RKLB vs RTX vs GD Stock Comparison

Rocket Lab, Rtx and General Dynamics Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
RTX RTX Corp
$191.02 -0.6% 1M +6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$266.98B
P/E
31.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$95.99B
Div. yield
0.01%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
3 wins
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
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

General Dynamics leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (General Dynamics 6, Rtx 3, Rocket Lab 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRKLBRTXGDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $33.90B $266.98B $96.32B RTX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -204.9x 31.8x 21.5x GD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 28.2x 19.9x GD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +52.5% +11.6% +9.1% RKLB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -21.5% 8.8% 8.2% RTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -6.7% 8.6% 13.6% GD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 14.4x 1.8x 0.5x GD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.3% +6.5% +2.3% RTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +32.3%/yr +15.8%/yr +10.8%/yr RKLB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 92.6% 24.9% 22.3% GD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 42/100 57/100 73/100 GD

Percentile Scorecard

RKLBRTXGD

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

AxisRKLBRTXGD
Valuation 18 #82 of 100 63 #38 of 100 86 #15 of 100
Growth 50 #49 of 97 77 #23 of 97 54 #45 of 97
Profitability 31 #67 of 96 71 #29 of 96 77 #23 of 96
Financial Health 88 #14 of 106 31 #74 of 106 62 #41 of 106
Shareholder Returns 22 #51 of 65 45 #36 of 65 88 #9 of 65
Overall 42 57 73
  • RKLB ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • RTX ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • GD 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

PeriodRKLBRTXGDSPY
1 month -25.2%-0.6%+1.8% -1.0%
3 months -17.7%-10.3%-9.6% +2.9%
6 months -34.0%+9.6%+11.5% +6.4%
Year to date -24.6%+4.2%+3.8% +11.4%
1 year -17.3%+6.5%+2.3% +13.1%
3 years +1,170.5%+143.7%+49.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +133.5%+34.6%+14.5% +21.5%
5 years +304.6%+107.9%+66.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +32.3%+15.8%+10.8% +10.9%
10 years —+207.6%+132.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+11.9%+8.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureRKLBRTXGDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 92.6%24.9%22.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 90.2%23.8%20.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.870.260.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.190.260.10 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -78.3%-33.9%-23.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -65.0%-15.3%-11.8% -2.5%
52-week high $150.23$225.49$395.97 $779.14
52-week low $39.48$168.02$312.53 $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.

MultipleRKLBRTXGD
P/E now vs peer median -200.2xmedian 26.2x 30.7xmedian 26.2x 21.0xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 40.9xmedian 2.9x 2.7xmedian 2.9x 1.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -182.9xmedian 14.7x 18.2xmedian 14.7x 14.9xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median -84.8xmedian 24.9x 27.1xmedian 24.9x 14.7xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 9.0xmedian 2.4x 3.6xmedian 2.4x 3.5xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -24.20median 0.92 0.75median 0.92 2.05median 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 monthsRKLBRTXGD
Revenue $769.15M $95.99B $54.86B
Gross profit $286.62M $20.25B $8.44B
Operating income -$223.49M $11.30B $5.66B
Net income -$165.46M $8.83B $4.49B
Free cash flow -$371.14M $9.50B $6.45B
R&D $312.42M $2.85B –
EPS (diluted) $-0.26 $6.14 $16.40
Cash & equivalents $2.13B $9.17B $4.33B
Total debt $1.72M $150.08B $32.26B
Shares (diluted) 629.68M 1.37B 273.52M
Enterprise value $28.22B $235.25B $83.43B

