GE Aerospace vs Northrop Grumman
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The short version
- GE Aerospace is the larger business, with $45.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $42.0B for Northrop Grumman.
- GE Aerospace grew revenue faster (18.5%, against 2.2%).
- GE Aerospace turned more of its sales into free cash flow (15.8% FCF margin, against 7.9%).
- GE Aerospace earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (35.8%, against 13.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of GE Aerospace’s earnings: a P/E of 33.0x against 17.4x for Northrop Grumman.
| Latest fiscal year | GE · FY25 | NOC · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $297.4B | $78.5B |
| Revenue | $45.9B | $42.0B |
| Free cash flow | $7.3B | $3.3B |
| Net income | $8.7B | $4.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 18.5% | 2.2% |
| 5-year growth | −9.6% | 2.7% |
| Share count change | −2.4% | −2.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | — | 10.8% |
| Net margin | 19.0% | 10.0% |
| FCF margin | 15.8% | 7.9% |
| Return on capital | 35.8% | 13.5% |
| Return on equity | 45.8% | 26.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $8.1B | $11.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.7x | 1.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $9.0B | $2.9B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 33.0x | 17.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
GE $119.5B
NOC $24.7B
FY17
GE $99.3B
NOC $26.0B
FY18
GE $97.0B
NOC $30.1B
FY19
GE $90.2B
NOC $33.8B
FY20
GE $75.8B
NOC $36.8B
FY21
GE $56.5B
NOC $35.7B
FY22
GE $29.1B
NOC $36.6B
FY23
GE $35.3B
NOC $39.3B
FY24
GE $38.7B
NOC $41.0B
FY25
GE $45.9B
NOC $42.0B
GE
NOC
Operating margin
FY16
GE —
NOC 13.3%
FY17
GE —
NOC 12.4%
FY18
GE —
NOC 12.6%
FY19
GE —
NOC 11.7%
FY20
GE —
NOC 11.1%
FY21
GE —
NOC 15.8%
FY22
GE —
NOC 9.8%
FY23
GE —
NOC 6.5%
FY24
GE —
NOC 10.7%
FY25
GE —
NOC 10.8%
GE
NOC
Free cash flow
FY16
GE −$6.0B
NOC $1.9B
FY17
GE −$88.0M
NOC $1.7B
FY18
GE −$1.6B
NOC $2.6B
FY19
GE $6.5B
NOC $3.0B
FY20
GE $2.0B
NOC $2.9B
FY21
GE $2.2B
NOC $2.2B
FY22
GE $4.5B
NOC $1.5B
FY23
GE $4.3B
NOC $2.1B
FY24
GE $3.7B
NOC $2.6B
FY25
GE $7.3B
NOC $3.3B
GE
NOC
Return on capital
FY16
GE 6.7%
NOC 25.5%
FY17
GE −3.5%
NOC 20.7%
FY18
GE −9.1%
NOC 20.3%
FY19
GE 3.1%
NOC 16.9%
FY20
GE 11.2%
NOC 16.9%
FY21
GE —
NOC 20.7%
FY22
GE —
NOC 12.6%
FY23
GE 28.3%
NOC 8.7%
FY24
GE 25.2%
NOC 13.8%
FY25
GE 35.8%
NOC 13.5%
GE
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.