GD vs. GE: General Dynamics vs. GE Aerospace Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE) 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

General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but GD is classified in Aerospace & Defense while GE is classified in Industrial Conglomerates.

Company profile comparison for General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Profile Item	GD	GE
Name	General Dynamics Corp.	General Electric Company
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Industrial Conglomerates
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Industrial Conglomerates
Market Capitalization	95.68 billion USD	335.38 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	January 2, 1962
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GSPC

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE), 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 General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Metric	GD	GE
Total Return (1Y)	6.52%	9.16%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.95%	55.50%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.65%	37.59%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GSPC

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE), 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 General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

GE Aerospace (GE) has an aggressive beta of 1.39, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while General Dynamics (GD) is defensive at 0.30 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Metric	GD	GE
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	23.03%	34.52%
Beta (5Y)	0.30	1.39
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-22.55%	-44.94%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	4.48M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GD and GE 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 General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Metric	GD	GE
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.10	0.14
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.15	0.20

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

GE Aerospace (GE) at 50.17% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than General Dynamics (GD) at 18.01%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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%

GE

Capital Goods industry group

50.17%

GE: 50.17%
Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

GE Aerospace (GE) at 17.31% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of General Dynamics (GD) at 8.24%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

GE

Capital Goods industry group

17.31%

Max: 27.47%
GE: 17.31%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

GE Aerospace (GE) 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.

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%

GE

Capital Goods industry group

18.49%

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

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Metric	GD	GE
ROE (TTM)	18.01%	50.17%
ROA (TTM)	6.23%	5.06%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.24%	17.31%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.49%	18.49%
Gross Margin (TTM)	15.42%	30.07%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.13% and GE Aerospace (GE) at 18.48% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

GE Aerospace (GE) at 35.89% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while General Dynamics (GD) at 13.35% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for GE.

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Metric	GD	GE
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.13%	18.48%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.07%	16.32%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.35%	35.89%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.22%	446.03%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 1.43 and GE Aerospace (GE) at 0.98 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

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

GE

Capital Goods industry group

0.98

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
GE: 0.98
Min: 0.36

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): 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 GE Aerospace (GE) at 1.16 uses more debt funding than most peers.

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

GE

Capital Goods industry group

1.16

Max: 2.33
GE: 1.16
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Metric	GD	GE
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	0.98
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.33	1.16
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.68	0.93

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

General Dynamics (GD) at 1.76% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while GE Aerospace (GE) at 0.56% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, GD the richer one.

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%

GE

Capital Goods industry group

0.56%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
GE: 0.56%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

GE Aerospace (GE) at 20.23% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while General Dynamics (GD) at 36.90% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

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%

GE

Capital Goods industry group

20.23%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
GE: 20.23%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Metric	GD	GE
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.76%	0.56%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	36.90%	20.23%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

General Dynamics (GD) at 20.84 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while GE Aerospace (GE) at 36.94 sits in the richer quartile — GE needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

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

GE

Capital Goods industry group

36.94

Max: 59.38
GE: 36.94
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

General Dynamics (GD) at 1.69 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while GE Aerospace (GE) at 6.38 sits in the pricier quartile — GE costs more per dollar of sales.

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

GE

Capital Goods industry group

6.38

Max: 7.54
GE: 6.38
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): 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 GE Aerospace (GE) at 19.06 prices above its benchmark range — GE looks rich relative to book.

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

GE

Capital Goods industry group

19.06

GE: 19.06
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

General Dynamics (GD) vs. GE Aerospace (GE): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and GE Aerospace (GE)
Metric	GD	GE
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.84	36.94
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.69	6.38
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.50	19.06
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.76%	1.89%