GD vs NOC vs ESLT Stock Comparison

General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Elbit Systems Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GD General Dynamics Corp
$357.05 +6.1% 1M +1.8% 1Y
Market cap
$96.60B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.86B
Div. yield
1.76%
Defense Industrials
4 wins
ESLT Elbit Systems Ltd
$777.96 +5.8% 1M +58.2% 1Y
Market cap
$36.13B
P/E
55.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.55B
Div. yield
0.48%
Defense Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionGDNOCESLTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $96.60B $80.32B $36.13B GD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.5x 17.8x 55.9x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.3x 18.4x 55.8x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +6.5% +13.7% ESLT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.2% 10.4% 7.4% NOC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.6% 12.2% 17.8% ESLT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 1.7x -0.9x ESLT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.76% 1.69% 0.48% GD
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.8% -6.6% +58.2% ESLT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.7%/yr +7.8%/yr +37.4%/yr ESLT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.3% 28.6% 44.8% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 57/100 60/100 GD

Percentile Scorecard

GDNOCESLT

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

AxisGDNOCESLT
Valuation 85 #16 of 100 74 #27 of 100 46 #55 of 100
Growth 43 #56 of 97 39 #60 of 97 88 #13 of 97
Profitability 78 #22 of 96 77 #23 of 96 74 #26 of 96
Financial Health 62 #41 of 105 39 #65 of 105 58 #45 of 105
Shareholder Returns 86 #10 of 64 59 #27 of 64 37 #41 of 64
Overall 71 57 60
  • GD ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • ESLT 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

PeriodGDNOCESLTSPY
1 month +6.1%+10.8%+5.8% -0.8%
3 months -8.2%+3.3%-4.3% +3.5%
6 months +14.2%-1.7%-5.1% +7.0%
Year to date +6.1%-0.8%+34.7% +12.2%
1 year +1.8%-6.6%+58.2% +13.0%
3 years +49.9%+19.5%+318.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +14.4%+6.1%+61.2% +23.1%
5 years +73.5%+45.7%+389.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +11.7%+7.8%+37.4% +11.0%
10 years +136.2%+147.9%+696.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.0%+9.5%+23.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGDNOCESLTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.3%28.6%44.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.9%28.3%39.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.330.000.71 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.08-0.231.30 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.0%-38.4%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.8%-26.4%-23.3% -1.8%
52-week high $395.97$768.02$1,014.33 $779.14
52-week low $312.53$473.40$454.95 $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.

MultipleGDNOCESLT
P/E now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 26.8x 17.8xmedian 26.8x 55.9xmedian 26.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x 4.2xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 15.2x 14.8xmedian 15.2x 36.4xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 25.5x 21.0xmedian 25.5x 36.4xmedian 25.5x
P/B now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 2.5x 4.3xmedian 2.5x 8.2xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 2.10median 0.94 17.45median 0.94 1.78median 0.94

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 monthsGDNOCESLT
Revenue $54.86B $43.59B $8.55B
Gross profit $8.44B $8.73B $2.14B
Operating income $5.66B $4.63B $787.82M
Net income $4.49B $4.52B $636.61M
Free cash flow $6.45B $3.83B $992.19M
R&D – – $582.72M
EPS (diluted) $16.40 $31.74 $13.56
Cash & equivalents $4.33B $3.74B $255.34M
Total debt $7.52B $58.43B $92.13M
Shares (diluted) 273.52M 142.40M 46.92M
Enterprise value $83.72B $67.78B $32.69B

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
MetricGDNOCESLT
P/E 21.5x 17.8x 55.9x
P/FCF 15.0x 21.0x 36.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.5x 15.3x 36.4x
P/S 1.8x 1.8x 4.2x
P/B 3.6x 4.3x 8.2x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 4.3x 8.2x
EV/EBITDA 15.2x 14.8x 36.4x
EV/EBIT 17.6x 19.7x 44.8x
EV/Revenue 1.8x 2.1x 4.1x
EV/FCF 15.5x 23.8x 35.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.0x 17.3x 35.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.10 17.45 1.78

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGDNOCESLT
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 6.5% 13.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 4.1% 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.9% 9.8% 18.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 3.4% 14.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.4% 6.8% 37.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 6.4% 26.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.8% 12.5% 58.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 10.0% -1.1% 33.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.8% 13.3% 50.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 1.0% 31.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 53.2% 22.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.0% 12.5% 82.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 108.8% 105.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.7% 22.3% 175.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGDNOCESLT
Gross margin 15.4% 20.0% 25.0%
EBITDA margin 12.0% 14.1% 11.3%
Operating margin 10.3% 10.6% 9.2%
Pretax margin 9.9% 12.0% 8.1%
Net margin 8.2% 10.4% 7.4%
FCF margin 11.8% 8.8% 11.6%
Operating cash flow margin 14.0% 12.1% 11.6%
Return on equity 17.0% 24.7% 14.7%
Return on assets 7.5% 8.8% 4.7%
Return on invested capital 13.6% 12.2% 17.8%
Return on capital employed 13.9% 12.2% 11.0%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.2x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.3% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGDNOCESLT
Debt / assets 12.5% 27.5% 0.7%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.8x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 1.7x -0.9x
Debt / FCF 1.2x 3.8x 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 55.4% 64.4% 68.2%
Equity / assets 44.6% 35.6% 31.8%
Interest coverage – 7.1x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 2.8x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.18 3.12 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGDNOCESLT
Dividend yield 1.8% 1.7% 0.5%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 0.7% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 2.3% 0.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 30.2% 22.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 35.6% 14.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 8.0% -54.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 7.4% -17.4%

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.

ConsensusGDNOCESLT
Forward P/E 20.3xFY2026 18.4xFY2026 55.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.56FY2026 $30.81FY2026 $13.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.7%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 +22.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.9% +3.7% +21.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.43BFY2026 $42.95BFY2026 $8.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 +11.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.6% +3.7% +21.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGDNOCESLT
Held by institutions 86.5% 83.4% 19.9%
Institutions holding 2,217 1,809 384
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.1% +0.3% -7.1%
Institutions buying 1,018 840 202
Institutions selling 831 639 106
Buyers to sellers 1.23 1.31 1.91

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.

GDNOCESLT
GD 1.00 0.62 0.41
NOC 0.62 1.00 0.40
ESLT 0.41 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GD, NOC and ESLT?

General Dynamics (GD) is the largest by market capitalisation: General Dynamics (GD) $96.60B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $80.32B, Elbit Systems (ESLT) $36.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, GD, NOC and ESLT?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (General Dynamics (GD) 21.5x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.8x, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 55.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (General Dynamics (GD) 20.3x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.4x, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 55.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Elbit Systems (ESLT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +13.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest net margin (General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 7.4%). On return on invested capital, Elbit Systems (ESLT) leads (General Dynamics (GD) 13.6%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 17.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Elbit Systems (ESLT) returned the most: General Dynamics (GD) +1.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -6.6%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +58.2%. Over five years, Elbit Systems (ESLT) compounded fastest (General Dynamics (GD) +11.7%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +7.8%/yr, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +37.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

General Dynamics (GD) has the highest dividend yield: General Dynamics (GD) 1.76%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 1.69%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 0.48%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (General Dynamics (GD) 22.3%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.6%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 44.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GD, NOC and ESLT?

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