GD vs. MLI: General Dynamics vs. Mueller Industries Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do General Dynamics (GD) and Mueller Industries (MLI) 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 Mueller Industries (MLI) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but GD is classified in Aerospace & Defense while MLI is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for General Dynamics (GD) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Profile Item	GD	MLI
Name	General Dynamics Corp.	Mueller Industries, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	95.68 billion USD	11.54 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	February 25, 1991
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

MLI

GSPC

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI), 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 Mueller Industries (MLI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	GD	MLI
Total Return (1Y)	6.52%	3.68%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.95%	44.56%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.65%	32.39%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

MLI

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	GD	MLI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	23.03%	34.44%
Beta (5Y)	0.30	1.01
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-22.55%	-27.79%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	1.61M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GD and MLI 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 Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	GD	MLI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.10	-0.02
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.15	-0.02

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 26.26% sits in the top ROE quartile, while General Dynamics (GD) at 18.01% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for MLI.

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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

26.26%

Max: 40.55%
MLI: 26.26%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 17.27% 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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

17.27%

Max: 27.47%
MLI: 17.27%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 19.53% 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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

19.53%

Max: 36.60%
MLI: 19.53%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	GD	MLI
ROE (TTM)	18.01%	26.26%
ROA (TTM)	6.23%	16.23%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.24%	17.27%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.49%	19.53%
Gross Margin (TTM)	15.42%	27.25%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.13% and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 10.87% 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. Mueller Industries (MLI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 13.35% and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 29.19% 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. Mueller Industries (MLI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	GD	MLI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.13%	10.87%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.07%	1.62%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.35%	29.19%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.22%	5.63%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 4.39 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while General Dynamics (GD) at 1.43 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

4.39

Max: 5.22
MLI: 4.39
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 0.01 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while General Dynamics (GD) at 0.33 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

0.01

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
MLI: 0.01
Min: 0.00

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI): 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 Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	GD	MLI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	4.39
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.33	0.01
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.68	-1.31

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 1.76% and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 1.24% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

1.24%

Max: 2.66%
MLI: 1.24%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 16.67% 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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

16.67%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
MLI: 16.67%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	GD	MLI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.76%	1.24%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	36.90%	16.67%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 13.58 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 MLI, 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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

13.58

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
MLI: 13.58
Min: 3.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI): 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 Mueller Industries (MLI) at 2.31 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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

2.31

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
MLI: 2.31
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 0.33 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while General Dynamics (GD) at 3.50 is valued near its industry’s middle — MLI is cheaper on assets, though weigh it against ROE and asset quality.

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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

0.33

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
MLI: 0.33
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	GD	MLI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.84	13.58
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.69	2.31
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.50	0.33
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.76%	4.65%