Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. NOC scored 61.3, TDG scored 74.9 — TDG leads.
Compare another set
NOC
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
61.3
$480.72 · $68.3B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
13.6
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
CheapestNOC15.3x
Fastest growthTDG+16.6%
Highest qualityTDG82 / 100
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)
NOC
stronger →← stronger
TDG
70
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
82
55
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
83
61
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
62
TDG is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
NOC
TDG
$3.6bB
FCF
$1.9bC+
+5.9%C+
Rev
+16.6%B+
0.95C+
D/E
Negative equity
15.3xA-
P/E
33.6xC+
3.64D
PEG
3.05D
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
NOC
TDG
23% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
54% above
~10%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~22%/yr
-20%
1-yr DCF upside
-45%
-19%
5-yr DCF upside
-35%
-17%
10-yr DCF upside
-17%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
NOC
Why this score
Raising its dividend
TDG
Why this score
Durable high returns
The companies
NOCNorthrop Grumman Corporation
Aerospace & Defense · $480.72 · beta -0.11
Why now
Aerospace & Defense · market cap $68.3b. Down 38% from 52-week high of $774.00 — deep drawdown territory. 24 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $623.00 (implying +30% upside).
Moat
ROE 25% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $68.3b 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 38% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
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 NOC and TDG diverge
On the headline score the gap is 13.6 points in favor of TDG. The widest single difference is Growth, where TDG leads by 28.3 points.
GrowthNOC 54.6 · TDG 82.9TDG +28.3
QualityNOC 69.5 · TDG 82.0TDG +12.5
ValueNOC 60.8 · TDG 61.8level
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 NOC the better stock?
TDG scores higher: TDG 74.9, NOC 61.3 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 NOC differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where TDG leads by 28 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. TDG also leads quality, while value is effectively level between them.
How are TDG and NOC 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.