General Dynamics vs Northrop Grumman

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KIRA’s take AI analyst

I put General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:

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%).

Who comes out ahead

Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.

General Dynamics

5/10

Revenue growth5-year growthReturn on capitalPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA

Northrop Grumman

NOC

5/10

Operating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on equityShare count change

Side by side

Best in the row

Latest fiscal year	GD FY25	NOC FY25
Size
Market cap	$97.9B	$80.5B
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	—	17.9x
Piotroski F-score	8	6

Ten years

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

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

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%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

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

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

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%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

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.