GD vs. GNRC: General Dynamics vs. Generac Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do General Dynamics (GD) and Generac (GNRC) 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 Generac (GNRC) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but GD is classified in Aerospace & Defense while GNRC is classified in Electrical Equipment.

Company profile comparison for General Dynamics (GD) and Generac (GNRC)
Profile Item	GD	GNRC
Name	General Dynamics Corp.	Generac Holdings Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Electrical Equipment
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Electrical Components & Equipment
Market Capitalization	95.68 billion USD	10.43 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	February 11, 2010
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GNRC

GSPC

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Generac (GNRC), 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 Generac (GNRC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	GD	GNRC
Total Return (1Y)	6.52%	23.38%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.95%	23.05%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.65%	-15.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GNRC

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Generac (GNRC) has an aggressive beta of 1.84, 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 Generac (GNRC)
Metric	GD	GNRC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	23.03%	59.48%
Beta (5Y)	0.30	1.84
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-22.55%	-81.73%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	1.22M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GD and GNRC 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 Generac (GNRC)
Metric	GD	GNRC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.10	0.32
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.15	0.50

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 18.01% and Generac (GNRC) at 10.64% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

10.64%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
GNRC: 10.64%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 8.24% and Generac (GNRC) at 6.52% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

6.52%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
GNRC: 6.52%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.49% and Generac (GNRC) at 11.67% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

11.67%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
GNRC: 11.67%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	GD	GNRC
ROE (TTM)	18.01%	10.64%
ROA (TTM)	6.23%	4.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.24%	6.52%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.49%	11.67%
Gross Margin (TTM)	15.42%	38.18%

Growth

Revenue Growth

General Dynamics (GD) at 10.13% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Generac (GNRC) at -2.02% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

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

EPS Growth

General Dynamics (GD) at 13.35% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Generac (GNRC) at -50.09% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	GD	GNRC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.13%	-2.02%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.07%	-2.67%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.35%	-50.09%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.22%	-20.83%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Generac (GNRC) at 1.97 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while General Dynamics (GD) at 1.43 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for GD.

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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

1.97

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
GNRC: 1.97
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Generac (GNRC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 0.33 and Generac (GNRC) at 0.47 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.47

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
GNRC: 0.47
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Generac (GNRC): 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 Generac (GNRC)
Metric	GD	GNRC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	1.97
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.33	0.47
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.68	1.65

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile General Dynamics (GD) reports a yield of 1.76%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
GNRC: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile General Dynamics (GD) reports a payout of 36.90%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
GNRC: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	GD	GNRC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.76%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	36.90%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 20.84 and Generac (GNRC) at 34.87 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

34.87

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
GNRC: 34.87
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both General Dynamics (GD) at 1.69 and Generac (GNRC) at 2.26 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

2.26

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
GNRC: 2.26
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Generac (GNRC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both General Dynamics (GD) at 3.50 and Generac (GNRC) at 3.46 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

3.46

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
GNRC: 3.46
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	GD	GNRC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.84	34.87
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.69	2.26
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.50	3.46
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.76%	3.21%