HWM vs NOC vs RTX Stock Comparison

Howmet Aerospace, Northrop Grumman and Rtx Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$191.96 -17.4% 1M -4.9% 1Y
Market cap
$76.78B
P/E
41.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.12B
Div. yield
0.26%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
6 wins
RTX RTX Corp
$194.54 +2.7% 1M +8.5% 1Y
Market cap
$262.52B
P/E
31.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$95.99B
Div. yield
1.45%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Howmet Aerospace leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Howmet Aerospace 6, Rtx 3, Northrop Grumman 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHWMNOCRTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $76.78B $78.32B $262.52B RTX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.1x 17.3x 31.3x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 37.0x 17.9x 27.2x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.1% +6.5% +11.6% HWM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.5% 10.4% 8.8% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 19.4% 12.2% 8.6% HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 1.7x 1.8x HWM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.26% 1.73% 1.45% NOC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.9% -7.5% +8.5% RTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +45.3%/yr +9.0%/yr +16.9%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.1% 28.7% 25.1% RTX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 58/100 57/100 HWM

Percentile Scorecard

HWMNOCRTX

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

AxisHWMNOCRTX
Valuation 40 #60 of 100 78 #23 of 100 63 #38 of 100
Growth 91 #10 of 97 38 #61 of 97 77 #23 of 97
Profitability 98 #3 of 96 78 #22 of 96 72 #28 of 96
Financial Health 49 #54 of 105 40 #63 of 105 30 #74 of 105
Shareholder Returns 88 #9 of 65 58 #28 of 65 44 #37 of 65
Overall 73 58 57
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • RTX 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

PeriodHWMNOCRTXSPY
1 month -17.4%+8.0%+2.7% -0.2%
3 months -32.9%+0.4%-11.0% +3.9%
6 months -20.2%-4.6%+10.7% +8.2%
Year to date -6.4%-3.3%+6.1% +12.9%
1 year -4.9%-7.5%+8.5% +12.3%
3 years +345.5%+16.5%+145.8% +87.4%
3 years, per year +64.6%+5.2%+35.0% +23.3%
5 years +546.3%+53.7%+118.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year +45.3%+9.0%+16.9% +10.9%
10 years —+144.6%+208.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+9.4%+11.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureHWMNOCRTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.1%28.7%25.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 36.4%28.4%23.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.10-0.010.27 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.14-0.260.34 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.5%-38.4%-33.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -34.4%-28.2%-13.7% -1.2%
52-week high $292.71$768.02$225.49 $779.14
52-week low $185.88$473.40$168.02 $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.

MultipleHWMNOCRTX
P/E now vs peer median 41.1xmedian 26.5x 17.3xmedian 26.5x 31.3xmedian 26.5x
P/S now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 3.0x 1.8xmedian 3.0x 2.7xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.9xmedian 14.6x 14.5xmedian 14.6x 18.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.9xmedian 26.4x 20.5xmedian 26.4x 27.6xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 13.4xmedian 2.5x 4.2xmedian 2.5x 3.7xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.76median 0.90 17.01median 0.90 0.77median 0.90

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 monthsHWMNOCRTX
Revenue $9.12B $43.59B $95.99B
Gross profit $3.29B $8.73B $20.25B
Operating income $2.50B $4.63B $11.30B
Net income $1.87B $4.52B $8.83B
Free cash flow $1.79B $3.83B $9.50B
R&D $37.00M – $2.85B
EPS (diluted) $4.65 $31.74 $6.14
Cash & equivalents $563.00M $3.74B $9.17B
Total debt $4.50B $58.43B $150.08B
Shares (diluted) 402.00M 142.40M 1.37B
Enterprise value $72.39B $65.77B $232.50B

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
MetricHWMNOCRTX
P/E 41.1x 17.3x 31.3x
P/FCF 42.9x 20.5x 27.6x
P/Operating cash flow 34.6x 14.9x 21.1x
P/S 8.4x 1.8x 2.7x
P/B 13.4x 4.2x 3.7x
P/Tangible book 15.8x 4.2x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 28.9x 14.5x 18.5x
EV/EBIT 32.4x 19.2x 25.7x
EV/Revenue 8.9x 2.0x 3.0x
EV/FCF 45.1x 23.2x 30.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 36.3x 16.9x 23.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.76 17.01 0.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHWMNOCRTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.1% 6.5% 11.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 4.1% 12.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 30.2% 9.8% 17.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 25.3% 3.4% 20.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 32.6% 6.8% 28.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.8% 6.4% 51.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 33.9% 12.5% 27.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 52.1% -1.1% 39.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 35.4% 13.3% 26.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 54.1% 1.0% 40.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 56.1% 53.2% 56.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 42.2% 12.5% 16.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 75.9% 108.8% 81.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 45.6% 22.3% 21.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHWMNOCRTX
Gross margin 36.0% 20.0% 21.1%
EBITDA margin 30.7% 14.1% 16.3%
Operating margin 27.4% 10.6% 11.8%
Pretax margin 25.0% 12.0% 11.3%
Net margin 20.5% 10.4% 8.8%
FCF margin 19.6% 8.8% 9.9%
Operating cash flow margin 24.4% 12.1% 13.0%
Return on equity 33.3% 24.7% 12.7%
Return on assets 14.2% 8.8% 5.0%
Return on invested capital 19.4% 12.2% 8.6%
Return on capital employed 23.0% 12.2% 10.1%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.3% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHWMNOCRTX
Debt / assets 34.0% 27.5% 21.2%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.8x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 1.7x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 2.5x 3.8x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 56.7% 64.4% 59.8%
Equity / assets 43.3% 35.6% 40.2%
Interest coverage – 7.1x –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.2x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 8.15 3.08 2.75

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHWMNOCRTX
Dividend yield 0.3% 1.7% 1.4%
Net buyback yield 1.3% 0.7% –
Shareholder yield 1.6% 2.4% 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 10.4% 30.2% 43.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 10.9% 35.6% 40.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 30.0% 8.0% 9.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 47.3% 7.4% 5.2%

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.

ConsensusHWMNOCRTX
Forward P/E 37.0xFY2026 17.9xFY2026 27.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.19FY2026 $30.81FY2026 $7.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +37.7%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 +13.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.2% +3.7% +6.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.37BFY2026 $42.95BFY2026 $99.89BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +25.7%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.9% +3.7% +2.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHWMNOCRTX
Held by institutions 91.0% 83.4% 79.9%
Institutions holding 1,600 1,809 3,414
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.7% +0.3% +15.9%
Institutions buying 907 840 1,718
Institutions selling 484 639 1,266
Buyers to sellers 1.87 1.31 1.36

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.

HWMNOCRTX
HWM 1.00 0.25 0.48
NOC 0.25 1.00 0.70
RTX 0.48 0.70 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HWM, NOC and RTX?

Rtx (RTX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $76.78B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $78.32B, Rtx (RTX) $262.52B.

Which stock is cheaper, HWM, NOC and RTX?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 41.1x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.3x, Rtx (RTX) 31.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.0x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.9x, Rtx (RTX) 27.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +18.1%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Rtx (RTX) +11.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 20.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Rtx (RTX) 8.8%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 19.4%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Rtx (RTX) 8.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Rtx (RTX) returned the most: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -4.9%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -7.5%, Rtx (RTX) +8.5%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +45.3%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +9.0%/yr, Rtx (RTX) +16.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest dividend yield: Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.26%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 1.73%, Rtx (RTX) 1.45%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Rtx (RTX) has been the steadiest (Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 35.1%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.7%, Rtx (RTX) 25.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HWM, NOC and RTX?

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