RKLB vs BA vs NOC Stock Comparison

Rocket Lab, Boeing and Northrop Grumman Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RKLB Rocket Lab Corp
$52.60 -25.2% 1M -17.3% 1Y
Market cap
$33.90B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$769.15M
Div. yield
–
Space Industrials
2 wins
BA Boeing Co
$188.29 -5.7% 1M -13.5% 1Y
Market cap
$148.46B
P/E
71.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$94.00B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Northrop Grumman leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Northrop Grumman 7, Rocket Lab 2, Boeing 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRKLBBANOCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $33.90B $148.46B $80.39B BA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -204.9x 71.0x 17.8x NOC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 18.1x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +52.5% +24.8% +6.5% RKLB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -21.5% 2.2% 10.4% NOC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -6.7% 7.7% 12.2% NOC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 14.4x 3.8x 1.7x NOC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.3% -13.5% -8.9% NOC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +32.3%/yr -2.4%/yr +6.3%/yr RKLB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 92.6% 34.4% 28.5% NOC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 42/100 48/100 58/100 NOC

Percentile Scorecard

RKLBBANOC

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

AxisRKLBBANOC
Valuation 18 #82 of 100 44 #56 of 100 73 #28 of 100
Growth 50 #49 of 97 81 #19 of 97 41 #58 of 97
Profitability 31 #67 of 96 54 #45 of 96 76 #24 of 96
Financial Health 88 #14 of 106 11 #94 of 106 42 #62 of 106
Shareholder Returns 22 #51 of 65 – 61 #26 of 65
Overall 42 48 58
  • RKLB ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • BA ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • NOC 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

PeriodRKLBBANOCSPY
1 month -25.2%-5.7%+7.2% -1.0%
3 months -17.7%-10.2%+1.7% +2.9%
6 months -34.0%-19.0%-4.1% +6.4%
Year to date -24.6%-13.3%-3.3% +11.4%
1 year -17.3%-13.5%-8.9% +13.1%
3 years +1,170.5%+3.3%+15.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +133.5%+1.1%+4.9% +21.5%
5 years +304.6%-11.6%+35.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +32.3%-2.4%+6.3% +10.9%
10 years —+38.8%+155.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+3.3%+9.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureRKLBBANOCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 92.6%34.4%28.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 90.2%33.2%28.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.871.23-0.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.19-0.39-0.31 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -78.3%-50.3%-38.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -65.0%-25.3%-28.2% -2.5%
52-week high $150.23$252.15$768.02 $779.14
52-week low $39.48$179.12$473.40 $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.

MultipleRKLBBANOC
P/E now vs peer median -200.2xmedian 26.2x 71.2xmedian 26.2x 17.3xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 40.9xmedian 2.9x 1.6xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -182.9xmedian 14.7x 25.7xmedian 14.7x 14.5xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -84.8xmedian 24.9x -708.7xmedian 24.9x 20.5xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 9.0xmedian 2.4x 24.3xmedian 2.4x 4.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -24.20median 0.92 2.15median 0.92 17.02median 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 monthsRKLBBANOC
Revenue $769.15M $94.00B $43.59B
Gross profit $286.62M $4.40B $8.73B
Operating income -$223.49M $4.60B $4.63B
Net income -$165.46M $2.43B $4.52B
Free cash flow -$371.14M -$210.00M $3.83B
R&D $312.42M $3.69B –
EPS (diluted) $-0.26 $2.64 $31.74
Cash & equivalents $2.13B $7.24B $3.74B
Total debt $1.72M $45.90B $58.43B
Shares (diluted) 629.68M 790.80M 142.40M
Enterprise value $28.22B $55.15B $67.84B

