GWW vs. HII: W.W. Grainger vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) 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

W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but GWW is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while HII is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Profile Item	GWW	HII
Name	W.W. Grainger Inc.	Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	67.45 billion USD	11.38 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	March 22, 2011
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GWW

HII

GSPC

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), 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 W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Metric	GWW	HII
Total Return (1Y)	54.07%	-0.48%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	24.16%	12.21%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	25.95%	11.63%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GWW

HII

GSPC

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), 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 W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Metric	GWW	HII
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.49%	40.58%
Beta (5Y)	0.93	0.17
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-24.50%	-45.21%
Avg. Volume (3M)	250.35K	505.72K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GWW and HII 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 W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Metric	GWW	HII
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	2.03	-0.12
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	3.31	-0.18

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 52.33% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 13.99%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

52.33%

GWW: 52.33%
Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

HII

Capital Goods industry group

13.99%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
HII: 13.99%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 11.17% and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 5.42% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

11.17%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
GWW: 11.17%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

HII

Capital Goods industry group

5.42%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
HII: 5.42%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 16.14% and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 7.72% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

16.14%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
GWW: 16.14%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

HII

Capital Goods industry group

7.72%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
HII: 7.72%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Metric	GWW	HII
ROE (TTM)	52.33%	13.99%
ROA (TTM)	20.34%	4.57%
Net Margin (TTM)	11.17%	5.42%
Operating Margin (TTM)	16.14%	7.72%
Gross Margin (TTM)	39.43%	12.72%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 4.51% and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 8.23% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both W.W. Grainger (GWW) at -8.55% and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 10.24% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Metric	GWW	HII
Revenue Growth (YoY)	4.51%	8.23%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.62%	5.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-8.55%	10.24%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.60%	2.15%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 2.61 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 1.27 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for HII.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

2.61

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
GWW: 2.61
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

HII

Capital Goods industry group

1.27

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
HII: 1.27
Min: 0.36

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 0.65 and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 0.53 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

0.65

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
GWW: 0.65
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

HII

Capital Goods industry group

0.53

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
HII: 0.53
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Metric	GWW	HII
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.61	1.27
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.65	0.53
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.69	2.05

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 1.91% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 0.65% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, HII the richer one.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

0.65%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
GWW: 0.65%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HII

Capital Goods industry group

1.91%

Max: 2.66%
HII: 1.91%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 20.87% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 29.73% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

20.87%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
GWW: 20.87%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HII

Capital Goods industry group

29.73%

Max: 67.39%
HII: 29.73%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Metric	GWW	HII
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.65%	1.91%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	20.87%	29.73%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 15.55 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 31.66 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for HII, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

31.66

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
GWW: 31.66
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

HII

Capital Goods industry group

15.55

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
HII: 15.55
Min: 3.03

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 0.84 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 3.48 prices around its industry’s middle — HII costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

3.48

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
GWW: 3.48
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

HII

Capital Goods industry group

0.84

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
HII: 0.84
Min: 0.03

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 2.07 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while W.W. Grainger (GWW) at 15.56 prices above its benchmark range — GWW looks rich relative to book.

GWW

Capital Goods industry group

15.56

GWW: 15.56
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

HII

Capital Goods industry group

2.07

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
HII: 2.07
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

W.W. Grainger (GWW) vs. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for W.W. Grainger (GWW) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)
Metric	GWW	HII
P/E Ratio (TTM)	31.66	15.55
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.48	0.84
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	15.56	2.07
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.97%	1.70%