NOC
Northrop Grumman Corporation
NOC has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over NOC overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
NOC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
NOC's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
VRT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $210 | — |
| Current | 39x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 58x | $308 | +47% |
| Fair | 72x | $383 | +83% |
| Expensive | 88x | $472 | +125% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VRT has the edge over NOC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
NOC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for NOC, with profitability holding steady.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
VRT has the edge over NOC on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and 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's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $31.65 over the past year, against $43.54 in late 2021.
VRT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.14 | +71% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.35 | +102% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.98 | +131% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.41 | +166% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.65 | +75% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.09 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.72 | +64% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.28 | +7.6% |
VRT has the edge over NOC on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
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's operating margin was 11% last quarter, down 0.5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
VRT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +26% |
VRT has the edge over NOC on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +4.2 points |
VRT has the edge over NOC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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 generated $3.8B in free cash flow over the past year, up 109% from the year before.
VRT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $654.9M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $926.5M | +233% |
| Q1 2026 | $654.2M | +145% |
| Q4 2025 | $885.6M | +143% |
| Q3 2025 | $463.5M | +36% |
| Q2 2025 | $277.9M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.8M | +162% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.5M | +18% |
VRT has the edge over NOC on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 VRT 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.
VRT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -64.9K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +4.4M shares |
| 5 years | +10% | +36M shares |
| Available history | +63% | +152M shares |
VRT has 393M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | $599.9M |
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.
VRT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
VRT has the edge over NOC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
VRT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.4 | Neutral |
VRT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 26 (neutral).
NOC PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | NOC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 17x | 24x | 28% below |
| PE % | 50 | 58 | 8 pts below |
NOC has the edge over VRT on valuation relative to its sector.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT is trading at 39x earnings, a 63% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
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 has the edge over VRT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
VRT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $221.8 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $254.4 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $253.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $189.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $123.5 | 70% above |
VRT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 70% 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 finished higher in four of the last six years. It's down 4.9% so far in 2026.
VRT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.9 | $18.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $18.9 | $24.9 | +31% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $12.8 | -48% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $48.0 | +275% |
| 2024 | $48.0 | $115.1 | +140% |
| 2025 | $115.1 | $167.6 | +46% |
| 2026 YTD | $167.6 | $209.6 | +25% |
VRT has the edge over NOC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.