HII vs NOC vs MSI Stock Comparison

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Northrop Grumman and Motorola Solutions Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Motorola Solutions leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Motorola Solutions 6, Huntington Ingalls Industries 4, Northrop Grumman 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHIINOCMSILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.09B $80.39B $80.49B MSI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.8x 17.8x 37.7x HII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.3x 18.1x 26.2x HII
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.0% +6.5% +10.3% HII
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.0% 10.4% 17.4% MSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.9% 12.2% 20.3% MSI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 1.7x 2.3x NOC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.02% 0.01% HII
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.5% -8.9% +8.4% MSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.2%/yr +6.3%/yr +14.1%/yr MSI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.5% 28.5% 26.2% MSI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 58/100 55/100 NOC

Percentile Scorecard

HIINOCMSI

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

AxisHIINOCMSI
Valuation 74 #27 of 100 73 #28 of 100 48 #53 of 100
Growth 25 #73 of 97 41 #58 of 97 45 #54 of 97
Profitability 62 #37 of 96 76 #24 of 96 99 #2 of 96
Financial Health 31 #73 of 106 42 #62 of 106 21 #84 of 106
Shareholder Returns 53 #31 of 65 61 #26 of 65 63 #25 of 65
Overall 49 58 55
  • HII ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • MSI 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

PeriodHIINOCMSISPY
1 month +1.6%+7.2%+4.6% -1.0%
3 months -4.7%+1.7%+15.4% +2.9%
6 months -23.7%-4.1%+10.0% +6.4%
Year to date -19.4%-3.3%+25.7% +11.4%
1 year -5.5%-8.9%+8.4% +13.1%
3 years +27.9%+15.3%+71.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +8.5%+4.9%+19.7% +21.5%
5 years +28.8%+35.8%+93.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +5.2%+6.3%+14.1% +10.9%
10 years +76.0%+155.5%+554.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +5.8%+9.8%+20.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureHIINOCMSISPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.5%28.5%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.7%28.2%27.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.72-0.020.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.14-0.310.32 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.1%-38.4%-27.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.6%-28.2%-1.9% -2.5%
52-week high $453.73$768.02$491.32 $779.14
52-week low $257.01$473.40$363.83 $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.

MultipleHIINOCMSI
P/E now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 26.2x 17.3xmedian 26.2x 37.4xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x 6.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.2xmedian 14.7x 14.5xmedian 14.7x 24.5xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -127.0xmedian 24.9x 20.5xmedian 24.9x 29.8xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.4x 4.2xmedian 2.4x 29.7xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.90median 0.92 17.02median 0.92 2.83median 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 monthsHIINOCMSI
Revenue $13.19B $43.59B $12.24B
Gross profit $5.53B $8.73B $6.36B
Operating income $698.00M $4.63B $3.05B
Net income $661.00M $4.52B $2.14B
Free cash flow -$85.00M $3.83B $2.68B
R&D – – $1.02B
EPS (diluted) $16.73 $31.74 $12.76
Cash & equivalents $12.00M $3.74B $710.00M
Total debt $10.67B $58.43B $36.50B
Shares (diluted) 39.50M 142.40M 167.20M
Enterprise value $9.77B $67.84B $76.84B

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
MetricHIINOCMSI
P/E 16.4x 17.3x 37.4x
P/FCF -127.0x 20.5x 29.8x
P/Operating cash flow 31.1x 14.9x 26.8x
P/S 0.8x 1.8x 6.5x
P/B 2.0x 4.2x 29.7x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 4.2x -303.3x
EV/EBITDA 13.2x 14.5x 24.5x
EV/EBIT 19.3x 19.3x 28.9x
EV/Revenue 1.0x 2.0x 7.2x
EV/FCF -158.7x 23.3x 32.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 38.9x 16.9x 29.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.90 17.02 2.83

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHIINOCMSI
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.0% 6.5% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 4.1% 8.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.6% 9.8% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 3.4% 11.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 35.3% 6.8% 8.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 6.4% 15.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.9% 12.5% 0.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.3% -1.1% 12.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 25.6% 13.3% 1.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 1.0% 13.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -66.4% 53.2% 13.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -19.1% 12.5% 19.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -112.7% 108.8% 12.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -30.7% 22.3% 21.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHIINOCMSI
Gross margin 41.9% 20.0% 52.0%
EBITDA margin 7.7% 14.1% 29.4%
Operating margin 5.3% 10.6% 24.9%
Pretax margin 6.4% 12.0% 22.6%
Net margin 5.0% 10.4% 17.4%
FCF margin -0.6% 8.8% 21.9%
Operating cash flow margin 2.6% 12.1% 24.3%
Return on equity 12.6% 24.7% 81.5%
Return on assets 5.2% 8.8% 11.2%
Return on invested capital 6.9% 12.2% 20.3%
Return on capital employed 7.0% 12.2% 22.4%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.3% 2.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHIINOCMSI
Debt / assets 21.3% 27.5% 46.9%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.8x 3.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 1.7x 2.3x
Debt / FCF -31.8x 3.8x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 58.1% 64.4% 86.0%
Equity / assets 41.9% 35.6% 14.0%
Interest coverage 7.1x 7.1x 6.9x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.2x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.79 3.08 4.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHIINOCMSI
Dividend yield 2.0% 1.7% 1.0%
Net buyback yield – 0.7% 1.3%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 2.4% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 32.7% 30.2% 35.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) -254.1% 35.6% 28.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.9% 8.0% 10.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 7.4% 11.0%

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.

ConsensusHIINOCMSI
Forward P/E 14.3xFY2026 18.1xFY2026 26.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $19.23FY2026 $30.52FY2026 $18.41FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +25.0%FY2026 +15.9%FY2026 +19.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.9% +5.9% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.12BFY2026 $42.94BFY2026 $12.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.3% +3.7% +8.2%
HII estimates →NOC estimates →MSI estimates →

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHIINOCMSI
Held by institutions 88.5% 83.4% 88.3%
Institutions holding 806 1,809 1,466
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.2% +0.3% +3.4%
Institutions buying 354 840 639
Institutions selling 301 639 596
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.31 1.07
HII holders →NOC holders →MSI holders →

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.

HIINOCMSI
HII 1.00 0.52 0.19
NOC 0.52 1.00 0.22
MSI 0.19 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry
HII · Defense
+LMTLockheed Martin +GDGeneral Dynamics +LHXL3Harris Technologies +ESLTElbit Systems +TDYTeledyne Technologies +LDOSLeidos Holdings +CWCurtiss Wright +CACICaci International
Plot all 204 Defense stocks →

Related Comparisons

HII vs LMTLockheed Martin HII vs GDGeneral Dynamics HII vs LHXL3Harris Technologies HII vs ESLTElbit Systems

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HII, NOC and MSI?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) $11.09B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $80.39B, Motorola Solutions (MSI) $80.49B.

Which stock is cheaper, HII, NOC and MSI?

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 16.8x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.8x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 37.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is cheapest (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 14.3x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.1x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.2x). 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%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) has the highest net margin (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 5.0%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 17.4%). On return on invested capital, Motorola Solutions (MSI) leads (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 6.9%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 20.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Motorola Solutions (MSI) returned the most: Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) -5.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -8.9%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +8.4%. Over five years, Motorola Solutions (MSI) compounded fastest (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) +5.2%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.3%/yr, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has the highest dividend yield: Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 0.02%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Motorola Solutions (MSI) has been the steadiest (Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 38.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.5%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HII, NOC and MSI?

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