General Dynamics vs Northrop Grumman
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The short version
- General Dynamics is the larger business, with $52.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $42.0B for Northrop Grumman.
- General Dynamics grew revenue faster (10.1%, against 2.2%).
- Northrop Grumman kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (10.8% operating margin, against 10.2%).
- General Dynamics earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (14.4%, against 13.5%).
| Latest fiscal year | GD · FY25 | NOC · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $95.8B | $78.5B |
| Revenue | $52.6B | $42.0B |
| Free cash flow | $4.0B | $3.3B |
| Net income | $4.2B | $4.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 10.1% | 2.2% |
| 5-year growth | 6.7% | 2.7% |
| Share count change | −1.8% | −2.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 10.2% | 10.8% |
| Net margin | 8.0% | 10.0% |
| FCF margin | 7.5% | 7.9% |
| Return on capital | 14.4% | 13.5% |
| Return on equity | 17.7% | 26.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $6.1B | $11.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.0x | 1.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $2.2B | $2.9B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 17.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
GD $30.6B
NOC $24.7B
FY17
GD $31.0B
NOC $26.0B
FY18
GD $36.2B
NOC $30.1B
FY19
GD $39.4B
NOC $33.8B
FY20
GD $37.9B
NOC $36.8B
FY21
GD $38.5B
NOC $35.7B
FY22
GD $39.4B
NOC $36.6B
FY23
GD $42.3B
NOC $39.3B
FY24
GD $47.7B
NOC $41.0B
FY25
GD $52.6B
NOC $42.0B
GD
NOC
Operating margin
FY16
GD 12.3%
NOC 13.3%
FY17
GD 13.7%
NOC 12.4%
FY18
GD 12.1%
NOC 12.6%
FY19
GD 11.6%
NOC 11.7%
FY20
GD 10.9%
NOC 11.1%
FY21
GD 10.8%
NOC 15.8%
FY22
GD 10.7%
NOC 9.8%
FY23
GD 10.0%
NOC 6.5%
FY24
GD 10.1%
NOC 10.7%
FY25
GD 10.2%
NOC 10.8%
GD
NOC
Free cash flow
FY16
GD $1.8B
NOC $1.9B
FY17
GD $3.4B
NOC $1.7B
FY18
GD $2.5B
NOC $2.6B
FY19
GD $2.0B
NOC $3.0B
FY20
GD $2.9B
NOC $2.9B
FY21
GD $3.4B
NOC $2.2B
FY22
GD $3.5B
NOC $1.5B
FY23
GD $3.8B
NOC $2.1B
FY24
GD $3.2B
NOC $2.6B
FY25
GD $4.0B
NOC $3.3B
GD
NOC
Return on capital
FY16
GD 23.9%
NOC 25.5%
FY17
GD 24.4%
NOC 20.7%
FY18
GD 19.8%
NOC 20.3%
FY19
GD 15.4%
NOC 16.9%
FY20
GD 13.5%
NOC 16.9%
FY21
GD 12.9%
NOC 20.7%
FY22
GD 12.6%
NOC 12.6%
FY23
GD 12.3%
NOC 8.7%
FY24
GD 13.6%
NOC 13.8%
FY25
GD 14.4%
NOC 13.5%
GD
NOC
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.