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
MetricRKLBBANOC
P/E -200.2x 71.2x 17.3x
P/FCF -84.8x -708.7x 20.5x
P/Operating cash flow -141.4x 40.9x 14.9x
P/S 40.9x 1.6x 1.8x
P/B 9.0x 24.3x 4.2x
P/Tangible book 9.9x 32.5x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA -182.9x 25.7x 14.5x
EV/EBIT -130.5x 38.0x 19.3x
EV/Revenue 37.9x 1.9x 2.0x
EV/FCF -78.6x -831.9x 23.3x
EV/Operating cash flow -131.1x 48.0x 16.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -24.20 2.15 17.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRKLBBANOC
Revenue growth (1Y) 52.5% 24.8% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 49.2% 8.5% 4.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 95.7% 1,902% 9.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 109.3% -3.6% 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.5% 149.8% 6.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -11.7% 49.8% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 28.5% 122.8% 12.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -0.4% 36.4% -1.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 41.5% 118.3% 13.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 33.1% 1.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -100.8% 158.8% 53.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -44.7% -26.6% 12.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -81.9% 97.5% 108.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -45.7% -26.6% 22.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRKLBBANOC
Gross margin 37.3% 4.7% 20.0%
EBITDA margin -20.7% 7.2% 14.1%
Operating margin -29.1% 4.9% 10.6%
Pretax margin -24.9% 3.0% 12.0%
Net margin -21.5% 2.2% 10.4%
FCF margin -48.3% -0.2% 8.8%
Operating cash flow margin -28.9% 3.9% 12.1%
Return on equity -5.7% 40.4% 24.7%
Return on assets -4.7% 1.5% 8.8%
Return on invested capital -6.7% 7.7% 12.2%
Return on capital employed -7.5% 8.2% 12.2%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.6x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.5x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 10.6% 0.5% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRKLBBANOC
Debt / assets 0.0% 27.7% 27.5%
Debt / equity 0.0x 7.5x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 14.4x 3.8x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 0.0x -218.6x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 16.6% 96.3% 64.4%
Equity / assets 83.4% 3.7% 35.6%
Interest coverage -13.9x 1.8x 7.1x
Current ratio 5.5x 1.1x 1.2x
Quick ratio 4.8x 0.3x 1.0x
Cash ratio 4.4x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 27.47 1.47 3.08

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRKLBBANOC
Dividend yield – – 1.7%
Net buyback yield -7.3% – 0.7%
Shareholder yield -7.3% 0.0% 2.4%
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.

ConsensusRKLBBANOC
Forward P/E – – 18.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.28FY2026 $-1.03FY2026 $30.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -186.6%FY2026 +15.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – +5.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $917.64MFY2026 $91.39BFY2026 $42.94BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +52.5%FY2026 +2.2%FY2026 +2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +52.8% +18.3% +3.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRKLBBANOC
Held by institutions 51.2% 75.6% 83.4%
Institutions holding 1,128 2,626 1,809
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.9% +2.3% +0.3%
Institutions buying 810 1,327 840
Institutions selling 238 843 639
Buyers to sellers 3.40 1.57 1.31

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.

RKLBBANOC
RKLB 1.00 0.32 0.18
BA 0.32 1.00 0.25
NOC 0.18 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RKLB, BA and NOC?

Boeing (BA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Rocket Lab (RKLB) $33.90B, Boeing (BA) $148.46B, Northrop Grumman (NOC) $80.39B.

Which stock is cheaper, RKLB, BA and NOC?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Rocket Lab (RKLB) -204.9x, Boeing (BA) 71.0x, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 17.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Rocket Lab (RKLB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Rocket Lab (RKLB) +52.5%, Boeing (BA) +24.8%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has the highest net margin (Rocket Lab (RKLB) -21.5%, Boeing (BA) 2.2%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 10.4%). On return on invested capital, Northrop Grumman (NOC) leads (Rocket Lab (RKLB) -6.7%, Boeing (BA) 7.7%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 12.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Northrop Grumman (NOC) returned the most: Rocket Lab (RKLB) -17.3%, Boeing (BA) -13.5%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) -8.9%. Over five years, Rocket Lab (RKLB) compounded fastest (Rocket Lab (RKLB) +32.3%/yr, Boeing (BA) -2.4%/yr, Northrop Grumman (NOC) +6.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been the steadiest (Rocket Lab (RKLB) 92.6%, Boeing (BA) 34.4%, Northrop Grumman (NOC) 28.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.