CW vs. NOC: Curtiss-Wright vs. Northrop Grumman Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Curtiss-Wright (CW) 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

Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) are both classified in the Aerospace & Defense sub-industry within the broader Aerospace & Defense industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Profile Item	CW	NOC
Name	Curtiss-Wright Corporation	Northrop Grumman Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	16.81 billion USD	74.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NOC

GSPC

Curtiss-Wright (CW) 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 Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CW	NOC
Total Return (1Y)	-15.83%	-3.34%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	33.49%	7.23%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	29.54%	9.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NOC

GSPC

Curtiss-Wright (CW) 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 Curtiss-Wright (CW) 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. Curtiss-Wright (CW) has a non-negative beta of 0.93.

Risk profile metrics for Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CW	NOC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	38.26%	28.86%
Beta (5Y)	0.93	-0.12
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-45.25%	-37.80%
Avg. Volume (3M)	427.49K	902.47K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CW 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 Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CW	NOC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.53	-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.71	-0.37

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 21.82% 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.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

21.82%

Max: 40.55%
CW: 21.82%
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%

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 14.86% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 10.37%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

14.86%

Max: 27.47%
CW: 14.86%
Q3: 12.10%
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%

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 19.87% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

19.87%

Max: 36.60%
CW: 19.87%
Q3: 18.33%
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%

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CW	NOC
ROE (TTM)	21.82%	26.07%
ROA (TTM)	8.90%	7.11%
Net Margin (TTM)	14.86%	10.37%
Operating Margin (TTM)	19.87%	12.91%
Gross Margin (TTM)	38.07%	20.03%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 12.08% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.24% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 21.99% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.61% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CW	NOC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	12.08%	2.24%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	11.01%	4.65%
EPS Growth (YoY)	21.99%	2.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.09%	-2.60%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 1.42 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.23 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

1.42

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
CW: 1.42
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

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 0.45 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

0.45

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
CW: 0.45
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

Curtiss-Wright (CW) 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 Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CW	NOC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.42	1.23
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.45	0.93
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.00	1.87

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.82% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 0.23% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, NOC the richer one.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

0.23%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
CW: 0.23%
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%

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 6.67% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 30.18% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

6.67%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
CW: 6.67%
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%

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CW	NOC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.23%	1.82%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	6.67%	30.18%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 30.92 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for NOC, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

30.92

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
CW: 30.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
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

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 4.50 sits in the pricier quartile — CW costs more per dollar of sales.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

4.50

Max: 7.54
CW: 4.50
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
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

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 3.99 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Curtiss-Wright (CW) at 6.64 carries an above-peer premium to book — CW is pricier on assets.

CW

Capital Goods industry group

6.64

Max: 9.66
CW: 6.64
Q3: 5.00
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

Curtiss-Wright (CW) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Curtiss-Wright (CW) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	CW	NOC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	30.92	16.57
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.50	1.71
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.64	3.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.86%	4.21%