NDSN vs. RTX: Nordson vs. RTX Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX) 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

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

Company profile comparison for Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Profile Item	NDSN	RTX
Name	Nordson Corporation	RTX Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Machinery	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	17.26 billion USD	255.76 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	March 18, 1980	April 2, 1962
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NDSN

RTX

GSPC

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX), 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 Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Metric	NDSN	RTX
Total Return (1Y)	40.90%	12.51%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	14.93%	36.20%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	5.48%	19.14%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NDSN

RTX

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Metric	NDSN	RTX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	23.53%	25.84%
Beta (5Y)	0.98	0.30
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-39.15%	-32.84%
Avg. Volume (3M)	381.48K	4.59M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

NDSN and RTX 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 Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Metric	NDSN	RTX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.56	0.32
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.43	0.48

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Nordson (NDSN) at 17.76% and RTX (RTX) at 12.85% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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%

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

12.85%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
RTX: 12.85%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX): 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 RTX (RTX) at 8.75%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

8.75%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
RTX: 8.75%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX): 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 RTX (RTX) at 15.54%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

15.54%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
RTX: 15.54%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Metric	NDSN	RTX
ROE (TTM)	17.76%	12.85%
ROA (TTM)	8.47%	4.56%
Net Margin (TTM)	18.63%	8.75%
Operating Margin (TTM)	27.40%	15.54%
Gross Margin (TTM)	55.39%	21.10%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Nordson (NDSN) at 3.78% and RTX (RTX) at 9.74% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

RTX (RTX) at 39.72% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Nordson (NDSN) at 4.93% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for RTX.

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Metric	NDSN	RTX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	3.78%	9.74%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	2.53%	9.72%
EPS Growth (YoY)	4.93%	39.72%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.15%	12.32%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Nordson (NDSN) at 1.82 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while RTX (RTX) at 1.05 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for RTX.

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

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

1.05

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
RTX: 1.05
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Nordson (NDSN) at 0.56 and RTX (RTX) at 0.55 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

0.55

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
RTX: 0.55
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Metric	NDSN	RTX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.82	1.05
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.56	0.55
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.78	1.75

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

RTX (RTX) at 1.47% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Nordson (NDSN) at 1.06% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, RTX the richer one.

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%

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

1.47%

Max: 2.66%
RTX: 1.47%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Nordson (NDSN) at 33.20% and RTX (RTX) at 45.85% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

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%

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

45.85%

Max: 67.39%
RTX: 45.85%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Metric	NDSN	RTX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.06%	1.47%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	33.20%	45.85%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Nordson (NDSN) at 31.36 and RTX (RTX) at 30.82 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

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

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

30.82

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
RTX: 30.82
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

RTX (RTX) at 2.66 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.

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

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

2.66

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
RTX: 2.66
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Nordson (NDSN) vs. RTX (RTX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

RTX (RTX) at 3.69 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.

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

RTX

Capital Goods industry group

3.69

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
RTX: 3.69
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Nordson (NDSN) and RTX (RTX)
Metric	NDSN	RTX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	31.36	30.82
P/S Ratio (TTM)	5.79	2.66
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	5.28	3.69
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.56%	3.25%