GD vs. JCI: General Dynamics vs. Johnson Controls Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do General Dynamics (GD) and Johnson Controls (JCI) 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but GD is classified in Aerospace & Defense while JCI is classified in Building Products.

Company profile comparison for General Dynamics (GD) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Profile Item	GD	JCI
Name	General Dynamics Corp.	Johnson Controls International plc
Country/Region	United States	Ireland
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Building Products
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Building Products
Market Capitalization	95.68 billion USD	81.79 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	September 28, 1987
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

JCI

GSPC

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI), 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 Johnson Controls (JCI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GD	JCI
Total Return (1Y)	6.52%	17.11%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.95%	43.46%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.65%	15.29%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

JCI

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GD	JCI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	23.03%	32.91%
Beta (5Y)	0.30	1.29
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-22.55%	-42.32%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	3.57M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GD and JCI 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 Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GD	JCI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.10	0.39
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.15	0.54

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Johnson Controls (JCI) at 21.73% sits in the top ROE quartile, while General Dynamics (GD) at 18.01% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for JCI.

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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

21.73%

Max: 40.55%
JCI: 21.73%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 8.24% and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 11.12% 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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

11.12%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
JCI: 11.12%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.49% and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 17.21% 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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

17.21%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
JCI: 17.21%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GD	JCI
ROE (TTM)	18.01%	21.73%
ROA (TTM)	6.23%	6.41%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.24%	11.12%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.49%	17.21%
Gross Margin (TTM)	15.42%	37.07%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.13% and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 2.81% 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. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Johnson Controls (JCI) at 99.60% 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 JCI.

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GD	JCI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.13%	2.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.07%	4.57%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.35%	99.60%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.22%	31.94%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 1.43 and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 0.90 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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.90

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
JCI: 0.90
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 0.33 and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 0.68 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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.68

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
JCI: 0.68
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): 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 Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GD	JCI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	0.90
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.33	0.68
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.68	1.86

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Johnson Controls (JCI) 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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

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

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) at 45.20% 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%

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

45.20%

Max: 67.39%
JCI: 45.20%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GD	JCI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.76%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	36.90%	45.20%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 20.84 and Johnson Controls (JCI) at 28.61 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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

28.61

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
JCI: 28.61
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Johnson Controls (JCI): 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) at 3.19 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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

3.19

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
JCI: 3.19
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

General Dynamics (GD) at 3.50 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Johnson Controls (JCI) at 5.99 carries an above-peer premium to book — JCI is pricier on assets.

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

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

5.99

Max: 9.66
JCI: 5.99
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Johnson Controls (JCI)
Metric	GD	JCI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.84	28.61
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.69	3.19
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.50	5.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.76%	3.81%