HII vs AERG vs CW Stock Comparison

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Applied Energetics and Curtiss Wright Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CW Curtiss Wright Corp
$476.33 -11.8% 1M -16.6% 1Y
Market cap
$17.63B
P/E
32.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.65B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Curtiss Wright leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Curtiss Wright 7, Huntington Ingalls Industries 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHIIAERGCWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.12B $209.21M $17.63B CW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.8x -13.0x 32.6x HII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.6x — 33.2x HII
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.0% -82.5% +10.5% HII
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.0% -5,128.4% 14.8% CW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.9% — 14.7% CW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x — 0.6x CW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.3% -43.0% -16.6% HII
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.8%/yr -17.2%/yr +29.7%/yr CW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.5% 72.0% 36.0% CW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 18/100 68/100 CW

Percentile Scorecard

HIIAERGCW

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

AxisHIIAERGCW
Valuation 73 #28 of 100 5 #95 of 100 52 #49 of 100
Growth 27 #71 of 97 2 #95 of 97 59 #40 of 97
Profitability 62 #37 of 96 5 #91 of 96 95 #6 of 96
Financial Health 31 #73 of 105 53 #50 of 105 66 #36 of 105
Shareholder Returns 52 #31 of 64 24 #49 of 64 67 #22 of 64
Overall 49 18 68
  • HII ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • AERG ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • CW 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

PeriodHIIAERGCWSPY
1 month +6.5%+6.8%-11.8% -0.8%
3 months -2.5%-26.6%-35.9% +3.5%
6 months -21.6%-30.4%-33.6% +7.0%
Year to date -17.4%-48.1%-13.6% +12.2%
1 year -6.3%-43.0%-16.6% +13.0%
3 years +31.9%-59.7%+143.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +9.7%-26.1%+34.5% +23.1%
5 years +38.7%-61.0%+266.6% +68.6%
5 years, per year +6.8%-17.2%+29.7% +11.0%
10 years +76.4%—+465.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year +5.8%—+18.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureHIIAERGCWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.5%72.0%36.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.7%73.3%38.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.721.101.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.16-0.60-0.46 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.1%-84.1%-41.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -38.1%-51.8%-39.9% -1.8%
52-week high $453.73$1.95$792.61 $779.14
52-week low $257.01$0.68$464.99 $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.

MultipleHIIAERGCW
P/E now vs peer median 16.8xmedian 26.8x -13.4xmedian 26.8x 32.5xmedian 26.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.9x 688.9xmedian 2.9x 4.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.5xmedian 15.2x -13.8xmedian 15.2x 22.4xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -130.3xmedian 25.5x -20.8xmedian 25.5x 28.1xmedian 25.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.5x 99.0xmedian 2.5x 6.4xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.95median 0.94 0.40median 0.94 1.58median 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 monthsHIIAERGCW
Revenue $13.19B $313.97K $3.65B
Gross profit $5.53B $143.70K $1.38B
Operating income $698.00M -$16.17M $686.21M
Net income $661.00M -$16.07M $541.18M
Free cash flow -$85.00M -$10.40M $625.29M
R&D – $2.09M $98.16M
EPS (diluted) $16.73 $-0.07 $14.58
Cash & equivalents $12.00M $1.19M $477.15M
Total debt $10.67B – $957.39M
Shares (diluted) 39.50M 229.90M 37.12M
Enterprise value $9.80B $196.18M $16.22B

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
MetricHIIAERGCW
P/E 16.8x -13.4x 32.5x
P/FCF -130.3x -20.8x 28.1x
P/Operating cash flow 31.9x -21.1x 24.4x
P/S 0.8x 688.9x 4.8x
P/B 2.1x 99.0x 6.4x
P/Tangible book 2.4x 99.0x 7.8x
EV/EBITDA 13.5x -13.8x 22.4x
EV/EBIT 19.7x -13.3x 26.3x
EV/Revenue 1.0x 685.1x 4.9x
EV/FCF -161.9x -20.7x 28.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 39.7x -21.0x 25.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.95 0.40 1.58

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHIIAERGCW
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.0% -82.5% 10.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.6% -47.4% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.6% -83.3% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.5% -54.8% 11.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 35.3% -41.9% 17.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.4% -37.6% 14.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.9% -41.0% 19.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.3% -37.4% 19.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 25.6% -36.1% 22.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.6% -33.4% 20.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -66.4% -56.2% 25.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -19.1% -39.5% 21.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -112.7% -34.3% 24.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -30.7% -39.0% 19.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHIIAERGCW
Gross margin 41.9% 45.8% 37.7%
EBITDA margin 7.7% -4,975% 22.0%
Operating margin 5.3% -5,150% 18.8%
Pretax margin 6.4% -5,118% 18.9%
Net margin 5.0% -5,128% 14.8%
FCF margin -0.6% -3,312% 17.1%
Operating cash flow margin 2.6% -3,260% 19.7%
Return on equity 12.6% -440.1% 20.0%
Return on assets 5.2% -300.4% 10.1%
Return on invested capital 6.9% – 14.7%
Return on capital employed 7.0% -409.2% 17.3%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.1x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 0.6x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 1,759% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHIIAERGCW
Debt / assets 21.3% – 17.5%
Debt / equity 0.5x – 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x – 0.6x
Debt / FCF -31.8x – 1.5x
Liabilities / assets 58.1% 46.3% 49.2%
Equity / assets 41.9% 53.7% 50.8%
Interest coverage 7.1x – 16.2x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.6x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.9x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.9x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.81 6.92 6.37

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHIIAERGCW
Dividend yield 2.0% – 0.2%
Net buyback yield – -5.0% 2.5%
Shareholder yield 2.0% -5.0% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 32.7% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -254.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.9% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.1% – –

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.

ConsensusHIIAERGCW
Forward P/E 14.6xFY2026 – 33.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $19.23FY2026 – $14.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +25.0%FY2026 – +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.1% – +11.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.12BFY2026 – $4.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 – +15.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.3% – -3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHIIAERGCW
Held by institutions 88.5% 0.0% 85.6%
Institutions holding 806 1 946
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.2% – +2.8%
Institutions buying 354 0 479
Institutions selling 301 0 313
Buyers to sellers 1.18 – 1.53

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.

HIIAERGCW
HII 1.00 0.05 0.49
AERG 0.05 1.00 0.07
CW 0.49 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HII, AERG and CW?

Curtiss Wright (CW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) $11.12B, Applied Energetics (AERG) $209.21M, Curtiss Wright (CW) $17.63B.

Which stock is cheaper, HII, AERG and CW?

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 16.8x, Applied Energetics (AERG) -13.0x, Curtiss Wright (CW) 32.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is cheapest (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 14.6x, Curtiss Wright (CW) 33.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) +14.0%, Applied Energetics (AERG) -82.5%, Curtiss Wright (CW) +10.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Curtiss Wright (CW) has the highest net margin (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 5.0%, Applied Energetics (AERG) -5,128.4%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.8%). On return on invested capital, Curtiss Wright (CW) leads (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 6.9%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) returned the most: Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) -6.3%, Applied Energetics (AERG) -43.0%, Curtiss Wright (CW) -16.6%. Over five years, Curtiss Wright (CW) compounded fastest (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) +6.8%/yr, Applied Energetics (AERG) -17.2%/yr, Curtiss Wright (CW) +29.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 0.02%, Applied Energetics (AERG) 0.00%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 0.00%. Applied Energetics (AERG) and Curtiss Wright (CW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Curtiss Wright (CW) has been the steadiest (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 38.5%, Applied Energetics (AERG) 72.0%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 36.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HII, AERG and CW?

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 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.