GD vs. NDSN: General Dynamics vs. Nordson Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

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

Company profile comparison for General Dynamics (GD) and Nordson (NDSN)
Profile Item	GD	NDSN
Name	General Dynamics Corp.	Nordson Corporation
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	17.26 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	March 18, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NDSN

GSPC

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Nordson (NDSN), 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 Nordson (NDSN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	GD	NDSN
Total Return (1Y)	6.52%	40.90%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.95%	14.93%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.65%	5.48%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NDSN

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	GD	NDSN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	23.03%	23.53%
Beta (5Y)	0.30	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-22.55%	-39.15%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	381.48K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GD and NDSN 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 Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	GD	NDSN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.10	1.56
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.15	2.43

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 18.01% and Nordson (NDSN) at 17.76% 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%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

17.76%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
NDSN: 17.76%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Nordson (NDSN) at 18.63% 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%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

18.63%

Max: 27.47%
NDSN: 18.63%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Nordson (NDSN) at 27.40% 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%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

27.40%

Max: 36.60%
NDSN: 27.40%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	GD	NDSN
ROE (TTM)	18.01%	17.76%
ROA (TTM)	6.23%	8.47%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.24%	18.63%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.49%	27.40%
Gross Margin (TTM)	15.42%	55.39%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.13% and Nordson (NDSN) at 3.78% 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. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 13.35% and Nordson (NDSN) at 4.93% 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. Nordson (NDSN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	GD	NDSN
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.13%	3.78%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.07%	2.53%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.35%	4.93%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.22%	-1.15%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Nordson (NDSN) at 1.82 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

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

1.82

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
NDSN: 1.82
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 0.33 and Nordson (NDSN) at 0.56 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

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

0.56

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
NDSN: 0.56
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Nordson (NDSN): 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 Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	GD	NDSN
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	1.82
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.33	0.56
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.68	1.78

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

General Dynamics (GD) at 1.76% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Nordson (NDSN) at 1.06% 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%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

1.06%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
NDSN: 1.06%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Nordson (NDSN): 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 Nordson (NDSN) at 33.20% 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%

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

33.20%

Max: 67.39%
NDSN: 33.20%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	GD	NDSN
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.76%	1.06%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	36.90%	33.20%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 20.84 and Nordson (NDSN) at 31.36 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

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

31.36

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
NDSN: 31.36
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Nordson (NDSN): 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 Nordson (NDSN) at 5.79 sits in the pricier quartile — NDSN 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

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

5.79

Max: 7.54
NDSN: 5.79
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. Nordson (NDSN): 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 Nordson (NDSN) at 5.28 carries an above-peer premium to book — NDSN 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

NDSN

Capital Goods industry group

5.28

Max: 9.66
NDSN: 5.28
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and Nordson (NDSN)
Metric	GD	NDSN
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.84	31.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.69	5.79
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.50	5.28
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.76%	3.56%