LHX vs NOC vs GD Stock Comparison

L3Harris Technologies, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GD General Dynamics Corp
$357.05 +6.1% 1M +1.8% 1Y
Market cap
$96.25B
P/E
21.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.86B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

General Dynamics leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (General Dynamics 7, Northrop Grumman 3, L3Harris Technologies 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLHXNOCGDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.02B $79.60B $96.25B GD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.8x 17.6x 21.4x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.7x 18.4x 20.3x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +83.2% +6.5% +9.1% LHX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.8% 10.4% 8.2% NOC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.8% 12.2% 13.6% GD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.7x 0.5x GD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.02% 0.00% LHX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.2% -6.6% +1.8% GD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr +7.8%/yr +11.7%/yr GD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.7% 28.6% 22.3% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 57/100 71/100 GD

Percentile Scorecard

LHXNOCGD

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

AxisLHXNOCGD
Valuation 93 #8 of 100 74 #27 of 100 85 #16 of 100
Growth 82 #18 of 97 39 #60 of 97 43 #56 of 97
Profitability 73 #27 of 96 77 #23 of 96 78 #22 of 96
Financial Health 36 #68 of 105 39 #65 of 105 62 #41 of 105
Shareholder Returns 51 #32 of 64 59 #27 of 64 86 #10 of 64
Overall 67 57 71
  • LHX ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • GD 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

PeriodLHXNOCGDSPY
1 month +9.5%+10.8%+6.1% -0.8%
3 months -14.2%+3.3%-8.2% +3.5%
6 months -18.8%-1.7%+14.2% +7.0%
Year to date -11.4%-0.8%+6.1% +12.2%
1 year -11.2%-6.6%+1.8% +13.0%
3 years +52.2%+19.5%+49.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +15.1%+6.1%+14.4% +23.1%
5 years +13.9%+45.7%+73.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +2.6%+7.8%+11.7% +11.0%
10 years +184.8%+147.9%+136.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +11.0%+9.5%+9.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLHXNOCGDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.7%28.6%22.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.1%28.3%20.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.190.000.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.39-0.230.08 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.4%-38.4%-23.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.2%-26.4%-9.8% -1.8%
52-week high $378.48$768.02$395.97 $779.14
52-week low $233.68$473.40$312.53 $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.

MultipleLHXNOCGD
P/E now vs peer median 26.1xmedian 26.8x 17.8xmedian 26.8x 21.5xmedian 26.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 15.2x 14.8xmedian 15.2x 15.2xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 25.5x 21.0xmedian 25.5x 15.0xmedian 25.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 2.5x 4.3xmedian 2.5x 3.6xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.79median 0.94 17.45median 0.94 2.10median 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 monthsLHXNOCGD
Revenue $39.15B $43.59B $54.86B
Gross profit $10.02B $8.73B $8.44B
Operating income $4.04B $4.63B $5.66B
Net income $1.87B $4.52B $4.49B
Free cash flow $2.81B $3.83B $6.45B
EPS (diluted) $9.93 $31.74 $16.40
Cash & equivalents $1.52B $3.74B $4.33B
Total debt $11.00B $58.43B $7.52B
Shares (diluted) 187.30M 142.40M 273.52M
Enterprise value $44.50B $67.05B $83.36B

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
MetricLHXNOCGD
P/E 26.1x 17.8x 21.5x
P/FCF 17.3x 21.0x 15.0x
P/Operating cash flow 14.7x 15.3x 12.5x
P/S 1.2x 1.8x 1.8x
P/B 2.4x 4.3x 3.6x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 4.3x 3.8x
EV/EBITDA 11.1x 14.8x 15.2x
EV/EBIT 14.4x 19.7x 17.6x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 2.1x 1.8x
EV/FCF 20.6x 23.8x 15.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.6x 17.3x 13.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.79 17.45 2.10

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLHXNOCGD
Revenue growth (1Y) 83.2% 6.5% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 29.6% 4.1% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 82.2% 9.8% 8.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 27.7% 3.4% 8.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 86.9% 6.8% 9.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 32.2% 6.4% 10.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 10.0% 12.5% 9.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 32.5% -1.1% 10.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 9.9% 13.3% 8.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.0% 1.0% 10.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 31.3% 53.2% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 12.5% 23.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 29.8% 108.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.2% 22.3% 28.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLHXNOCGD
Gross margin 25.6% 20.0% 15.4%
EBITDA margin 13.4% 14.1% 12.0%
Operating margin 10.3% 10.6% 10.3%
Pretax margin 9.7% 12.0% 9.9%
Net margin 4.8% 10.4% 8.2%
FCF margin 7.2% 8.8% 11.8%
Operating cash flow margin 8.4% 12.1% 14.0%
Return on equity 9.5% 24.7% 17.0%
Return on assets 4.4% 8.8% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 11.8% 12.2% 13.6%
Return on capital employed 12.0% 12.2% 13.9%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.8x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.2x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.3% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLHXNOCGD
Debt / assets 25.6% 27.5% 12.5%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.8x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.7x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 3.8x 1.2x
Liabilities / assets 53.7% 64.4% 55.4%
Equity / assets 46.3% 35.6% 44.6%
Interest coverage – 7.1x –
Current ratio 1.2x 1.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.0x 2.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.68 3.12 4.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLHXNOCGD
Dividend yield 1.9% 1.7% 1.8%
Net buyback yield 1.9% 0.7% 0.4%
Shareholder yield 3.8% 2.3% 2.1%
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.

ConsensusLHXNOCGD
Forward P/E 22.7xFY2026 18.4xFY2026 20.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.44FY2026 $30.81FY2026 $17.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.6%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.6% +3.7% +8.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $24.16BFY2026 $42.95BFY2026 $53.43BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.3% +3.7% +12.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLHXNOCGD
Held by institutions 87.5% 83.4% 86.5%
Institutions holding 1,691 1,809 2,217
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.5% +0.3% +0.1%
Institutions buying 847 840 1,018
Institutions selling 570 639 831
Buyers to sellers 1.49 1.31 1.23

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.

LHXNOCGD
LHX 1.00 0.65 0.61
NOC 0.65 1.00 0.62
GD 0.61 0.62 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LHX, NOC and GD?

General Dynamics (GD) is the largest by market capitalisation: L3Harris Technologies (LHX) $48.02B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $79.60B, General Dynamics (GD) $96.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, LHX, NOC and GD?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 25.8x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.6x, General Dynamics (GD) 21.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 22.7x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.4x, General Dynamics (GD) 20.3x). 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%, General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest net margin (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 4.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%). On return on invested capital, General Dynamics (GD) leads (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 11.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, General Dynamics (GD) 13.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year General Dynamics (GD) returned the most: L3Harris Technologies (LHX) -11.2%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -6.6%, General Dynamics (GD) +1.8%. Over five years, General Dynamics (GD) compounded fastest (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +2.6%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +7.8%/yr, General Dynamics (GD) +11.7%/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%, General Dynamics (GD) 0.00%. General Dynamics (GD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 28.7%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.6%, General Dynamics (GD) 22.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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