Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. NOC scored 61.3, TXT scored 69.1 — TXT leads.
Compare another set
NOC
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
61.3
$480.72 · $68.3B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
7.8
TXT leads
TXT
Textron Inc.
Aerospace & Defense · Quality-Growth
69.1
$74.16 · $12.8B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestTXT14.0x
Fastest growthTXT+8.8%
Strongest balance sheetTXT0.52
Highest qualityNOC70 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueTXT-6%
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
TXT
70
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
67
55
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
65
61
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
76
TXT is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
NOC
TXT
$3.6bB
FCF
$759mC+
+5.9%C+
Rev
+8.8%B
0.95C+
D/E
0.52B+
15.3xA-
P/E
14.0xA-
3.64D
PEG
0.85B+
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
TXT
23% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
6% below
~10%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~5%/yr
-20%
1-yr DCF upside
0%
-19%
5-yr DCF upside
+6%
-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
TXT
Why this score
Buying back stock
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.
TXTTextron Inc.
Aerospace & Defense · $74.16 · beta 0.91
Why now
Aerospace & Defense · market cap $12.8b. Down 27% from 52-week high of $101.57 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.85 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $100.27 (implying +35% upside).
Moat
ROE 12% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere.
Risk
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
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 TXT diverge
On the headline score the gap is 7.8 points in favor of TXT. The widest single difference is Value, where TXT leads by 14.8 points.
ValueNOC 60.8 · TXT 75.6TXT +14.8
GrowthNOC 54.6 · TXT 65.2TXT +10.6
QualityNOC 69.5 · TXT 67.1level
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 TXT or NOC the better stock?
TXT scores higher: TXT 69.1, 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 TXT and NOC differ most?
The widest gap is value, where TXT leads by 15 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. TXT also leads growth, while quality is effectively level between them.
How are TXT 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.