Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. HONA scored 72.0, KTOS scored 34.7 — HONA leads.
Compare another set
HONA
Honeywell Aerospace Inc.
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
72
$157.94 · $50.1B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
37.3
HONA leads
KTOS
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
34.7
$42.36 · $8.0B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthKTOS+18.5%
Highest qualityHONA76 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
HONA
stronger →← stronger
KTOS
76
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
26
84
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
86
62
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
18
HONA is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
HONA
KTOS
$2.5bB
FCF
-$129mF
+12.7%B+
Rev
+18.5%B+
Negative equity
D/E
0.06A
48.2xC
P/E
—
0.98B+
PEG
36.41D
—
P/S
5.2xC
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
HONA
KTOS
8% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
—
~11%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
—
-19%
1-yr DCF upside
—
-7%
5-yr DCF upside
—
+13%
10-yr DCF upside
—
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
HONA
Why this score
Short track record
KTOS
Why this score
Diluting shareholders
The companies
HONAHoneywell Aerospace Inc.
Aerospace & Defense · $157.94
Why now
Aerospace & Defense · market cap $50.1b. Down 47% from 52-week high of $297.50 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +13%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.98 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $201.87 (implying +28% upside).
Moat
FCF converts 128% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $50.1b 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
Down 47% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Trailing P/E 48x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
KTOSKratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
Aerospace & Defense · $42.36 · beta 1.11
Why now
Aerospace & Defense · market cap $8.0b. Down 68% from 52-week high of $134.00 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +19%, comfortably above the S&P median. 23 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $100.04 (implying +136% upside).
Moat
Higher-variance name — the moat signals on the quantitative card are modest, so the durability case rests on execution (turning current growth into durable earnings power) or an un-monetized asset (IP / network effects / first-mover position) rather than an entrenched competitive position.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$129m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Down 68% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Net margin 2.0% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
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 HONA and KTOS diverge
On the headline score the gap is 37.3 points in favor of HONA. The widest single difference is Quality, where HONA leads by 49.5 points.
QualityHONA 76.0 · KTOS 26.5HONA +49.5
ValueHONA 61.5 · KTOS 18.5HONA +43.0
GrowthHONA 83.7 · KTOS 85.6level
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 HONA or KTOS the better stock?
HONA scores higher: HONA 72.0, KTOS 34.7 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 HONA and KTOS differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where HONA leads by 50 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. HONA also leads value, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are HONA and KTOS 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.