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
MetricRKLBRTXGD
P/E -200.2x 30.7x 21.0x
P/FCF -84.8x 27.1x 14.7x
P/Operating cash flow -141.4x 20.7x 12.3x
P/S 40.9x 2.7x 1.7x
P/B 9.0x 3.6x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 9.9x 6.4x 3.7x
EV/EBITDA -182.9x 18.2x 14.9x
EV/EBIT -130.5x 25.3x 17.3x
EV/Revenue 37.9x 3.0x 1.8x
EV/FCF -78.6x 30.1x 15.2x
EV/Operating cash flow -131.1x 23.0x 12.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -24.20 0.75 2.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRKLBRTXGD
Revenue growth (1Y) 52.5% 11.6% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 49.2% 12.7% 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 95.7% 17.0% 8.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 109.3% 20.2% 8.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.5% 28.2% 9.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -11.7% 51.1% 10.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 28.5% 27.6% 9.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -0.4% 39.1% 10.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 41.5% 26.6% 8.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 40.7% 10.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -100.8% 56.2% 53.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -44.7% 16.8% 23.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -81.9% 81.4% 56.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -45.7% 21.2% 28.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRKLBRTXGD
Gross margin 37.3% 21.1% 15.4%
EBITDA margin -20.7% 16.3% 12.0%
Operating margin -29.1% 11.8% 10.3%
Pretax margin -24.9% 11.3% 9.9%
Net margin -21.5% 8.8% 8.2%
FCF margin -48.3% 9.9% 11.8%
Operating cash flow margin -28.9% 13.0% 14.0%
Return on equity -5.7% 12.7% 17.0%
Return on assets -4.7% 5.0% 7.5%
Return on invested capital -6.7% 8.6% 13.6%
Return on capital employed -7.5% 10.1% 13.9%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.5x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.4x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 10.6% 0.7% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRKLBRTXGD
Debt / assets 0.0% 21.2% 12.5%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.5x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 14.4x 1.8x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 0.0x 3.9x 1.2x
Liabilities / assets 16.6% 59.8% 55.4%
Equity / assets 83.4% 40.2% 44.6%
Interest coverage -13.9x – –
Current ratio 5.5x 1.0x 1.4x
Quick ratio 4.8x 0.7x 2.8x
Cash ratio 4.4x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 27.47 2.72 4.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRKLBRTXGD
Dividend yield – 1.5% 1.8%
Net buyback yield -7.3% – 0.4%
Shareholder yield -7.3% 1.5% 2.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 43.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 40.0% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 5.2% –

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.

ConsensusRKLBRTXGD
Forward P/E – 28.2xFY2026 19.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.28FY2026 $6.78FY2026 $17.55FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +7.8%FY2026 +13.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +10.2% +9.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $917.64MFY2026 $98.74BFY2026 $53.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +52.5%FY2026 +11.4%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +52.8% +2.0% +12.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRKLBRTXGD
Held by institutions 51.2% 79.9% 86.5%
Institutions holding 1,128 3,413 2,217
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.9% +15.9% +0.1%
Institutions buying 810 1,717 1,018
Institutions selling 238 1,266 831
Buyers to sellers 3.40 1.36 1.23

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.

RKLBRTXGD
RKLB 1.00 0.23 0.23
RTX 0.23 1.00 0.56
GD 0.23 0.56 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RKLB, RTX and GD?

Rtx (RTX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Rocket Lab (RKLB) $33.90B, Rtx (RTX) $266.98B, General Dynamics (GD) $96.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, RKLB, RTX and GD?

General Dynamics (GD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Rocket Lab (RKLB) -204.9x, Rtx (RTX) 31.8x, General Dynamics (GD) 21.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, General Dynamics (GD) is cheapest (Rtx (RTX) 28.2x, General Dynamics (GD) 19.9x). 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%, Rtx (RTX) +11.6%, General Dynamics (GD) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Rtx (RTX) has the highest net margin (Rocket Lab (RKLB) -21.5%, Rtx (RTX) 8.8%, General Dynamics (GD) 8.2%). On return on invested capital, General Dynamics (GD) leads (Rocket Lab (RKLB) -6.7%, Rtx (RTX) 8.6%, General Dynamics (GD) 13.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Rtx (RTX) returned the most: Rocket Lab (RKLB) -17.3%, Rtx (RTX) +6.5%, General Dynamics (GD) +2.3%. Over five years, Rocket Lab (RKLB) compounded fastest (Rocket Lab (RKLB) +32.3%/yr, Rtx (RTX) +15.8%/yr, General Dynamics (GD) +10.8%/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%, Rtx (RTX) 0.01%, General Dynamics (GD) 0.00%. Rocket Lab (RKLB) and General Dynamics (GD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Dynamics (GD) has been the steadiest (Rocket Lab (RKLB) 92.6%, Rtx (RTX) 24.9%, General Dynamics (GD) 22.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RKLB, RTX and GD?

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