NOC vs LMT vs LHX Stock Comparison

Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LMT Lockheed Martin Corp
$604.47 +15.3% 1M +23.9% 1Y
Market cap
$146.40B
P/E
22.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$79.12B
Div. yield
0.02%
Defense Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lockheed Martin leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Lockheed Martin 6, Northrop Grumman 3, L3Harris Technologies 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNOCLMTLHXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $80.39B $146.40B $48.43B LMT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.8x 22.5x 26.0x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.1x 20.6x 22.2x NOC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +7.9% +83.2% LHX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.4% 8.2% 4.8% NOC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.2% 26.5% 11.8% LMT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.3x 1.8x LMT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.02% 0.02% LMT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.9% +23.9% -13.4% LMT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.3%/yr +10.0%/yr +0.7%/yr LMT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.5% 29.5% 28.5% LHX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 60/100 67/100 LHX

Percentile Scorecard

NOCLMTLHX

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

AxisNOCLMTLHX
Valuation 73 #28 of 100 70 #31 of 100 93 #8 of 100
Growth 41 #58 of 97 62 #38 of 97 82 #18 of 97
Profitability 76 #24 of 96 88 #12 of 96 72 #28 of 96
Financial Health 42 #62 of 106 41 #63 of 106 35 #69 of 106
Shareholder Returns 61 #26 of 65 41 #39 of 65 52 #32 of 65
Overall 58 60 67
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LMT ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LHX 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

PeriodNOCLMTLHXSPY
1 month +7.2%+15.3%+6.2% -1.0%
3 months +1.7%+3.7%-15.4% +2.9%
6 months -4.1%+17.7%-20.0% +6.4%
Year to date -3.3%+25.0%-13.5% +11.4%
1 year -8.9%+23.9%-13.4% +13.1%
3 years +15.3%+37.1%+46.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +4.9%+11.1%+13.7% +21.5%
5 years +35.8%+61.4%+3.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +6.3%+10.0%+0.7% +10.9%
10 years +155.5%+162.2%+180.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +9.8%+10.1%+10.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNOCLMTLHXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.5%29.5%28.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.2%26.4%28.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.02-0.100.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.310.81-0.47 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-33.2%-40.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.2%-10.7%-32.9% -2.5%
52-week high $768.02$676.70$378.48 $779.14
52-week low $473.40$439.19$233.68 $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.

MultipleNOCLMTLHX
P/E now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 26.2x 21.4xmedian 26.2x 25.4xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x 1.2xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 14.7x 14.0xmedian 14.7x 10.9xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.5xmedian 24.9x 16.7xmedian 24.9x 16.8xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.4x 13.9xmedian 2.4x 2.4xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 17.02median 0.92 61.37median 0.92 0.77median 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 monthsNOCLMTLHX
Revenue $43.59B $79.12B $39.15B
Gross profit $8.73B $9.28B $10.02B
Operating income $4.63B $9.32B $4.04B
Net income $4.52B $6.51B $1.87B
Free cash flow $3.83B $8.38B $2.81B
EPS (diluted) $31.74 $28.13 $9.93
Cash & equivalents $3.74B $5.96B $1.52B
Total debt $58.43B $83.92B $45.19B
Shares (diluted) 142.40M 231.50M 187.30M
Enterprise value $67.84B $130.63B $44.91B

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
MetricNOCLMTLHX
P/E 17.3x 21.4x 25.4x
P/FCF 20.5x 16.7x 16.8x
P/Operating cash flow 14.9x 13.8x 14.4x
P/S 1.8x 1.8x 1.2x
P/B 4.2x 13.9x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 16.8x 3.5x
EV/EBITDA 14.5x 14.0x 10.9x
EV/EBIT 19.3x 16.5x 14.1x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 1.9x 1.4x
EV/FCF 23.3x 18.4x 20.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.9x 15.2x 17.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 17.02 61.37 0.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNOCLMTLHX
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 7.9% 83.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 5.3% 29.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.8% 55.0% 82.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 3.0% 27.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% 52.8% 86.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 3.1% 32.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.5% 55.1% 10.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.1% -2.2% 32.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.3% 55.9% 9.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 0.3% 33.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 53.2% 59.0% 31.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 10.6% 15.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 108.8% 82.5% 29.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.3% 13.0% 15.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNOCLMTLHX
Gross margin 20.0% 11.7% 25.6%
EBITDA margin 14.1% 13.9% 13.4%
Operating margin 10.6% 11.8% 10.3%
Pretax margin 12.0% 9.7% 9.7%
Net margin 10.4% 8.2% 4.8%
FCF margin 8.8% 10.6% 7.2%
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 12.8% 8.4%
Return on equity 24.7% 69.2% 9.5%
Return on assets 8.8% 10.3% 4.4%
Return on invested capital 12.2% 26.5% 11.8%
Return on capital employed 12.2% 23.9% 12.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.2x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.6x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.5% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOCLMTLHX
Debt / assets 27.5% 31.8% 25.6%
Debt / equity 0.8x 2.0x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.3x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 3.8x 2.4x 3.9x
Liabilities / assets 64.4% 84.4% 53.7%
Equity / assets 35.6% 15.6% 46.3%
Interest coverage 7.1x 8.6x –
Current ratio 1.2x 1.3x 1.2x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.1x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.08 3.73 2.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOCLMTLHX
Dividend yield 1.7% 2.3% 1.9%
Net buyback yield 0.7% 0.5% 1.9%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 2.8% 3.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 30.2% 49.2% 49.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% 38.3% 32.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.0% 1.8% 2.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 1.6% 2.1%

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.

ConsensusNOCLMTLHX
Forward P/E 18.1xFY2026 20.6xFY2026 22.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $30.52FY2026 $29.31FY2026 $11.43FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.9%FY2026 +36.4%FY2026 +6.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.9% +7.0% +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $42.94BFY2026 $85.60BFY2026 $24.17BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026 +10.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.7% +3.0% +0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOCLMTLHX
Held by institutions 83.4% 75.5% 87.5%
Institutions holding 1,809 2,779 1,691
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +0.4% -0.5%
Institutions buying 840 1,336 847
Institutions selling 639 1,026 570
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.30 1.49

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.

NOCLMTLHX
NOC 1.00 0.71 0.65
LMT 0.71 1.00 0.62
LHX 0.65 0.62 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOC, LMT and LHX?

Lockheed Martin (LMT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Northrop Grumman (NOC) $80.39B, Lockheed Martin (LMT) $146.40B, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) $48.43B.

Which stock is cheaper, NOC, LMT and LHX?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.8x, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 22.5x, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 26.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Northrop Grumman (NOC) is cheapest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 18.1x, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 20.6x, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 22.2x). 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: Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +7.9%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +83.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest net margin (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 8.2%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Lockheed Martin (LMT) leads (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 26.5%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 11.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lockheed Martin (LMT) returned the most: Northrop Grumman (NOC) -8.9%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +23.9%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) -13.4%. Over five years, Lockheed Martin (LMT) compounded fastest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.3%/yr, Lockheed Martin (LMT) +10.0%/yr, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lockheed Martin (LMT) has the highest dividend yield: Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 0.02%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 0.02%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) has been the steadiest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.5%, Lockheed Martin (LMT) 29.5%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 28.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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