GD vs. HON: General Dynamics vs. Honeywell Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

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

Company profile comparison for General Dynamics (GD) and Honeywell (HON)
Profile Item	GD	HON
Name	General Dynamics Corp.	Honeywell International Inc.
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	69.74 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	January 2, 1962
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HON

GSPC

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Honeywell (HON), 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 Honeywell (HON). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Honeywell (HON)
Metric	GD	HON
Total Return (1Y)	6.52%	14.14%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.95%	9.90%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.65%	2.32%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HON

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Honeywell (HON)
Metric	GD	HON
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	23.03%	27.11%
Beta (5Y)	0.30	0.80
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-22.55%	-25.21%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	2.82M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GD and HON 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 Honeywell (HON)
Metric	GD	HON
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.10	0.36
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.15	0.52

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Honeywell (HON) at 44.39% 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%

HON

Capital Goods industry group

44.39%

HON: 44.39%
Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Honeywell (HON) at 18.68% 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%

HON

Capital Goods industry group

18.68%

Max: 27.47%
HON: 18.68%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.49% and Honeywell (HON) at 16.92% 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%

HON

Capital Goods industry group

16.92%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
HON: 16.92%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Honeywell (HON)
Metric	GD	HON
ROE (TTM)	18.01%	44.39%
ROA (TTM)	6.23%	7.13%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.24%	18.68%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.49%	16.92%
Gross Margin (TTM)	15.42%	37.21%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.13% and Honeywell (HON) at 7.85% 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. Honeywell (HON): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 13.35% and Honeywell (HON) at -8.27% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Honeywell (HON)
Metric	GD	HON
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.13%	7.85%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.07%	1.82%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.35%	-8.27%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.22%	3.20%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 1.43 and Honeywell (HON) at 0.96 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

HON

Capital Goods industry group

0.96

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
HON: 0.96
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 0.33 and Honeywell (HON) at 0.76 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

HON

Capital Goods industry group

0.76

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
HON: 0.76
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Honeywell (HON): 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 Honeywell (HON)
Metric	GD	HON
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	0.96
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.33	0.76
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.68	1.23

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

General Dynamics (GD) at 1.76% earns its spot in the top quartile of its industry’s yields; Honeywell (HON) at 3.63% is past the top of its own peer range — territory where a dividend-safety check matters more than the headline number.

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%

HON

Capital Goods industry group

3.63%

HON: 3.63%
Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 36.90% and Honeywell (HON) at 38.87% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

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%

HON

Capital Goods industry group

38.87%

Max: 67.39%
HON: 38.87%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Honeywell (HON)
Metric	GD	HON
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.76%	3.63%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	36.90%	38.87%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Honeywell (HON) at 10.91 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while General Dynamics (GD) at 20.84 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for HON, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

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

HON

Capital Goods industry group

10.91

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
HON: 10.91
Min: 3.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Honeywell (HON): 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 Honeywell (HON) at 1.85 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

HON

Capital Goods industry group

1.85

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
HON: 1.85
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Honeywell (HON): 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 Honeywell (HON) at 3.12 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

HON

Capital Goods industry group

3.12

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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Honeywell (HON)
Metric	GD	HON
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.84	10.91
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.69	1.85
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.50	3.12
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.76%	10.07%