EME vs. NOC: EMCOR vs. Northrop Grumman Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do EMCOR (EME) 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

EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but EME is classified in Construction & Engineering while NOC is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Profile Item	EME	NOC
Name	EMCOR Group, Inc.	Northrop Grumman Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Construction & Engineering	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Construction & Engineering	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	26.64 billion USD	74.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 10, 1995	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

EME

NOC

GSPC

EMCOR (EME) 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 EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	EME	NOC
Total Return (1Y)	0.07%	-3.34%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	46.16%	7.23%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	38.01%	9.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

EME

NOC

GSPC

EMCOR (EME) 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 EMCOR (EME) 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. EMCOR (EME) has a non-negative beta of 1.17.

Risk profile metrics for EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	EME	NOC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	43.79%	28.86%
Beta (5Y)	1.17	-0.12
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-36.85%	-37.80%
Avg. Volume (3M)	402.73K	902.47K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

EME 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 EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	EME	NOC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.10	-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.14	-0.37

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both EMCOR (EME) at 40.55% 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.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

40.55%

EME: 40.55%
Max: 40.55%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both EMCOR (EME) at 7.78% 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.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

7.78%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
EME: 7.78%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both EMCOR (EME) at 10.46% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

10.46%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
EME: 10.46%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	EME	NOC
ROE (TTM)	40.55%	26.07%
ROA (TTM)	12.33%	7.11%
Net Margin (TTM)	7.78%	10.37%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.46%	12.91%
Gross Margin (TTM)	19.59%	20.03%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both EMCOR (EME) at 16.62% 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.

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

EPS Growth

EMCOR (EME) at 30.99% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.61% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for EME.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	EME	NOC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	16.62%	2.24%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	15.32%	4.65%
EPS Growth (YoY)	30.99%	2.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	51.54%	-2.60%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both EMCOR (EME) at 1.17 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.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

1.17

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
EME: 1.17
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

EMCOR (EME) at 0.13 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

0.13

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
EME: 0.13
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

EMCOR (EME) 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 EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	EME	NOC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.17	1.23
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.13	0.93
Net Debt / EBITDA	-0.10	1.87

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.82% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while EMCOR (EME) at 0.07% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, NOC the richer one.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

0.07%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
EME: 0.07%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

EMCOR (EME) at 4.19% 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.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

4.19%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
EME: 4.19%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	EME	NOC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.07%	1.82%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	4.19%	30.18%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both EMCOR (EME) at 17.59 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.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

17.59

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
EME: 17.59
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

EMCOR (EME) 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 EMCOR (EME) at 1.34 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

1.34

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
EME: 1.34
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

EMCOR (EME) 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 EMCOR (EME) at 6.26 carries an above-peer premium to book — EME is pricier on assets.

EME

Capital Goods industry group

6.26

Max: 9.66
EME: 6.26
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for EMCOR (EME) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	EME	NOC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	17.59	16.57
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.34	1.71
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.26	3.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.82%	4.21%