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BE vs. GD: Bloom Energy vs. General Dynamics Stock Comparison

How do Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but BE is classified in Electrical Equipment while GD is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
Profile ItemBEGD
NameBloom Energy Corp. Class A Common StockGeneral Dynamics Corp.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorIndustrialsIndustrials
GICS Industry GroupCapital GoodsCapital Goods
GICS IndustryElectrical EquipmentAerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-IndustryHeavy Electrical EquipmentAerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization51.20 billion USD95.68 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateJuly 25, 2018January 2, 1962
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BE
GD
GSPC
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
MetricBEGD
Total Return (1Y)46.07%6.52%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)162.89%16.95%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)41.93%14.65%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BE
GD
GSPC
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Bloom Energy (BE) has a highly aggressive beta of 3.61, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while General Dynamics (GD) is defensive at 0.30 and tends to be less market-sensitive — a wide gap in beta profiles.

Risk profile metrics for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
MetricBEGD
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)112.64%23.03%
Beta (5Y)3.610.30
Max Drawdown (5Y)-74.98%-22.55%
Avg. Volume (3M)15.48M1.19M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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BE and GD are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
MetricBEGD
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.370.10
Sortino Ratio (1Y)0.570.15

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Bloom Energy (BE) at 39.61% sits in the top ROE quartile, while General Dynamics (GD) at 18.01% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for BE.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

39.61%

Max
40.55%
BE
39.61%
Q3
19.29%
Median
12.12%
Q1
4.08%
Min
-17.12%

GD

Capital Goods industry group

18.01%

Max
40.55%
Q3
19.29%
GD
18.01%
Median
12.12%
Q1
4.08%
Min
-17.12%
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Bloom Energy (BE) at 13.53% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of General Dynamics (GD) at 8.24%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

13.53%

Max
27.47%
BE
13.53%
Q3
12.10%
Median
6.30%
Q1
1.40%
Min
-12.89%

GD

Capital Goods industry group

8.24%

Max
27.47%
Q3
12.10%
GD
8.24%
Median
6.30%
Q1
1.40%
Min
-12.89%
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Bloom Energy (BE) at 18.49% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of General Dynamics (GD) at 10.49%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

18.49%

Max
36.60%
BE
18.49%
Q3
18.33%
Median
11.12%
Q1
5.14%
Min
-12.63%

GD

Capital Goods industry group

10.49%

Max
36.60%
Q3
18.33%
Median
11.12%
GD
10.49%
Q1
5.14%
Min
-12.63%
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
MetricBEGD
ROE (TTM)39.61%18.01%
ROA (TTM)7.45%6.23%
Net Margin (TTM)13.53%8.24%
Operating Margin (TTM)18.49%10.49%
Gross Margin (TTM)31.77%15.42%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Bloom Energy (BE) at 37.33% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while General Dynamics (GD) at 10.13% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for BE.

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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: General Dynamics (GD) reports EPS growth of 13.35%, ranked against its industry; Bloom Energy (BE) has no EPS growth figure this period.

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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
MetricBEGD
Revenue Growth (YoY)37.33%10.13%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)19.06%10.07%
EPS Growth (YoY)--13.35%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)--8.22%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Bloom Energy (BE) at 3.74 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while General Dynamics (GD) at 1.43 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

3.74

Max
5.22
BE
3.74
Q3
2.95
Median
2.08
Q1
1.43
Min
0.36

GD

Capital Goods industry group

1.43

Max
5.22
Q3
2.95
Median
2.08
Q1
1.43
GD
1.43
Min
0.36
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

General Dynamics (GD) at 0.33 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Bloom Energy (BE) at 1.42 uses more debt funding than most peers.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

1.42

Max
2.33
BE
1.42
Q3
1.12
Median
0.60
Q1
0.29
Min
0.00

GD

Capital Goods industry group

0.33

Max
2.33
Q3
1.12
Median
0.60
GD
0.33
Q1
0.29
Min
0.00
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
MetricBEGD
Current Ratio (MRQ)3.741.43
Debt / Equity (MRQ)1.420.33
Net Debt / EBITDA0.500.68

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Bloom Energy (BE) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile General Dynamics (GD) reports a yield of 1.76%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max
2.66%
Q3
1.14%
Median
0.24%
BE
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

GD

Capital Goods industry group

1.76%

Max
2.66%
GD
1.76%
Q3
1.14%
Median
0.24%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Bloom Energy (BE) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile General Dynamics (GD) reports a payout of 36.90%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max
67.39%
Q3
28.02%
Median
6.86%
BE
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

GD

Capital Goods industry group

36.90%

Max
67.39%
GD
36.90%
Q3
28.02%
Median
6.86%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
MetricBEGD
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%1.76%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)0.00%36.90%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

General Dynamics (GD) at 20.84 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Bloom Energy (BE) at 104.99 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for BE’s trailing earnings.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

104.99

BE
104.99
Max
59.38
Q3
35.92
Median
25.41
Q1
19.47
Min
3.03

GD

Capital Goods industry group

20.84

Max
59.38
Q3
35.92
Median
25.41
GD
20.84
Q1
19.47
Min
3.03
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

General Dynamics (GD) at 1.69 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Bloom Energy (BE) at 13.37 clears its benchmark range — BE looks notably rich on sales.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

13.37

BE
13.37
Max
7.54
Q3
3.76
Median
2.15
Q1
1.03
Min
0.03

GD

Capital Goods industry group

1.69

Max
7.54
Q3
3.76
Median
2.15
GD
1.69
Q1
1.03
Min
0.03
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

General Dynamics (GD) at 3.50 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Bloom Energy (BE) at 26.49 prices above its benchmark range — BE looks rich relative to book.

BE

Capital Goods industry group

26.49

BE
26.49
Max
9.66
Q3
5.00
Median
3.12
Q1
1.81
Min
-1.08

GD

Capital Goods industry group

3.50

Max
9.66
Q3
5.00
GD
3.50
Median
3.12
Q1
1.81
Min
-1.08
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Bloom Energy (BE) vs. General Dynamics (GD): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Bloom Energy (BE) and General Dynamics (GD)
MetricBEGD
P/E Ratio (TTM)104.9920.84
P/S Ratio (TTM)13.371.69
P/B Ratio (MRQ)26.493.50
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)-0.00%4.76%