LHX vs NOC vs CW Stock Comparison

L3Harris Technologies, Northrop Grumman and Curtiss Wright Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CW Curtiss Wright Corp
$464.99 -14.6% 1M -16.8% 1Y
Market cap
$17.57B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.65B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Curtiss Wright leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Curtiss Wright 5, Northrop Grumman 4, L3Harris Technologies 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLHXNOCCWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.43B $80.39B $17.57B NOC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.0x 17.8x 32.5x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 18.1x 32.5x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +83.2% +6.5% +10.5% LHX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.8% 10.4% 14.8% CW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.8% 12.2% 14.7% CW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.7x 0.6x CW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.02% 0.00% LHX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.4% -8.9% -16.8% NOC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.7%/yr +6.3%/yr +28.6%/yr CW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.5% 28.5% 35.9% LHX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 58/100 68/100 CW

Percentile Scorecard

LHXNOCCW

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

AxisLHXNOCCW
Valuation 93 #8 of 100 73 #28 of 100 52 #49 of 100
Growth 82 #18 of 97 41 #58 of 97 60 #39 of 97
Profitability 72 #28 of 96 76 #24 of 96 95 #6 of 96
Financial Health 35 #69 of 106 42 #62 of 106 67 #36 of 106
Shareholder Returns 52 #32 of 65 61 #26 of 65 67 #22 of 65
Overall 67 58 68
  • LHX ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC 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

PeriodLHXNOCCWSPY
1 month +6.2%+7.2%-14.6% -1.0%
3 months -15.4%+1.7%-38.0% +2.9%
6 months -20.0%-4.1%-35.2% +6.4%
Year to date -13.5%-3.3%-15.7% +11.4%
1 year -13.4%-8.9%-16.8% +13.1%
3 years +46.8%+15.3%+134.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +13.7%+4.9%+32.9% +21.5%
5 years +3.8%+35.8%+251.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +0.7%+6.3%+28.6% +10.9%
10 years +180.5%+155.5%+455.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +10.9%+9.8%+18.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureLHXNOCCWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.5%28.5%35.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.9%28.2%38.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.18-0.021.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.47-0.31-0.47 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.4%-38.4%-41.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.9%-28.2%-41.3% -2.5%
52-week high $378.48$768.02$792.61 $779.14
52-week low $233.68$473.40$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.

MultipleLHXNOCCW
P/E now vs peer median 25.4xmedian 26.2x 17.3xmedian 26.2x 31.7xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x 4.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 14.7x 14.5xmedian 14.7x 21.9xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.8xmedian 24.9x 20.5xmedian 24.9x 27.5xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 2.4x 4.2xmedian 2.4x 6.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.77median 0.92 17.02median 0.92 1.54median 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 monthsLHXNOCCW
Revenue $39.15B $43.59B $3.65B
Gross profit $10.02B $8.73B $1.38B
Operating income $4.04B $4.63B $686.21M
Net income $1.87B $4.52B $541.18M
Free cash flow $2.81B $3.83B $625.29M
R&D – – $98.16M
EPS (diluted) $9.93 $31.74 $14.58
Cash & equivalents $1.52B $3.74B $477.15M
Total debt $45.19B $58.43B $957.39M
Shares (diluted) 187.30M 142.40M 37.12M
Enterprise value $44.91B $67.84B $16.15B

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
MetricLHXNOCCW
P/E 25.4x 17.3x 31.7x
P/FCF 16.8x 20.5x 27.5x
P/Operating cash flow 14.4x 14.9x 23.8x
P/S 1.2x 1.8x 4.7x
P/B 2.4x 4.2x 6.2x
P/Tangible book 3.5x 4.2x 7.6x
EV/EBITDA 10.9x 14.5x 21.9x
EV/EBIT 14.1x 19.3x 25.7x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 2.0x 4.8x
EV/FCF 20.2x 23.3x 28.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.2x 16.9x 24.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.77 17.02 1.54

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLHXNOCCW
Revenue growth (1Y) 83.2% 6.5% 10.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 29.6% 4.1% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 82.2% 9.8% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 27.7% 3.4% 11.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 86.9% 6.8% 17.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 32.2% 6.4% 14.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 10.0% 12.5% 19.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 32.5% -1.1% 19.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 9.9% 13.3% 22.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.0% 1.0% 20.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 31.3% 53.2% 25.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 12.5% 21.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 29.8% 108.8% 24.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 22.3% 19.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLHXNOCCW
Gross margin 25.6% 20.0% 37.7%
EBITDA margin 13.4% 14.1% 22.0%
Operating margin 10.3% 10.6% 18.8%
Pretax margin 9.7% 12.0% 18.9%
Net margin 4.8% 10.4% 14.8%
FCF margin 7.2% 8.8% 17.1%
Operating cash flow margin 8.4% 12.1% 19.7%
Return on equity 9.5% 24.7% 20.0%
Return on assets 4.4% 8.8% 10.1%
Return on invested capital 11.8% 12.2% 14.7%
Return on capital employed 12.0% 12.2% 17.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.3% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLHXNOCCW
Debt / assets 25.6% 27.5% 17.5%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.8x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.7x 0.6x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 3.8x 1.5x
Liabilities / assets 53.7% 64.4% 49.2%
Equity / assets 46.3% 35.6% 50.8%
Interest coverage – 7.1x 16.2x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.2x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.0x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.65 3.08 6.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLHXNOCCW
Dividend yield 1.9% 1.7% 0.2%
Net buyback yield 1.9% 0.7% 2.6%
Shareholder yield 3.9% 2.4% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 49.1% 30.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 32.8% 35.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.9% 8.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 7.4% –

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.

ConsensusLHXNOCCW
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2026 18.1xFY2026 32.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.43FY2026 $30.52FY2026 $14.31FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.5%FY2026 +15.9%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.6% +5.9% +11.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $24.17BFY2026 $42.94BFY2026 $4.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.6%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.3% +3.7% -3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLHXNOCCW
Held by institutions 87.5% 83.4% 85.6%
Institutions holding 1,691 1,809 946
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.5% +0.3% +2.8%
Institutions buying 847 840 479
Institutions selling 570 639 313
Buyers to sellers 1.49 1.31 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.

LHXNOCCW
LHX 1.00 0.65 0.36
NOC 0.65 1.00 0.31
CW 0.36 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LHX, NOC and CW?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) is the largest by market capitalisation: L3Harris Technologies (LHX) $48.43B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $80.39B, Curtiss Wright (CW) $17.57B.

Which stock is cheaper, LHX, NOC and CW?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 26.0x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.8x, Curtiss Wright (CW) 32.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 22.2x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.1x, Curtiss Wright (CW) 32.5x). 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: L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +83.2%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Curtiss Wright (CW) +10.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Curtiss Wright (CW) has the highest net margin (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 4.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.8%). On return on invested capital, Curtiss Wright (CW) leads (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 11.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 14.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Northrop Grumman (NOC) returned the most: L3Harris Technologies (LHX) -13.4%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -8.9%, Curtiss Wright (CW) -16.8%. Over five years, Curtiss Wright (CW) compounded fastest (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +0.7%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.3%/yr, Curtiss Wright (CW) +28.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

L3Harris Technologies (LHX) has the highest dividend yield: L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 0.02%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 0.00%. Curtiss Wright (CW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) has been the steadiest (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 28.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.5%, Curtiss Wright (CW) 35.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LHX, NOC 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 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.