Northrop Grumman (NOC)
NYSEIndustrialsAerospace & DefenseSnapshot 2026-09-15
$531.25+0.73%
Close 2026-09-15 · 1-day change
NYSEIndustrialsAerospace & DefenseSnapshot 2026-09-15
Research Workspace
Put NOC beside peers and holdings, graph the same metric, and keep your notes with the evidence.
Daily closes. Earnings/event dots are placed inline.
Industries move in repeating boom-and-bust cycles. This shows where this stock’s industry sits in that cycle, stage by stage (recovery → expansion → supercycle → steady → deceleration → contraction), from its fundamentals (orders, revenue, capital spending), not the stock’s price.
A booming industry is a tailwind for the names in it; a contracting one is a headwind. Companies in the same industry tend to rise and fall together with the cycle, the way a tide lifts and lowers every boat in the harbor at once, so a large part of a stock’s swing can come from where its industry sits rather than from the company itself. It’s context for reading the company’s results, not a buy/sell call. Full explanation →
Aerospace & Defense is in expansion. Describes the industry's cycle state, not a call on this stock.
The stage band shows the industry’s cycle over the chart’s timeline (each color a stage); a ▼ marks a quarter its growth inflected down — amber is an unconfirmed watch, red is confirmed the next quarter. Use “Overlay cycle on chart” to tint the price chart by stage. The industry’s fundamentals, not a signal on this stock.
Primary pillar under pressure — EPS near $27.65 in FY26: EPS $27.65 vs $27.4 target.
View ThesisRevenue is growing steadily — about 6% over the past year.
View GrowthMiddle-of-the-pack quality for its industry.
View QualityManagement screens strong on capital allocation, margins, the balance sheet.
View ManagementExpectations look reasonable — what the market is pricing in sits in line with or below what analysts forecast.
View ValuationModerate volatility — typically moves about 1% a day.
View RiskNorthrop Grumman's growth in defense contracts must continue to justify its current valuation. Revenue grew 5% year over year, and the latest earnings beat expectations by 12%. It trades at 18× P/E versus a 29× peer median, indicating that the price reflects less growth than forecasted. The primary risk is the potential for a guidance cut, with a 16% probability of a miss next quarter. Peer multiples imply a price about 9% above where it trades. Our read remains intact.
Trailing returns as of 2026-09-15. NOC is total return (includes dividends); the S&P 500 benchmark is price return (the index excludes dividends).
Based on 24 analysts currently covering NOC (as of Sep 2026).
Based on 10 Wall Street analysts offering 12-month price targets for NOC in the last 4 months.
Continue this research
Compare NOC with peers and holdings, graph the same reported metric, keep your questions beside the evidence, and return when the facts change.
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| Compare | Company | Living FV | P/E | Revenue % | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOC Selected company | Graph | Compare | Trend | Review | |
| Peer Add a competitor | Graph | Compare | Trend | Review | |
| Holding Compare a holding | Graph | Compare | Trend | Review |
Selected metric trend
Quarterly · checked companies · value or % of revenue
A consensus fair price across 13 valuation methods, at three horizons. As of 2026-09-15. Estimates are diagnostics, not price targets. Short-horizon estimates are close to coin-flips, so confidence is a method-agreement read, not a prediction.
Today's peer multiple on trailing earnings, with no growth credited. This is the headline read.
Adds projected growth, so it leans optimistic by design. Read it as upside context, not a base case.
A price-focused, side-by-side fair-value read versus Aerospace & Defense — fair value, gap to price, and forward P/E.
Our valuation methods disagree too much on this name right now. Rather than print a number we don't believe, we're holding it back until they converge.
Compare the value case
Put NOC next to peers and holdings, compare Living FV and multiples, then graph the driver behind the difference.
Advances: Expand production capacity and accelerate key programs (e.g., B-21, Sentinel)
Sentinel progress supports production capacity expansion objective.
Not investment advice. Scores describe historical and current data; they are not forecasts of future returns. Consult a licensed advisor before making investment decisions.
End-of-day figures as of 2026-09-15. EPS is implied from price ÷ P/E. Not investment advice.
Current $531.25
The last 12 months of price, then the range of analyst 12-month targets from today’s $531.25.
Analyst ratings and price targets are third-party Wall Street estimates, not QuarterlyIQ’s view. Not investment advice.
A long-thesis check that carries the widest uncertainty of the three horizons.
Above average on quality vs scored peers
A second lens on the 12-month fair value: for companies that score high on measured quality (profitability, balance-sheet safety, earnings stability), this read trusts more of today's profit margins instead of averaging them toward their multi-year history the way the headline number does. Shown alongside the fair value above, not in place of it. A diagnostic, not a price target or a buy/sell signal.
Direction of the business behind the multiple. Bands are backend reads; trailing-12-month basis.
Advances: Expand production capacity and accelerate key programs (e.g., B-21, Sentinel)
Contract supports expansion of production capacity and key programs.
Advances: Expand production capacity and accelerate key programs (e.g., B-21, Sentinel)
Large contract accelerates key programs and growth.
Advances: Expand production capacity and accelerate key programs (e.g., B-21, Sentinel)
Advancement of Sentinel supports production capacity expansion.
Advances: Expand production capacity and accelerate key programs (e.g., B-21, Sentinel)
Contract supports expansion of production capacity and key programs.
Advances: Expand production capacity and accelerate key programs (e.g., B-21, Sentinel)
Successful test supports production capacity expansion and program acceleration.
Advances: Expand production capacity and accelerate key programs (e.g., B-21, Sentinel)
Contracts support expansion of production capacity and key programs.
Advances: Expand production capacity and accelerate key programs (e.g., B-21, Sentinel)
Expansion of partnerships supports production capacity and key programs.
