NOC
Northrop Grumman Corporation
NOC has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB has a slight edge over NOC overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
NOC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
NOC's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
RKLB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Unavailable |
RKLB's revenue is currently strong, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
NOC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $427 | -22% |
| Fair | 17x | $548 | -0.3% |
| Current | 17x | $549 | — |
| Forward | 19x | $549 | — |
| Expensive | 25x | $802 | +46% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NOC's PE is in its fair range at 17x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 19x.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
NOC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for NOC, with profitability holding steady.
RKLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
RKLB has the edge over NOC on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
NOC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $29.44 | -7% |
| Q3 2026 | $31.65 | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $31.43 | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $31.90 | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $29.08 | +2.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $27.80 | +72% |
| Q2 2025 | $27.13 | +77% |
| Q1 2025 | $25.34 | +77% |
| Q4 2024 | $28.34 | +109% |
NOC has the edge over RKLB on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
RKLB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.36 | +$0.03 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.27 | +$0.19 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.32 | +$0.09 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.37 | +$0.01 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.39 | -$0.02 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.46 | -$0.11 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.41 | -$0.04 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.38 | $0.00 |
RKLB is still losing money, but less than at its worst: $0.36 per share over the past year, against $0.46 at its worst in mid-2025.
NOC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.1B | +6.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.9B | +5.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.9B | +4.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.7B | +9.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.4B | +4.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.4B | +1.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.5B | -6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.7B | +0.5% |
NOC's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $11.1B last quarter, up 6.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | -0.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 10% | -3.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 10% | +4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 12% | +0.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | +3.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 6% | -4.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 10% | +14 points |
NOC has the edge over RKLB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
RKLB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $267.8M | +73% |
| Q2 2026 | $234.1M | +62% |
| Q1 2026 | $200.3M | +63% |
| Q4 2025 | $179.7M | +36% |
| Q3 2025 | $155.1M | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $144.5M | +36% |
| Q1 2025 | $122.6M | +32% |
| Q4 2024 | $132.4M | +121% |
RKLB has the edge over NOC on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -30% | +8.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | -25% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | -28% | +20 points |
| Q4 2025 | -28% | +11 points |
| Q3 2025 | -38% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -41% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | -48% | -1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | -39% | +41 points |
RKLB's operating margin was −30% last quarter, up 8.5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
NOC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $978M | +54% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.8B | -$2M |
| Q4 2025 | $3.2B | +84% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.3B | +72% |
| Q2 2025 | $637M | -42% |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.8B | -$845M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.8B | +8.3% |
NOC has the edge over RKLB on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
RKLB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$23.9M | +$45.5M |
| Q2 2026 | -$110.1M | -$54.8M |
| Q1 2026 | -$77.4M | +$5.5M |
| Q4 2025 | -$114.2M | -$90.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$69.4M | -$27.5M |
| Q2 2025 | -$55.3M | -$26.9M |
| Q1 2025 | -$82.9M | -$61.1M |
| Q4 2024 | -$23.9M | +$28.7M |
RKLB has burned cash in almost every quarter: −$326M over the past year, against −$232M the year before.
NOC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | -0.8% | -1.1M shares |
| 3 years | -6.1% | -9.3M shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -18M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -26M shares |
NOC has the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $68M |
| Q4 2025 | $456M |
| Q3 2025 | $277M |
| Q2 2025 | $411M |
| Q1 2025 | $480M |
| Q4 2024 | $441M |
NOC spent $524M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 67% from the year before.
RKLB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.6% | +22.6M shares |
| 1 year | +23% | +124M shares |
| 3 years | +35% | +168M shares |
| 5 years | +46% | +204M shares |
RKLB has 652M diluted shares, up 23% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | — |
NOC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.1x | Moderate |
NOC's net debt is about 1.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 2.4 years a year ago.
RKLB Net Leverage
RKLB's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
NOC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 59.3 | Neutral |
NOC's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 59 (neutral).
RKLB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.6 | Neutral |
RKLB's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 28 (neutral).
NOC PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | NOC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 17x | 24x | 28% below |
| PE % | 50 | 58 | 8 pts below |
NOC is trading at 17x earnings, a 28% discount to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
RKLB PE vs Industrials Sector
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
NOC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $521.5 | 5.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $534.1 | 2.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $588.6 | 6.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $556.4 | 1.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $511.3 | 7.4% above |
NOC's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 7.4% above its 200-week average.
RKLB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $61.4 | 4.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $68.1 | 5.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $77.6 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $56.5 | 13% above |
| 200 week MA | $31.4 | 104% above |
RKLB's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 104% above its 200-week average.
NOC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $346.4 | $299.6 | -14% |
| 2021 | $299.6 | $381.2 | +27% |
| 2022 | $381.2 | $534.8 | +40% |
| 2023 | $534.8 | $468.1 | -12% |
| 2024 | $468.1 | $471.4 | +0.7% |
| 2025 | $471.4 | $577.4 | +22% |
| 2026 YTD | $577.4 | $549.1 | -4.9% |
NOC has the edge over RKLB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
RKLB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.82 | $10.3 | +4.9% |
| 2021 | $10.3 | $12.0 | +17% |
| 2022 | $12.0 | $3.77 | -69% |
| 2023 | $3.77 | $5.53 | +47% |
| 2024 | $5.53 | $27.2 | +392% |
| 2025 | $27.2 | $70.7 | +160% |
| 2026 YTD | $70.7 | $64.1 | -9.3% |
RKLB's yearly returns have swung widely, from +392% in 2024 to −69% in 2022. It's down 9.3% so far in 2026.