GD vs. URI: General Dynamics vs. United Rentals Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do General Dynamics (GD) and United Rentals (URI) 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 United Rentals (URI) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but GD is classified in Aerospace & Defense while URI is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors.

Company profile comparison for General Dynamics (GD) and United Rentals (URI)
Profile Item	GD	URI
Name	General Dynamics Corp.	United Rentals Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Trading Companies & Distributors
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Trading Companies & Distributors
Market Capitalization	95.68 billion USD	65.36 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	December 18, 1997
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

URI

GSPC

General Dynamics (GD) vs. United Rentals (URI), 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 United Rentals (URI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	GD	URI
Total Return (1Y)	6.52%	35.39%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	16.95%	38.68%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.65%	24.76%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

URI

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

United Rentals (URI) has an aggressive beta of 1.81, 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 United Rentals (URI)
Metric	GD	URI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	23.03%	44.71%
Beta (5Y)	0.30	1.81
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-22.55%	-39.76%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.19M	496.78K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GD and URI 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 United Rentals (URI)
Metric	GD	URI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.10	0.70
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.15	1.16

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

United Rentals (URI) at 30.56% sits in the top ROE quartile, while General Dynamics (GD) at 18.01% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for URI.

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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

30.56%

Max: 40.55%
URI: 30.56%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

United Rentals (URI) at 16.33% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

16.33%

Max: 27.47%
URI: 16.33%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

United Rentals (URI) at 29.21% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

29.21%

Max: 36.60%
URI: 29.21%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	GD	URI
ROE (TTM)	18.01%	30.56%
ROA (TTM)	6.23%	9.14%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.24%	16.33%
Operating Margin (TTM)	10.49%	29.21%
Gross Margin (TTM)	15.42%	39.19%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 10.13% and United Rentals (URI) at 4.91% 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. United Rentals (URI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 13.35% and United Rentals (URI) at -0.21% 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. United Rentals (URI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	GD	URI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.13%	4.91%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.07%	11.41%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.35%	-0.21%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	8.22%	9.20%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 1.43 and United Rentals (URI) at 0.80 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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

0.80

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
URI: 0.80
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

General Dynamics (GD) at 0.33 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while United Rentals (URI) at 1.64 uses more debt funding than most peers.

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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

1.64

Max: 2.33
URI: 1.64
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

General Dynamics (GD) vs. United Rentals (URI): 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 United Rentals (URI)
Metric	GD	URI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	0.80
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.33	1.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.68	3.12

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

General Dynamics (GD) at 1.76% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while United Rentals (URI) at 0.74% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

0.74%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
URI: 0.74%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

United Rentals (URI) at 16.95% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

16.95%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
URI: 16.95%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	GD	URI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.76%	0.74%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	36.90%	16.95%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both General Dynamics (GD) at 20.84 and United Rentals (URI) at 23.24 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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

23.24

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
URI: 23.24
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. United Rentals (URI): 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 United Rentals (URI) at 3.74 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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

3.74

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
URI: 3.74
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

General Dynamics (GD) vs. United Rentals (URI): 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 United Rentals (URI) at 6.75 carries an above-peer premium to book — URI 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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

6.75

Max: 9.66
URI: 6.75
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for General Dynamics (GD) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	GD	URI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.84	23.24
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.69	3.74
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.50	6.75
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.76%	3.24%