ETN vs. NOC: Eaton vs. Northrop Grumman Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Eaton (ETN) 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

Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but ETN is classified in Electrical Equipment while NOC is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Profile Item	ETN	NOC
Name	Eaton Corporation plc	Northrop Grumman Corporation
Country/Region	Ireland	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Electrical Equipment	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Electrical Components & Equipment	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	132.76 billion USD	74.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 1, 1972	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ETN

NOC

GSPC

Eaton (ETN) 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 Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	ETN	NOC
Total Return (1Y)	-2.33%	-3.34%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	19.68%	7.23%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	17.50%	9.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ETN

NOC

GSPC

Eaton (ETN) 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 Eaton (ETN) 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. Eaton (ETN) has a non-negative beta of 1.14.

Risk profile metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	ETN	NOC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	43.57%	28.86%
Beta (5Y)	1.14	-0.12
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.46%	-37.80%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.32M	902.47K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ETN 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 Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	ETN	NOC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.15	-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.21	-0.37

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 19.55% 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.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

19.55%

Max: 40.55%
ETN: 19.55%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Eaton (ETN) at 12.18% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 10.37%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

12.18%

Max: 27.47%
ETN: 12.18%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 17.85% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

17.85%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
ETN: 17.85%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	ETN	NOC
ROE (TTM)	19.55%	26.07%
ROA (TTM)	7.22%	7.11%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.18%	10.37%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.85%	12.91%
Gross Margin (TTM)	35.16%	20.03%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Eaton (ETN) at 10.33% 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.

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

EPS Growth

Both Eaton (ETN) at 10.00% 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.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	ETN	NOC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.33%	2.24%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.77%	4.65%
EPS Growth (YoY)	10.00%	2.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.39%	-2.60%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 1.23 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.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
ETN: 1.23
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 1.00 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.00

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
ETN: 1.00
Median: 0.60
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

Eaton (ETN) 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 Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	ETN	NOC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.23	1.23
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.00	0.93
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.85	1.87

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 1.33% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.82% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

1.33%

Max: 2.66%
ETN: 1.33%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Eaton (ETN) at 43.36% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 30.18% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

43.36%

Max: 67.39%
ETN: 43.36%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	ETN	NOC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.33%	1.82%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	43.36%	30.18%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Eaton (ETN) at 34.14 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for NOC, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

34.14

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
ETN: 34.14
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

Eaton (ETN) 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 Eaton (ETN) at 4.15 sits in the pricier quartile — ETN costs more per dollar of sales.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

4.15

Max: 7.54
ETN: 4.15
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

Eaton (ETN) 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 Eaton (ETN) at 6.33 carries an above-peer premium to book — ETN is pricier on assets.

ETN

Capital Goods industry group

6.33

Max: 9.66
ETN: 6.33
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Eaton (ETN) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	ETN	NOC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	34.14	16.57
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.15	1.71
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.33	3.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.29%	4.21%