FLY vs GD vs SPCE Stock Comparison

Firefly Aerospace, General Dynamics and Virgin Galactic Holdings Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GD General Dynamics Corp
$349.38 +1.8% 1M +2.3% 1Y
Market cap
$96.32B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.86B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

General Dynamics leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (General Dynamics 7, Firefly Aerospace 1, Virgin Galactic Holdings 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFLYGDSPCELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.95B $96.32B $281.88M GD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -8.0x 21.5x -1.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 19.9x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +179.2% +9.1% -28.3% FLY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -129.1% 8.2% -20,567.7% GD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -25.8% 13.6% -43.2% GD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 0.5x 0.1x SPCE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -29.8% +2.3% -37.8% GD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +10.8%/yr -63.7%/yr GD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 106.8% 22.3% 110.9% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 73/100 23/100 GD

Percentile Scorecard

FLYGDSPCE

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

AxisFLYGDSPCE
Valuation 17 #83 of 100 86 #15 of 100 20 #80 of 100
Growth 59 #40 of 97 54 #45 of 97 35 #63 of 97
Profitability 22 #75 of 96 77 #23 of 96 1 #95 of 96
Financial Health 70 #33 of 106 62 #41 of 106 34 #70 of 106
Shareholder Returns 9 #59 of 65 88 #9 of 65 –
Overall 36 73 23
  • FLY ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • GD ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • SPCE 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

PeriodFLYGDSPCESPY
1 month -16.8%+1.8%-20.8% -1.0%
3 months -7.4%-9.6%-1.2% +2.9%
6 months -48.1%+11.5%-4.3% +6.4%
Year to date -18.5%+3.8%-23.1% +11.4%
1 year -29.8%+2.3%-37.8% +13.1%
3 years —+49.9%-91.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year —+14.5%-56.8% +21.5%
5 years —+66.8%-99.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year —+10.8%-63.7% +10.9%
10 years —+132.6%— +255.2%
10 years, per year —+8.8%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureFLYGDSPCESPY
Volatility, 1Y 106.8%22.3%110.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 99.1%20.9%110.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.430.342.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.280.10-0.34 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.0%-23.0%-99.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -69.0%-11.8%-67.2% -2.5%
52-week high $58.81$395.97$7.52 $779.14
52-week low $16.31$312.53$2.17 $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.

MultipleFLYGDSPCE
P/E now vs peer median -8.0xmedian 26.2x 21.0xmedian 26.2x -1.1xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 2.9x 1.7xmedian 2.9x 224.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -8.3xmedian 14.7x 14.9xmedian 14.7x -1.0xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.3xmedian 24.9x 14.7xmedian 24.9x —median 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 2.4x 3.5xmedian 2.4x 0.7xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.92 2.05median 0.92 -0.02median 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 monthsFLYGDSPCE
Revenue $287.01M $54.86B $1.22M
Gross profit $65.79M $8.44B -$78.91M
Operating income -$338.66M $5.66B -$261.82M
Net income -$363.46M $4.49B -$250.31M
Free cash flow -$326.49M $6.45B –
R&D $245.37M – $51.50M
EPS (diluted) $-2.29 $16.40 $-2.26
Cash & equivalents $459.82M $4.33B $187.34M
Total debt $372.55M $32.26B $219.04M
Shares (diluted) 161.78M 273.52M 110.76M
Enterprise value -$123.28M $83.43B -$1.14B

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
MetricFLYGDSPCE
P/E -8.0x 21.0x -1.1x
P/FCF -9.3x 14.7x –
P/Operating cash flow -11.5x 12.3x –
P/S 10.6x 1.7x 224.8x
P/B 2.5x 3.5x 0.7x
P/Tangible book 2.8x 3.7x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA -8.3x 14.9x -1.0x
EV/EBIT -7.2x 17.3x -0.9x
EV/Revenue 8.4x 1.8x 195.2x
EV/FCF -7.4x 15.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow -9.2x 12.7x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 2.05 -0.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFLYGDSPCE
Revenue growth (1Y) 179.2% 9.1% -28.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 10.3% -32.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1,165% 8.9% -7.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 8.6% -272.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -51.0% 9.4% 18.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 10.3% 24.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -46.1% 9.8% 17.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 10.0% 24.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 89.5% 8.8% 65.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 10.2% 61.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -63.7% 53.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 23.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -77.2% 56.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 28.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFLYGDSPCE
Gross margin 22.9% 15.4% -6,484%
EBITDA margin -102.3% 12.0% -20,037%
Operating margin -118.0% 10.3% -21,514%
Pretax margin -139.6% 9.9% -20,565%
Net margin -129.1% 8.2% -20,568%
FCF margin -113.8% 11.8% –
Operating cash flow margin -92.1% 14.0% –
Return on equity -31.2% 17.0% -74.7%
Return on assets -23.2% 7.5% -30.9%
Return on invested capital -25.8% 13.6% -43.2%
Return on capital employed -26.6% 13.9% -42.4%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.9x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x 1.7x –
Stock comp / revenue 16.1% 0.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFLYGDSPCE
Debt / assets 1.6% 12.5% 26.8%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.3x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 0.5x 0.1x
Debt / FCF -0.1x 1.2x –
Liabilities / assets 25.4% 55.4% 51.5%
Equity / assets 74.6% 44.6% 48.5%
Interest coverage -18.2x – -22.7x
Current ratio 2.7x 1.4x 1.6x
Quick ratio 2.4x 2.8x 1.3x
Cash ratio 2.2x 0.2x 1.3x
Altman Z-score 3.20 4.15 -5.42

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFLYGDSPCE
Dividend yield – 1.8% –
Net buyback yield -39.3% 0.4% –
Shareholder yield -39.3% 2.2% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusFLYGDSPCE
Forward P/E – 19.9xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.90FY2026 $17.55FY2026 $-2.15FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +13.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – +9.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $464.32MFY2026 $53.42BFY2026 $2.15MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +190.5%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +39.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +41.1% +12.7% +11,899.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFLYGDSPCE
Held by institutions 57.0% 86.5% 51.5%
Institutions holding 267 2,217 192
Change in shares held, QoQ +46.3% +0.1% +238.1%
Institutions buying 211 1,018 130
Institutions selling 34 831 21
Buyers to sellers 6.21 1.23 6.19

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.

FLYGDSPCE
FLY 1.00 0.26 0.39
GD 0.26 1.00 0.12
SPCE 0.39 0.12 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FLY, GD and SPCE?

General Dynamics (GD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Firefly Aerospace (FLY) $2.95B, General Dynamics (GD) $96.32B, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) $281.88M.

Which company is growing faster?

Firefly Aerospace (FLY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Firefly Aerospace (FLY) +179.2%, General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -28.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

General Dynamics (GD) has the highest net margin (Firefly Aerospace (FLY) -129.1%, General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -20,567.7%). On return on invested capital, General Dynamics (GD) leads (Firefly Aerospace (FLY) -25.8%, General Dynamics (GD) 13.6%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -43.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year General Dynamics (GD) returned the most: Firefly Aerospace (FLY) -29.8%, General Dynamics (GD) +2.3%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -37.8%. Over five years, General Dynamics (GD) compounded fastest (General Dynamics (GD) +10.8%/yr, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -63.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (Firefly Aerospace (FLY) 106.8%, General Dynamics (GD) 22.3%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) 110.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FLY, GD and SPCE?

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 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.