Aerospace and defense stocks: 14 companies analyzed
The 14 aerospace and defence companies Fintols covers, such as Boeing, General Dynamics and GE Aerospace: P/E, growth, margin and dividend with dated figures.
This group includes makers of commercial jets, engines, components and avionics, along with defense contractors that build military aircraft, missiles, ships, satellites and electronic systems. In civil aviation, the most profitable business often isn’t selling the plane or the engine but servicing it and supplying parts during the decades it flies. In defense, the main customer is government, through multiyear contracts and long programs. Some companies straddle both worlds, which spreads risk across two very different cycles. Space launch and satellite businesses are a smaller, growing niche.
The order backlog is central, since it represents years of committed production and gives visibility. Watch delivery rates, because many manufacturers have plenty of orders but struggle to build fast enough. The weight of aftermarket services and parts explains much of the profitability. With defense names, look at reliance on any single government’s budget and at contract types: fixed-price deals shift the risk of cost overruns onto the company. Free cash flow rounds out the picture.
Risks include quality or safety problems that halt deliveries, supply chain bottlenecks, crises that cut air travel and stall new orders, shifts in military spending and export restrictions. A tip for beginners: aircraft programs last for decades, so think long term and understand where the profit really comes from before reacting to headlines about a single big order or a canceled contract. Also look at debt and at customer advance payments, which can flatter cash flow for a while.
With data as of November 4, 2026, of the 14 aerospace and defence companies Fintols covers, the largest by market value is GE Aerospace ($341.8 billion) among those quoted in dollars and Airbus (€157.9 billion) among those quoted in euros, the fastest-growing in its latest quarter is AST SpaceMobile (+2,626.6% in sales) and the highest dividend yield belongs to Lockheed Martin (2.25%). The typical company in the group trades on a P/E of 24.9x and keeps a net margin of 8.2% (medians). Figures come from Yahoo Finance, the same source the Fintols analysis uses; N/A means the figure is not available.
Aerospace and defense companies on Fintols
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Revenue growth | Net margin | Dividend yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE Aerospace (GE) | $341.8 billion | 37.7x | +15.9% | 17.3% | 0.59% |
| RTX (RTX) | $267.8 billion | 32.3x | +11.1% | 8.8% | 1.43% |
| Airbus (AIR.PA) | €157.9 billion | 25.7x | -2.0% | 8.0% | 1.66% |
| Boeing (BA) | $140.3 billion | 18.3x | +3.9% | 8.1% | 0.00% |
| Lockheed Martin (LMT) | $137.5 billion | 21.1x | +11.3% | 8.2% | 2.25% |
| Safran (SAF.PA) | €121.1 billion | 31.4x | +16.0% | 11.6% | 1.18% |
| General Dynamics (GD) | $98.6 billion | 21.5x | +12.9% | 8.2% | 1.70% |
| Northrop Grumman (NOC) | $74.6 billion | 16.6x | +6.7% | 10.4% | 1.80% |
| TransDigm (TDG) | $67.3 billion | 36.9x | +22.5% | 21.3% | 0.00% |
| L3Harris (LHX) | $48.4 billion | 24.2x | +7.1% | 8.8% | 1.80% |
| Rheinmetall (RHM.DE) | €46.8 billion | 39.0x | +68.8% | 6.3% | 1.15% |
| Rocket Lab (RKLB) | $33.5 billion | N/A | +62.0% | -21.5% | 0.00% |
| AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) | $13.9 billion | N/A | +2,626.6% | 0.0% | 0.00% |
| Indra (IDR) | €10.5 billion | 18.3x | +22.7% | 7.7% | 0.47% |
Aerospace and defense comparisons
- Boeing vs General Dynamics
- Boeing vs GE Aerospace
- Boeing vs Lockheed Martin
- General Dynamics vs GE Aerospace
- General Dynamics vs Lockheed Martin
- GE Aerospace vs Lockheed Martin
- Northrop Grumman vs RTX
- L3Harris vs RTX
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