CMI vs. NOC: Cummins vs. Northrop Grumman Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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

Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but CMI is classified in Machinery while NOC is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Profile Item	CMI	NOC
Name	Cummins Inc.	Northrop Grumman Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Machinery	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	61.69 billion USD	74.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CMI

NOC

GSPC

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC), 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 Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CMI	NOC
Total Return (1Y)	-0.52%	-3.34%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	31.79%	7.23%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	17.12%	9.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CMI

NOC

GSPC

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC), 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 Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports a negative beta of -0.12, suggesting inverse market sensitivity over the measurement window. That is uncommon for ordinary equities and can reflect commodity-linked or hedge-like exposure, but it can also come from statistical noise. Cummins (CMI) has a non-negative beta of 1.26.

Risk profile metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CMI	NOC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	36.83%	28.86%
Beta (5Y)	1.26	-0.12
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-38.12%	-37.80%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.14M	902.47K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CMI and NOC 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 Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CMI	NOC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.13	-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.18	-0.37

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 25.05% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 26.07% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

25.05%

Max: 40.55%
CMI: 25.05%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

26.07%

Max: 40.55%
NOC: 26.07%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 9.26% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 10.37% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

9.26%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
CMI: 9.26%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

10.37%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
NOC: 10.37%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 13.95% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

13.95%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
CMI: 13.95%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

12.91%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
NOC: 12.91%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CMI	NOC
ROE (TTM)	25.05%	26.07%
ROA (TTM)	7.60%	7.11%
Net Margin (TTM)	9.26%	10.37%
Operating Margin (TTM)	13.95%	12.91%
Gross Margin (TTM)	26.32%	20.03%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.24% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Cummins (CMI) at -1.27% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.61% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Cummins (CMI) at -27.74% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CMI	NOC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-1.27%	2.24%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.25%	4.65%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-27.74%	2.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.68%	-2.60%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Cummins (CMI) at 1.74 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.23 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for NOC.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

1.74

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
CMI: 1.74
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
NOC: 1.23
Min: 0.36

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 0.52 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

0.52

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
CMI: 0.52
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

0.93

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
NOC: 0.93
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CMI	NOC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.74	1.23
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.52	0.93
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.62	1.87

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 1.83% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.82% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

1.83%

Max: 2.66%
CMI: 1.83%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.82%

Max: 2.66%
NOC: 1.82%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 34.21% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 30.18% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

34.21%

Max: 67.39%
CMI: 34.21%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

30.18%

Max: 67.39%
NOC: 30.18%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CMI	NOC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.83%	1.82%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	34.21%	30.18%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Cummins (CMI) at 18.78 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 sit in the cheaper earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, with the market paying less for a dollar of trailing earnings than it pays for typical peers.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

18.78

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
CMI: 18.78
Min: 3.03

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

16.57

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
NOC: 16.57
Min: 3.03

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Cummins (CMI) at 1.72 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

1.72

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
CMI: 1.72
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.71

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
NOC: 1.71
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Cummins (CMI) at 4.63 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 3.99 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

CMI

Capital Goods industry group

4.63

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
CMI: 4.63
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

3.99

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
NOC: 3.99
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Cummins (CMI) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Cummins (CMI) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CMI	NOC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	18.78	16.57
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.72	1.71
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.63	3.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.06%	4.21%