NOC vs RKLB vs SPCE Stock Comparison

Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab and Virgin Galactic Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RKLB Rocket Lab Corp
$53.82 -27.2% 1M -16.6% 1Y
Market cap
$36.70B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$769.15M
Div. yield
–
Space Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Northrop Grumman leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Northrop Grumman 6, Rocket Lab 2, Virgin Galactic Holdings 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNOCRKLBSPCELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $79.60B $36.70B $292.40M NOC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.6x -221.8x -1.2x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.4x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +52.5% -28.3% RKLB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.4% -21.5% -20,567.7% NOC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.2% -6.7% -43.2% NOC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 14.4x 0.1x SPCE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.6% -16.6% -36.0% NOC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.8%/yr +33.2%/yr -62.9%/yr RKLB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 92.8% 111.1% NOC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 41/100 22/100 NOC

Percentile Scorecard

NOCRKLBSPCE

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

AxisNOCRKLBSPCE
Valuation 74 #27 of 100 17 #83 of 100 18 #82 of 100
Growth 39 #60 of 97 50 #49 of 97 35 #63 of 97
Profitability 77 #23 of 96 31 #67 of 96 1 #95 of 96
Financial Health 39 #65 of 105 89 #13 of 105 33 #71 of 105
Shareholder Returns 59 #27 of 64 21 #51 of 64 –
Overall 57 41 22
  • NOC ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • RKLB ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • SPCE 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

PeriodNOCRKLBSPCESPY
1 month +10.8%-27.2%-19.7% -0.8%
3 months +3.3%-19.6%+0.8% +3.5%
6 months -1.7%-34.6%+0.8% +7.0%
Year to date -0.8%-22.8%-20.2% +12.2%
1 year -6.6%-16.6%-36.0% +13.0%
3 years +19.5%+1,193.8%-90.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +6.1%+134.9%-54.8% +23.1%
5 years +45.7%+319.2%-99.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +7.8%+33.2%-62.9% +11.0%
10 years +147.9%—— +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.5%—— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNOCRKLBSPCESPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%92.8%111.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.3%90.2%110.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.003.892.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.23-0.18-0.32 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-78.3%-99.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.4%-64.2%-66.0% -1.8%
52-week high $768.02$150.23$7.52 $779.14
52-week low $473.40$39.48$2.17 $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.

MultipleNOCRKLBSPCE
P/E now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 26.8x -204.8xmedian 26.8x -1.1xmedian 26.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.9x 41.9xmedian 2.9x 233.0xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 15.2x -187.5xmedian 15.2x -1.0xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.0xmedian 25.5x -86.7xmedian 25.5x —median 25.5x
P/B now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.5x 9.2xmedian 2.5x 0.7xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 17.45median 0.94 -24.76median 0.94 -0.02median 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 monthsNOCRKLBSPCE
Revenue $43.59B $769.15M $1.22M
Gross profit $8.73B $286.62M -$78.91M
Operating income $4.63B -$223.49M -$261.82M
Net income $4.52B -$165.46M -$250.31M
Free cash flow $3.83B -$371.14M –
R&D – $312.42M $51.50M
EPS (diluted) $31.74 $-0.26 $-2.26
Cash & equivalents $3.74B $2.13B $187.34M
Total debt $58.43B $1.72M $219.04M
Shares (diluted) 142.40M 629.68M 110.76M
Enterprise value $67.05B $31.02B -$1.13B

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
MetricNOCRKLBSPCE
P/E 17.8x -204.8x -1.1x
P/FCF 21.0x -86.7x –
P/Operating cash flow 15.3x -144.7x –
P/S 1.8x 41.9x 233.0x
P/B 4.3x 9.2x 0.7x
P/Tangible book 4.3x 10.2x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA 14.8x -187.5x -1.0x
EV/EBIT 19.7x -133.8x -0.9x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 38.9x 203.4x
EV/FCF 23.8x -80.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow 17.3x -134.4x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 17.45 -24.76 -0.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNOCRKLBSPCE
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 52.5% -28.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 49.2% -32.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.8% 95.7% -7.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 109.3% -272.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% -0.5% 18.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% -11.7% 24.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.5% 28.5% 17.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.1% -0.4% 24.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.3% 41.5% 65.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.0% 8.3% 61.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 53.2% -100.8% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% -44.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 108.8% -81.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.3% -45.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNOCRKLBSPCE
Gross margin 20.0% 37.3% -6,484%
EBITDA margin 14.1% -20.7% -20,037%
Operating margin 10.6% -29.1% -21,514%
Pretax margin 12.0% -24.9% -20,565%
Net margin 10.4% -21.5% -20,568%
FCF margin 8.8% -48.3% –
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% -28.9% –
Return on equity 24.7% -5.7% -74.7%
Return on assets 8.8% -4.7% -30.9%
Return on invested capital 12.2% -6.7% -43.2%
Return on capital employed 12.2% -7.5% -42.4%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.2x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 10.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOCRKLBSPCE
Debt / assets 27.5% 0.0% 26.8%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.0x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 14.4x 0.1x
Debt / FCF 3.8x 0.0x –
Liabilities / assets 64.4% 16.6% 51.5%
Equity / assets 35.6% 83.4% 48.5%
Interest coverage 7.1x -13.9x -22.7x
Current ratio 1.2x 5.5x 1.6x
Quick ratio 1.0x 4.8x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.3x 4.4x 1.3x
Altman Z-score 3.12 28.10 -5.40

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOCRKLBSPCE
Dividend yield 1.7% – –
Net buyback yield 0.7% -7.1% –
Shareholder yield 2.3% -7.1% –
Payout ratio (earnings) 30.2% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.0% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusNOCRKLBSPCE
Forward P/E 18.4xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $30.81FY2026 $-0.28FY2026 $-2.15FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.0%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +3.7% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $42.95BFY2026 $918.00MFY2026 $2.15MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 +52.5%FY2026 +39.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.7% +51.6% +11,899.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOCRKLBSPCE
Held by institutions 83.4% 51.2% 51.5%
Institutions holding 1,809 1,128 192
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +10.9% +238.1%
Institutions buying 840 810 130
Institutions selling 639 238 21
Buyers to sellers 1.31 3.40 6.19

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.

NOCRKLBSPCE
NOC 1.00 0.18 0.07
RKLB 0.18 1.00 0.37
SPCE 0.07 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOC, RKLB and SPCE?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Northrop Grumman (NOC) $79.60B, Rocket Lab (RKLB) $36.70B, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) $292.40M.

Which company is growing faster?

Rocket Lab (RKLB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) +52.5%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -28.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest net margin (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) -21.5%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -20,567.7%). On return on invested capital, Northrop Grumman (NOC) leads (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) -6.7%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -43.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Northrop Grumman (NOC) returned the most: Northrop Grumman (NOC) -6.6%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) -16.6%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -36.0%. Over five years, Rocket Lab (RKLB) compounded fastest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) +7.8%/yr, Rocket Lab (RKLB) +33.2%/yr, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) -62.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Northrop Grumman (NOC) 0.02%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) 0.00%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) 0.00%. Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been the steadiest (Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.6%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) 92.8%, Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) 111.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NOC, RKLB and SPCE?

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 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.