Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. HEI-A scored 72.9, LMT scored 65.0 — HEI-A leads.
Compare another set
HEI-A
HEICO Corporation
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
72.9
$223.05 · $31.2B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
7.9
HEI-A leads
LMT
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
65
$509.59 · $117.6B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestLMT18.8x
Fastest growthHEI-A+16.3%
Strongest balance sheetHEI-A0.45
Highest qualityHEI-A83 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueLMT-13%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
HEI-A
stronger →← stronger
LMT
83
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
81
85
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
65
55
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
52
HEI-A is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
HEI-A
LMT
$1.0bC+
FCF
$8.7bB+
+16.3%B+
Rev
+5.6%C+
0.45B+
D/E
2.34D
37.2xC
P/E
18.8xA-
1.52C+
PEG
0.96B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
HEI-A
LMT
60% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
13% below
~24%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~1%/yr
-48%
1-yr DCF upside
+12%
-37%
5-yr DCF upside
+15%
-19%
10-yr DCF upside
+19%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
HEI-A
Why this score
Durable high returns
LMT
Why this score
Durable high returns
The companies
HEI-AHEICO Corporation
Aerospace & Defense · $223.05 · beta 1.09
Why now
Aerospace & Defense · market cap $31.2b. Down 20% from 52-week high of $279.66 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +16%, comfortably above the S&P median.
Moat
Net margin 16% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 18% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 122% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 37x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
LMTLockheed Martin Corporation
Aerospace & Defense · $509.59 · beta 0.10
Why now
Aerospace & Defense · market cap $117.6b. Down 26% from 52-week high of $692.00 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.96 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 21 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $625.76 (implying +23% upside).
Moat
ROE 89% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 139% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $117.6b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
D/E 2.34 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where HEI-A and LMT diverge
On the headline score the gap is 7.9 points in favor of HEI-A. The widest single difference is Growth, where HEI-A leads by 20.5 points.
GrowthHEI-A 85.3 · LMT 64.8HEI-A +20.5
ValueHEI-A 54.8 · LMT 52.1level
QualityHEI-A 82.7 · LMT 81.5level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is HEI-A or LMT the better stock?
HEI-A scores higher: HEI-A 72.9, LMT 65.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do HEI-A and LMT differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where HEI-A leads by 21 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. The other two pillars are close enough to call level, so this is the one place they genuinely separate.
How are HEI-A and LMT scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.