GD vs MSI vs LHX Stock Comparison

General Dynamics, Motorola Solutions and L3Harris Technologies Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

General Dynamics leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (General Dynamics 6, Motorola Solutions 4, L3Harris Technologies 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGDMSILHXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $96.32B $80.49B $48.43B GD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.5x 37.7x 26.0x GD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.9x 26.2x 22.2x GD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +10.3% +83.2% LHX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.2% 17.4% 4.8% MSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.6% 20.3% 11.8% MSI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 2.3x 1.8x GD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.02% LHX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.3% +8.4% -13.4% MSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.8%/yr +14.1%/yr +0.7%/yr MSI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.3% 26.2% 28.5% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 55/100 67/100 GD

Percentile Scorecard

GDMSILHX

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

AxisGDMSILHX
Valuation 86 #15 of 100 48 #53 of 100 93 #8 of 100
Growth 54 #45 of 97 45 #54 of 97 82 #18 of 97
Profitability 77 #23 of 96 99 #2 of 96 72 #28 of 96
Financial Health 62 #41 of 106 21 #84 of 106 35 #69 of 106
Shareholder Returns 88 #9 of 65 63 #25 of 65 52 #32 of 65
Overall 73 55 67
  • GD ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • MSI 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

PeriodGDMSILHXSPY
1 month +1.8%+4.6%+6.2% -1.0%
3 months -9.6%+15.4%-15.4% +2.9%
6 months +11.5%+10.0%-20.0% +6.4%
Year to date +3.8%+25.7%-13.5% +11.4%
1 year +2.3%+8.4%-13.4% +13.1%
3 years +49.9%+71.3%+46.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +14.5%+19.7%+13.7% +21.5%
5 years +66.8%+93.2%+3.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.8%+14.1%+0.7% +10.9%
10 years +132.6%+554.7%+180.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.8%+20.7%+10.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureGDMSILHXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.3%26.2%28.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.9%27.0%28.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.340.120.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.100.32-0.47 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.0%-27.9%-40.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.8%-1.9%-32.9% -2.5%
52-week high $395.97$491.32$378.48 $779.14
52-week low $312.53$363.83$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.

MultipleGDMSILHX
P/E now vs peer median 21.0xmedian 26.2x 37.4xmedian 26.2x 25.4xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 2.9x 6.5xmedian 2.9x 1.2xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 14.7x 24.5xmedian 14.7x 10.9xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 24.9x 29.8xmedian 24.9x 16.8xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.4x 29.7xmedian 2.4x 2.4xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.05median 0.92 2.83median 0.92 0.77median 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 monthsGDMSILHX
Revenue $54.86B $12.24B $39.15B
Gross profit $8.44B $6.36B $10.02B
Operating income $5.66B $3.05B $4.04B
Net income $4.49B $2.14B $1.87B
Free cash flow $6.45B $2.68B $2.81B
R&D – $1.02B –
EPS (diluted) $16.40 $12.76 $9.93
Cash & equivalents $4.33B $710.00M $1.52B
Total debt $32.26B $36.50B $45.19B
Shares (diluted) 273.52M 167.20M 187.30M
Enterprise value $83.43B $76.84B $44.91B

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
MetricGDMSILHX
P/E 21.0x 37.4x 25.4x
P/FCF 14.7x 29.8x 16.8x
P/Operating cash flow 12.3x 26.8x 14.4x
P/S 1.7x 6.5x 1.2x
P/B 3.5x 29.7x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 3.7x -303.3x 3.5x
EV/EBITDA 14.9x 24.5x 10.9x
EV/EBIT 17.3x 28.9x 14.1x
EV/Revenue 1.8x 7.2x 1.4x
EV/FCF 15.2x 32.9x 20.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.7x 29.6x 17.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.05 2.83 0.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGDMSILHX
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 10.3% 83.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 8.2% 29.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.9% 11.7% 82.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 11.3% 27.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.4% 8.9% 86.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 15.4% 32.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.8% 0.8% 10.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.0% 12.0% 32.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.8% 1.8% 9.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 13.2% 33.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 53.3% 13.9% 31.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.0% 19.4% 15.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 56.1% 12.3% 29.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.7% 21.4% 15.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGDMSILHX
Gross margin 15.4% 52.0% 25.6%
EBITDA margin 12.0% 29.4% 13.4%
Operating margin 10.3% 24.9% 10.3%
Pretax margin 9.9% 22.6% 9.7%
Net margin 8.2% 17.4% 4.8%
FCF margin 11.8% 21.9% 7.2%
Operating cash flow margin 14.0% 24.3% 8.4%
Return on equity 17.0% 81.5% 9.5%
Return on assets 7.5% 11.2% 4.4%
Return on invested capital 13.6% 20.3% 11.8%
Return on capital employed 13.9% 22.4% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.4x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 2.9% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGDMSILHX
Debt / assets 12.5% 46.9% 25.6%
Debt / equity 0.3x 3.4x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 2.3x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 1.2x 3.4x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 55.4% 86.0% 53.7%
Equity / assets 44.6% 14.0% 46.3%
Interest coverage – 6.9x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.1x 1.2x
Quick ratio 2.8x 0.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.15 4.28 2.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGDMSILHX
Dividend yield 1.8% 1.0% 1.9%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 1.3% 1.9%
Shareholder yield 2.2% 2.3% 3.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 35.8% 49.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 28.6% 32.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 10.7% 2.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 11.0% 2.1%

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.

ConsensusGDMSILHX
Forward P/E 19.9xFY2026 26.2xFY2026 22.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.55FY2026 $18.41FY2026 $11.43FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.6%FY2026 +19.7%FY2026 +6.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.0% +10.4% +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.42BFY2026 $12.12BFY2026 $24.17BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026 +10.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.7% +8.2% +0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGDMSILHX
Held by institutions 86.5% 88.3% 87.5%
Institutions holding 2,217 1,466 1,691
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.1% +3.4% -0.5%
Institutions buying 1,018 639 847
Institutions selling 831 596 570
Buyers to sellers 1.23 1.07 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.

GDMSILHX
GD 1.00 0.22 0.61
MSI 0.22 1.00 0.25
LHX 0.61 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GD, MSI and LHX?

General Dynamics (GD) is the largest by market capitalisation: General Dynamics (GD) $96.32B, Motorola Solutions (MSI) $80.49B, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) $48.43B.

Which stock is cheaper, GD, MSI and LHX?

General Dynamics (GD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (General Dynamics (GD) 21.5x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 37.7x, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 26.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, General Dynamics (GD) is cheapest (General Dynamics (GD) 19.9x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.2x, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 22.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

L3Harris Technologies (LHX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +10.3%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +83.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) has the highest net margin (General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 17.4%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Motorola Solutions (MSI) leads (General Dynamics (GD) 13.6%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 20.3%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 11.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Motorola Solutions (MSI) returned the most: General Dynamics (GD) +2.3%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +8.4%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) -13.4%. Over five years, Motorola Solutions (MSI) compounded fastest (General Dynamics (GD) +10.8%/yr, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +14.1%/yr, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

L3Harris Technologies (LHX) has the highest dividend yield: General Dynamics (GD) 0.00%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 0.01%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 0.02%. General Dynamics (GD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (General Dynamics (GD) 22.3%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.2%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 28.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GD, MSI 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, General Dynamics (GD) 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.