CW vs NOC vs RDW Stock Comparison

Curtiss Wright, Northrop Grumman and Redwire 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
$17.49B
P/E
32.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.65B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
5 wins
RDW Redwire Corp
$9.15 -14.7% 1M +16.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.84B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$426.27M
Div. yield
–
Space Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCWNOCRDWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.49B $79.44B $1.84B NOC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.3x 17.6x -7.1x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 34.6x 18.3x — NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.5% +6.5% +63.1% RDW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.8% 10.4% -60.7% CW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.7% 12.2% -15.1% CW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.7x 3.1x CW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.4% -3.8% +16.6% RDW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +31.3%/yr +9.5%/yr -5.1%/yr CW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.0% 28.7% 112.1% NOC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 57/100 40/100 CW

Percentile Scorecard

CWNOCRDW

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

AxisCWNOCRDW
Valuation 51 #50 of 100 75 #26 of 100 36 #64 of 100
Growth 59 #40 of 96 38 #60 of 96 43 #55 of 96
Profitability 94 #7 of 95 76 #24 of 95 26 #71 of 95
Financial Health 65 #37 of 105 38 #66 of 105 83 #19 of 105
Shareholder Returns 69 #21 of 65 59 #27 of 65 13 #57 of 65
Overall 67 57 40
  • CW ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • RDW 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

PeriodCWNOCRDWSPY
1 month -6.9%+11.4%-14.7% +0.7%
3 months -30.6%+5.2%+8.0% +3.7%
6 months -31.0%-2.9%-0.4% +7.1%
Year to date -9.8%-1.3%+20.4% +12.8%
1 year -17.4%-3.8%+16.6% +11.9%
3 years +153.4%+20.0%+244.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year +36.4%+6.3%+51.0% +22.8%
5 years +289.4%+57.5%-23.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year +31.3%+9.5%-5.1% +10.9%
10 years +455.6%+146.3%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +18.7%+9.4%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCWNOCRDWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.0%28.7%112.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%28.6%102.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.39-0.014.05 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.48-0.130.15 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.3%-38.4%-87.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -37.3%-26.8%-64.7% -1.2%
52-week high $792.61$768.02$25.90 $779.14
52-week low $464.99$473.40$5.06 $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.

MultipleCWNOCRDW
P/E now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 26.9x 17.7xmedian 26.9x -7.8xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x 5.3xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.4xmedian 15.0x 14.7xmedian 15.0x -10.7xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.4xmedian 27.2x 20.9xmedian 27.2x -23.2xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 2.5x 4.3xmedian 2.5x 1.4xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.65median 0.93 17.36median 0.93 0.97median 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 monthsCWNOCRDW
Revenue $3.65B $43.59B $426.27M
Gross profit $1.38B $8.73B $85.66M
Operating income $686.21M $4.63B -$215.26M
Net income $541.18M $4.52B -$244.10M
Free cash flow $625.29M $3.83B -$98.20M
R&D $98.16M – $42.36M
EPS (diluted) $14.58 $31.74 $-1.17
Cash & equivalents $477.15M $3.74B $557.72M
Total debt $957.39M $58.43B $48.06M
Shares (diluted) 37.12M 142.40M 220.47M
Enterprise value $16.07B $66.89B $991.76M

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
MetricCWNOCRDW
P/E 33.9x 17.7x -7.8x
P/FCF 29.4x 20.9x -23.2x
P/Operating cash flow 25.5x 15.2x -29.9x
P/S 5.0x 1.8x 5.3x
P/B 6.6x 4.3x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 4.3x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 23.4x 14.7x -10.7x
EV/EBIT 27.5x 19.6x -8.2x
EV/Revenue 5.2x 2.1x 4.2x
EV/FCF 30.1x 23.7x -18.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.1x 17.2x -23.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.65 17.36 0.97

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCWNOCRDW
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.5% 6.5% 63.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 4.1% 26.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 9.8% 1,193%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 3.4% 22.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.3% 6.8% -56.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.6% 6.4% -72.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 19.9% 12.5% -29.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.1% -1.1% -70.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 22.4% 13.3% 57.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 20.6% 1.0% -8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 25.1% 53.2% 46.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 12.5% -40.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.2% 108.8% 35.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 22.3% -46.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCWNOCRDW
Gross margin 37.7% 20.0% 20.1%
EBITDA margin 22.0% 14.1% -38.9%
Operating margin 18.8% 10.6% -50.5%
Pretax margin 18.9% 12.0% -54.9%
Net margin 14.8% 10.4% -60.7%
FCF margin 17.1% 8.8% -23.0%
Operating cash flow margin 19.7% 12.1% -17.9%
Return on equity 20.0% 24.7% -18.0%
Return on assets 10.1% 8.8% -14.1%
Return on invested capital 14.7% 12.2% -15.1%
Return on capital employed 17.3% 12.2% -14.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.8x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.2x 0.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.3% 17.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCWNOCRDW
Debt / assets 17.5% 27.5% 2.5%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.8x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 1.7x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 3.8x -0.5x
Liabilities / assets 49.2% 64.4% 16.1%
Equity / assets 50.8% 35.6% 83.9%
Interest coverage 16.2x 7.1x –
Current ratio 1.6x 1.2x 3.9x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.0x 3.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 2.9x
Altman Z-score 6.54 3.11 4.04

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCWNOCRDW
Dividend yield 0.2% 1.7% –
Net buyback yield 2.4% 0.7% -33.2%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 2.4% -33.2%
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.

ConsensusCWNOCRDW
Forward P/E 34.6xFY2026 18.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $14.35FY2026 $30.81FY2026 $-0.77FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.5%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +11.6% +3.7% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.03BFY2026 $42.95BFY2026 $463.08MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.2%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 +38.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.9% +3.7% +25.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCWNOCRDW
Held by institutions 85.6% 83.4% 64.7%
Institutions holding 947 1,810 325
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +0.3% +15.8%
Institutions buying 480 840 254
Institutions selling 313 640 57
Buyers to sellers 1.53 1.31 4.46

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.

CWNOCRDW
CW 1.00 0.32 0.33
NOC 0.32 1.00 0.20
RDW 0.33 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CW, NOC and RDW?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Curtiss Wright (CW) $17.49B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $79.44B, Redwire (RDW) $1.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, CW, NOC and RDW?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Curtiss Wright (CW) 32.3x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.6x, Redwire (RDW) -7.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (Curtiss Wright (CW) 34.6x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Redwire (RDW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Curtiss Wright (CW) +10.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Redwire (RDW) +63.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Curtiss Wright (CW) has the highest net margin (Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Redwire (RDW) -60.7%). On return on invested capital, Curtiss Wright (CW) leads (Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.7%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Redwire (RDW) -15.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Redwire (RDW) returned the most: Curtiss Wright (CW) -17.4%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -3.8%, Redwire (RDW) +16.6%. Over five years, Curtiss Wright (CW) compounded fastest (Curtiss Wright (CW) +31.3%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +9.5%/yr, Redwire (RDW) -5.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Curtiss Wright (CW) 0.00%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%, Redwire (RDW) 0.00%. Curtiss Wright (CW) and Redwire (RDW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been the steadiest (Curtiss Wright (CW) 36.0%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.7%, Redwire (RDW) 112.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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