NOC vs KBR Stock Comparison

Northrop Grumman and Kbr Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KBR Kbr, Inc.
$40.01 +15.9% 1M -9.2% 1Y
Market cap
$5.06B
P/E
11.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.72B
Div. yield
0.02%
Defense Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Northrop Grumman leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Northrop Grumman 8, Kbr 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNOCKBRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $78.25B $5.06B NOC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.3x 11.9x KBR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.4x 9.7x KBR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% -3.6% NOC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.4% 5.5% NOC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.2% 13.0% KBR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 2.5x NOC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.02% NOC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.6% -9.2% NOC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.8%/yr -1.1%/yr NOC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 33.9% NOC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 59/100 KBR

Percentile Scorecard

NOCKBR

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

AxisNOCKBR
Valuation 74 #27 of 100 99 #2 of 100
Growth 39 #60 of 97 44 #55 of 97
Profitability 77 #23 of 96 66 #33 of 96
Financial Health 39 #65 of 105 16 #88 of 105
Shareholder Returns 59 #27 of 64 70 #20 of 64
Overall 57 59
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • KBR 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

PeriodNOCKBRSPY
1 month +10.8%+15.9% -0.8%
3 months +3.3%+8.7% +3.5%
6 months -1.7%+13.4% +7.0%
Year to date -0.8%-0.5% +12.2%
1 year -6.6%-9.2% +13.0%
3 years +19.5%-30.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +6.1%-11.2% +23.1%
5 years +45.7%-5.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +7.8%-1.1% +11.0%
10 years +147.9%+172.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.5%+10.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNOCKBRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%33.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.3%34.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.000.54 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.23-0.27 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-58.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.4%-11.0% -1.8%
52-week high $768.02$44.98 $779.14
52-week low $473.40$30.06 $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.

MultipleNOCKBR
P/E now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 26.8x 11.9xmedian 26.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 0.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 15.2x 8.1xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.0xmedian 25.5x 14.2xmedian 25.5x
P/B now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.5x 3.1xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 17.45median 0.94 0.14median 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 monthsNOCKBR
Revenue $43.59B $7.72B
Gross profit $8.73B $1.12B
Operating income $4.63B $734.00M
Net income $4.52B $429.00M
Free cash flow $3.83B $355.00M
EPS (diluted) $31.74 $3.34
Cash & equivalents $3.74B $312.00M
Total debt $58.43B $2.55B
Shares (diluted) 142.40M 127.00M
Enterprise value $65.71B $3.33B

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
MetricNOCKBR
P/E 17.8x 11.9x
P/FCF 21.0x 14.2x
P/Operating cash flow 15.3x 12.3x
P/S 1.8x 0.7x
P/B 4.3x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 4.3x 5.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.8x 8.1x
EV/EBIT 19.7x 9.9x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 0.9x
EV/FCF 23.8x 20.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.3x 17.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 17.45 0.14

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNOCKBR
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% -3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.8% -4.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 6.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% 3.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 22.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.5% 16.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.1% 86.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.3% 18.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 87.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 53.2% -18.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% -4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 108.8% -22.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.3% -2.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNOCKBR
Gross margin 20.0% 14.5%
EBITDA margin 14.1% 11.7%
Operating margin 10.6% 9.5%
Pretax margin 12.0% 7.5%
Net margin 10.4% 5.5%
FCF margin 8.8% 4.6%
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 5.3%
Return on equity 24.7% 26.6%
Return on assets 8.8% 6.5%
Return on invested capital 12.2% 13.0%
Return on capital employed 12.2% 14.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOCKBR
Debt / assets 27.5% 38.3%
Debt / equity 0.8x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 2.5x
Debt / FCF 3.8x 7.2x
Liabilities / assets 64.4% 75.4%
Equity / assets 35.6% 24.6%
Interest coverage 7.1x 5.0x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.12 2.56

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOCKBR
Dividend yield 1.7% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 0.7% 3.1%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 4.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 30.2% 19.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% 23.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.0% 4.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 7.2%

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.

ConsensusNOCKBR
Forward P/E 18.4xFY2026 9.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $30.81FY2026 $4.13FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.0%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.7% -6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $42.95BFY2026 $8.58BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 +10.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.7% -3.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOCKBR
Held by institutions 83.4% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,809 363
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +7.4%
Institutions buying 840 206
Institutions selling 639 115
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.79

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.

NOCKBR
NOC 1.00 0.31
KBR 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOC and KBR?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Northrop Grumman (NOC) $78.25B, Kbr (KBR) $5.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, NOC and KBR?

Kbr (KBR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.3x, Kbr (KBR) 11.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kbr (KBR) is cheapest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.4x, Kbr (KBR) 9.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Kbr (KBR) -3.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest net margin (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Kbr (KBR) 5.5%). On return on invested capital, Kbr (KBR) leads (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Kbr (KBR) 13.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Northrop Grumman (NOC) returned the most: Northrop Grumman (NOC) -6.6%, Kbr (KBR) -9.2%. Over five years, Northrop Grumman (NOC) compounded fastest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) +7.8%/yr, Kbr (KBR) -1.1%/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%, Kbr (KBR) 0.02%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been the steadiest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.6%, Kbr (KBR) 33.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do NOC and KBR move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.31, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, NOC and KBR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Northrop Grumman (NOC) leads on 8. 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.