NOC vs GD vs MSI Stock Comparison

Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and Motorola Solutions Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GD General Dynamics Corp
$349.38 +1.8% 1M +2.3% 1Y
Market cap
$96.32B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.86B
Div. yield
–
Defense Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionNOCGDMSILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $80.39B $96.32B $80.49B GD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.8x 21.5x 37.7x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.1x 19.9x 26.2x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +9.1% +10.3% MSI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.4% 8.2% 17.4% MSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.2% 13.6% 20.3% MSI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 0.5x 2.3x GD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.01% NOC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.9% +2.3% +8.4% MSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.3%/yr +10.8%/yr +14.1%/yr MSI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.5% 22.3% 26.2% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 73/100 55/100 GD

Percentile Scorecard

NOCGDMSI

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

AxisNOCGDMSI
Valuation 73 #28 of 100 86 #15 of 100 48 #53 of 100
Growth 41 #58 of 97 54 #45 of 97 45 #54 of 97
Profitability 76 #24 of 96 77 #23 of 96 99 #2 of 96
Financial Health 42 #62 of 106 62 #41 of 106 21 #84 of 106
Shareholder Returns 61 #26 of 65 88 #9 of 65 63 #25 of 65
Overall 58 73 55
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • GD 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

PeriodNOCGDMSISPY
1 month +7.2%+1.8%+4.6% -1.0%
3 months +1.7%-9.6%+15.4% +2.9%
6 months -4.1%+11.5%+10.0% +6.4%
Year to date -3.3%+3.8%+25.7% +11.4%
1 year -8.9%+2.3%+8.4% +13.1%
3 years +15.3%+49.9%+71.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +4.9%+14.5%+19.7% +21.5%
5 years +35.8%+66.8%+93.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +6.3%+10.8%+14.1% +10.9%
10 years +155.5%+132.6%+554.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +9.8%+8.8%+20.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNOCGDMSISPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.5%22.3%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.2%20.9%27.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.020.340.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.310.100.32 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-23.0%-27.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.2%-11.8%-1.9% -2.5%
52-week high $768.02$395.97$491.32 $779.14
52-week low $473.40$312.53$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.

MultipleNOCGDMSI
P/E now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 26.2x 21.0xmedian 26.2x 37.4xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 1.7xmedian 2.9x 6.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 14.7x 14.9xmedian 14.7x 24.5xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.5xmedian 24.9x 14.7xmedian 24.9x 29.8xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.4x 3.5xmedian 2.4x 29.7xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 17.02median 0.92 2.05median 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 monthsNOCGDMSI
Revenue $43.59B $54.86B $12.24B
Gross profit $8.73B $8.44B $6.36B
Operating income $4.63B $5.66B $3.05B
Net income $4.52B $4.49B $2.14B
Free cash flow $3.83B $6.45B $2.68B
R&D – – $1.02B
EPS (diluted) $31.74 $16.40 $12.76
Cash & equivalents $3.74B $4.33B $710.00M
Total debt $58.43B $32.26B $36.50B
Shares (diluted) 142.40M 273.52M 167.20M
Enterprise value $67.84B $83.43B $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
MetricNOCGDMSI
P/E 17.3x 21.0x 37.4x
P/FCF 20.5x 14.7x 29.8x
P/Operating cash flow 14.9x 12.3x 26.8x
P/S 1.8x 1.7x 6.5x
P/B 4.2x 3.5x 29.7x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 3.7x -303.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.5x 14.9x 24.5x
EV/EBIT 19.3x 17.3x 28.9x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 1.8x 7.2x
EV/FCF 23.3x 15.2x 32.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.9x 12.7x 29.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 17.02 2.05 2.83

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNOCGDMSI
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 9.1% 10.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 10.3% 8.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.8% 8.9% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 8.6% 11.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% 9.4% 8.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 10.3% 15.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.5% 9.8% 0.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.1% 10.0% 12.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.3% 8.8% 1.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 10.2% 13.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 53.2% 53.3% 13.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 23.0% 19.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 108.8% 56.1% 12.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.3% 28.7% 21.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNOCGDMSI
Gross margin 20.0% 15.4% 52.0%
EBITDA margin 14.1% 12.0% 29.4%
Operating margin 10.6% 10.3% 24.9%
Pretax margin 12.0% 9.9% 22.6%
Net margin 10.4% 8.2% 17.4%
FCF margin 8.8% 11.8% 21.9%
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 14.0% 24.3%
Return on equity 24.7% 17.0% 81.5%
Return on assets 8.8% 7.5% 11.2%
Return on invested capital 12.2% 13.6% 20.3%
Return on capital employed 12.2% 13.9% 22.4%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.9x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.7x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.4% 2.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOCGDMSI
Debt / assets 27.5% 12.5% 46.9%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.3x 3.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 0.5x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 3.8x 1.2x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 64.4% 55.4% 86.0%
Equity / assets 35.6% 44.6% 14.0%
Interest coverage 7.1x – 6.9x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.4x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 2.8x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.08 4.15 4.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOCGDMSI
Dividend yield 1.7% 1.8% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 0.7% 0.4% 1.3%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 2.2% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 30.2% – 35.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% – 28.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.0% – 10.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusNOCGDMSI
Forward P/E 18.1xFY2026 19.9xFY2026 26.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $30.52FY2026 $17.55FY2026 $18.41FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.9%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026 +19.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.9% +9.0% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $42.94BFY2026 $53.42BFY2026 $12.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.7% +12.7% +8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOCGDMSI
Held by institutions 83.4% 86.5% 88.3%
Institutions holding 1,809 2,217 1,466
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +0.1% +3.4%
Institutions buying 840 1,018 639
Institutions selling 639 831 596
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.23 1.07

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.

NOCGDMSI
NOC 1.00 0.62 0.22
GD 0.62 1.00 0.22
MSI 0.22 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOC, GD and MSI?

General Dynamics (GD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Northrop Grumman (NOC) $80.39B, General Dynamics (GD) $96.32B, Motorola Solutions (MSI) $80.49B.

Which stock is cheaper, NOC, GD and MSI?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.8x, General Dynamics (GD) 21.5x, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 37.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.1x, General Dynamics (GD) 19.9x, 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?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Motorola Solutions (MSI) has the highest net margin (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 17.4%). On return on invested capital, Motorola Solutions (MSI) leads (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, General Dynamics (GD) 13.6%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 20.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Motorola Solutions (MSI) returned the most: Northrop Grumman (NOC) -8.9%, General Dynamics (GD) +2.3%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +8.4%. Over five years, Motorola Solutions (MSI) compounded fastest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.3%/yr, General Dynamics (GD) +10.8%/yr, Motorola Solutions (MSI) +14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest dividend yield: Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%, General Dynamics (GD) 0.00%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 0.01%. General Dynamics (GD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.5%, General Dynamics (GD) 22.3%, Motorola Solutions (MSI) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NOC, GD 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 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.