Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. KTOS scored 34.7, TDG scored 74.9 — TDG leads.
Compare another set
KTOS
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
34.7
$42.36 · $8.0B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
40.2
TDG leads
TDG
TransDigm Group Incorporated
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
74.9
$1,107.99 · $61.2B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthKTOS+18.5%
Highest qualityTDG82 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
KTOS
stronger →← stronger
TDG
26
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
82
86
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
83
18
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
62
TDG is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
KTOS
TDG
-$129mF
FCF
$1.9bC+
+18.5%B+
Rev
+16.6%B+
0.06A
D/E
Negative equity
5.2xC
P/S
—
36.41D
PEG
3.05D
—
P/E
33.6xC+
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
KTOS
TDG
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
54% above
—
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~22%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
-45%
—
5-yr DCF upside
-35%
—
10-yr DCF upside
-17%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
KTOS
Why this score
Diluting shareholders
TDG
Why this score
Durable high returns
The companies
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.
TDGTransDigm Group Incorporated
Aerospace & Defense · $1,107.99 · beta 0.94
Why now
Aerospace & Defense · market cap $61.2b. Down 24% from 52-week high of $1463.03 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +17%, comfortably above the S&P median. 20 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $1,448 (implying +31% upside).
Moat
Net margin 21% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. $61.2b 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
Trailing P/E 34x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
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 KTOS and TDG diverge
On the headline score the gap is 40.2 points in favor of TDG. The widest single difference is Quality, where TDG leads by 55.5 points.
QualityKTOS 26.5 · TDG 82.0TDG +55.5
ValueKTOS 18.5 · TDG 61.8TDG +43.3
GrowthKTOS 85.6 · TDG 82.9level
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 TDG or KTOS the better stock?
TDG scores higher: TDG 74.9, 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 TDG and KTOS differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where TDG leads by 56 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. TDG also leads value, while growth is effectively level between them.
How are TDG 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.