
3 months -38.0%+1.7%+15.4% +2.9%
6 months -35.2%-4.1%+10.0% +6.4%
Year to date -15.7%-3.3%+25.7% +11.4%
1 year -16.8%-8.9%+8.4% +13.1%
3 years +134.4%+15.3%+71.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +32.9%+4.9%+19.7% +21.5%
5 years +251.3%+35.8%+93.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +28.6%+6.3%+14.1% +10.9%
10 years +455.7%+155.5%+554.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +18.7%+9.8%+20.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCWNOCMSISPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.9%28.5%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%28.2%27.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.40-0.020.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.47-0.310.32 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-38.4%-27.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -41.3%-28.2%-1.9% -2.5%
52-week high $792.61$768.02$491.32 $779.14
52-week low $464.99$473.40$363.83 $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.

MultipleCWNOCMSI
P/E now vs peer median 31.7xmedian 26.2x 17.3xmedian 26.2x 37.4xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x 6.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.9xmedian 14.7x 14.5xmedian 14.7x 24.5xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.5xmedian 24.9x 20.5xmedian 24.9x 29.8xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 6.2xmedian 2.4x 4.2xmedian 2.4x 29.7xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.54median 0.92 17.02median 0.92 2.83median 0.92

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 monthsCWNOCMSI
Revenue $3.65B $43.59B $12.24B
Gross profit $1.38B $8.73B $6.36B
Operating income $686.21M $4.63B $3.05B
Net income $541.18M $4.52B $2.14B
Free cash flow $625.29M $3.83B $2.68B
R&D $98.16M – $1.02B
EPS (diluted) $14.58 $31.74 $12.76
Cash & equivalents $477.15M $3.74B $710.00M
Total debt $957.39M $58.43B $36.50B
Shares (diluted) 37.12M 142.40M 167.20M
Enterprise value $16.15B $67.84B $76.84B

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
MetricCWNOCMSI
P/E 31.7x 17.3x 37.4x
P/FCF 27.5x 20.5x 29.8x
P/Operating cash flow 23.8x 14.9x 26.8x
P/S 4.7x 1.8x 6.5x
P/B 6.2x 4.2x 29.7x
P/Tangible book 7.6x 4.2x -303.3x
EV/EBITDA 21.9x 14.5x 24.5x
EV/EBIT 25.7x 19.3x 28.9x
EV/Revenue 4.8x 2.0x 7.2x
EV/FCF 28.2x 23.3x 32.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.5x 16.9x 29.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.54 17.02 2.83

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCWNOCMSI
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.5% 6.5% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 4.1% 8.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 9.8% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 3.4% 11.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.3% 6.8% 8.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.6% 6.4% 15.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 19.9% 12.5% 0.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.1% -1.1% 12.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 22.4% 13.3% 1.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 20.6% 1.0% 13.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 25.1% 53.2% 13.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 12.5% 19.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.2% 108.8% 12.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 22.3% 21.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCWNOCMSI
Gross margin 37.7% 20.0% 52.0%
EBITDA margin 22.0% 14.1% 29.4%
Operating margin 18.8% 10.6% 24.9%
Pretax margin 18.9% 12.0% 22.6%
Net margin 14.8% 10.4% 17.4%
FCF margin 17.1% 8.8% 21.9%
Operating cash flow margin 19.7% 12.1% 24.3%
Return on equity 20.0% 24.7% 81.5%
Return on assets 10.1% 8.8% 11.2%
Return on invested capital 14.7% 12.2% 20.3%
Return on capital employed 17.3% 12.2% 22.4%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.3% 2.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCWNOCMSI
Debt / assets 17.5% 27.5% 46.9%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.8x 3.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.7x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 3.8x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 49.2% 64.4% 86.0%
Equity / assets 50.8% 35.6% 14.0%
Interest coverage 16.2x 7.1x 6.9x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 6.28 3.08 4.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCWNOCMSI
Dividend yield 0.2% 1.7% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 2.6% 0.7% 1.3%
Shareholder yield 2.8% 2.4% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 30.2% 35.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 35.6% 28.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 8.0% 10.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 7.4% 11.0%

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.

ConsensusCWNOCMSI
Forward P/E 32.5xFY2026 18.1xFY2026 26.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.31FY2026 $30.52FY2026 $18.41FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.2%FY2026 +15.9%FY2026 +19.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.5% +5.9% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.03BFY2026 $42.94BFY2026 $12.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.2%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.9% +3.7% +8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCWNOCMSI
Held by institutions 85.6% 83.4% 88.3%
Institutions holding 946 1,809 1,466
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +0.3% +3.4%
Institutions buying 479 840 639
Institutions selling 313 639 596
Buyers to sellers 1.53 1.31 1.07

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.

CWNOCMSI
CW 1.00 0.31 0.08
NOC 0.31 1.00 0.22
MSI 0.08 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CW, NOC and MSI?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Curtiss Wright (CW) $17.57B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $80.39B, Motorola Solutions (MSI) $80.49B.

Which stock is cheaper, CW, NOC and MSI?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Curtiss Wright (CW) 32.5x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.8x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 37.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (Curtiss Wright (CW) 32.5x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.1x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Curtiss Wright (CW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Curtiss Wright (CW) +10.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) has the highest net margin (Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 17.4%). On return on invested capital, Motorola Solutions (MSI) leads (Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.7%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 20.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Motorola Solutions (MSI) returned the most: Curtiss Wright (CW) -16.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -8.9%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +8.4%. Over five years, Curtiss Wright (CW) compounded fastest (Curtiss Wright (CW) +28.6%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.3%/yr, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest dividend yield: Curtiss Wright (CW) 0.00%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 0.01%. Curtiss Wright (CW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Motorola Solutions (MSI) has been the steadiest (Curtiss Wright (CW) 35.9%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.5%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CW, NOC and MSI?

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