ESP vs GD vs LHX Stock Comparison

Espey Mfg & Electronics, General Dynamics and L3Harris Technologies Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (LMT) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
GD General Dynamics Corp
$371.29 +11.7% 1M +8.1% 1Y
Market cap
$100.63B
P/E
22.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.86B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Espey Mfg & Electronics leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Espey Mfg & Electronics 6, General Dynamics 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESPGDLHXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $149.54M $100.63B $51.63B GD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.4x 22.4x 23.9x ESP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.1x 21.1x 24.4x ESP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.9% +9.1% — GD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 24.2% 8.2% — ESP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 13.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.5x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +41.6% +8.1% -2.9% ESP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +29.6%/yr +12.9%/yr +3.9%/yr ESP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.4% 22.6% 29.4% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 69/100 68/100 ESP

Percentile Scorecard

ESPGDLHX

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

AxisESPGDLHX
Valuation 83 #18 of 100 82 #19 of 100 81 #20 of 100
Growth 67 #32 of 96 42 #56 of 96 –
Profitability 82 #18 of 95 77 #23 of 95 –
Financial Health 63 #40 of 105 61 #42 of 105 30 #74 of 105
Shareholder Returns 55 #30 of 65 86 #10 of 65 94 #5 of 65
Overall 70 69 68
  • ESP ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • GD ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LHX 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

PeriodESPGDLHXSPY
1 month -15.0%+11.7%+17.9% +0.7%
3 months -6.0%-2.9%+2.5% +3.7%
6 months -22.1%+7.8%-13.1% +7.1%
Year to date +17.2%+10.3%-5.1% +12.8%
1 year +41.6%+8.1%-2.9% +11.9%
3 years +248.7%+55.4%+59.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +51.7%+15.8%+16.9% +22.8%
5 years +265.1%+83.1%+20.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year +29.6%+12.9%+3.9% +10.9%
10 years +116.6%+145.1%+211.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year +8.0%+9.4%+12.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESPGDLHXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.4%22.6%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 50.4%20.7%29.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.870.320.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.900.36-0.10 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.6%-23.0%-40.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.5%-6.2%-26.4% -1.2%
52-week high $72.22$395.97$378.48 $779.14
52-week low $37.20$312.53$233.68 $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.

MultipleESPGDLHX
P/E now vs peer median 13.7xmedian 26.9x 22.4xmedian 26.9x 23.9xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x 1.1xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 15.0x 15.8xmedian 15.0x —median 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 65.0xmedian 27.2x 15.6xmedian 27.2x 15.8xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.5x 3.7xmedian 2.5x 2.6xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.36median 0.93 2.18median 0.93 —median 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 monthsESPGDLHX
Revenue $46.12M $54.86B –
Gross profit $16.28M $8.44B –
Operating income $11.59M $5.66B –
Net income $11.18M $4.49B –
Free cash flow $2.58M $6.45B –
EPS (diluted) $3.89 $16.40 –
Cash & equivalents $19.44M $4.33B $2.47B
Total debt – $7.52B –
Shares (diluted) 2.87M 273.52M 187.30M
Enterprise value -$32.64M $87.75B $51.63B

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
MetricESPGDLHX
P/E 13.7x 22.4x 23.9x
P/FCF 65.0x 15.6x 15.8x
P/Operating cash flow 29.5x 13.0x –
P/S 3.6x 1.8x 1.1x
P/B 2.8x 3.7x 2.6x
P/Tangible book -2.3x 3.9x 3.7x
EV/EBITDA 10.1x 15.8x –
EV/EBIT 10.5x 18.3x –
EV/Revenue 2.7x 1.9x –
EV/FCF 47.4x 16.1x –
EV/Operating cash flow 21.5x 13.5x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.36 2.18 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESPGDLHX
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.9% 9.1% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 10.3% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 28.4% 8.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 26.5% 8.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 42.7% 9.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 39.2% 10.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) 37.3% 9.8% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 44.9% 10.0% –
EPS growth (1Y) 28.9% 8.8% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 37.8% 10.2% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -72.9% – –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.4% 23.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -84.5% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.7% 28.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESPGDLHX
Gross margin 35.3% 15.4% –
EBITDA margin 26.2% 12.0% –
Operating margin 25.1% 10.3% –
Pretax margin 28.9% 9.9% –
Net margin 24.2% 8.2% –
FCF margin 5.6% 11.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 12.3% 14.0% –
Return on equity 19.1% 17.0% –
Return on assets 11.6% 7.5% –
Return on invested capital – 13.6% –
Return on capital employed 19.3% 13.9% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.9x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.7x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 0.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESPGDLHX
Debt / assets – 12.5% –
Debt / equity – 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.5x –
Debt / FCF – 1.2x –
Liabilities / assets 37.7% 55.4% 51.5%
Equity / assets 62.3% 44.6% 46.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.5x 1.4x 1.2x
Quick ratio 1.5x 2.8x –
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score 4.84 4.25 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESPGDLHX
Dividend yield 2.7% 1.7% 1.8%
Net buyback yield -1.2% 0.4% –
Shareholder yield 1.5% 2.0% 1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 43.2% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 187.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 86.0% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.1% – –

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.

ConsensusESPGDLHX
Forward P/E 14.1xFY2027 21.1xFY2026 24.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.93FY2027 $17.56FY2026 $11.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.0%FY2027 +13.7%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -2.0% +8.9% +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $49.74MFY2027 $53.43BFY2026 $24.16BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.8%FY2027 +1.7%FY2026 +10.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.5% +12.6% +0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESPGDLHX
Held by institutions 35.4% 86.6% 87.5%
Institutions holding 78 2,220 1,692
Change in shares held, QoQ +15.0% +0.1% -0.5%
Institutions buying 50 1,020 848
Institutions selling 13 832 570
Buyers to sellers 3.85 1.23 1.49

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.

ESPGDLHX
ESP 1.00 0.03 0.06
GD 0.03 1.00 0.63
LHX 0.06 0.63 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESP, GD and LHX?

General Dynamics (GD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) $149.54M, General Dynamics (GD) $100.63B, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) $51.63B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESP, GD and LHX?

Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) 13.4x, General Dynamics (GD) 22.4x, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 23.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) is cheapest (Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) 14.1x, General Dynamics (GD) 21.1x, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 24.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

General Dynamics (GD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) +4.9%, General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) has the highest net margin (Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) 24.2%, General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) returned the most: Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) +41.6%, General Dynamics (GD) +8.1%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) -2.9%. Over five years, Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) compounded fastest (Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) +29.6%/yr, General Dynamics (GD) +12.9%/yr, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) 0.03%, General Dynamics (GD) 0.00%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 0.00%. General Dynamics (GD) and L3Harris Technologies (LHX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) 46.4%, General Dynamics (GD) 22.6%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESP, GD and LHX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Espey Mfg & Electronics (ESP) leads on 6. 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.