NOC vs. ROK: Northrop Grumman vs. Rockwell Automation Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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

Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but NOC is classified in Aerospace & Defense while ROK is classified in Electrical Equipment.

Company profile comparison for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Profile Item	NOC	ROK
Name	Northrop Grumman Corporation	Rockwell Automation Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Electrical Equipment
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Electrical Components & Equipment
Market Capitalization	74.59 billion USD	41.82 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	December 31, 1981	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NOC

ROK

GSPC

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK), 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

Calendar-year total returns for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	NOC	ROK
Total Return (1Y)	-3.34%	6.19%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	7.23%	16.94%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	9.98%	4.86%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NOC

ROK

GSPC

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK), 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

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports a negative beta of -0.12, suggesting inverse market sensitivity over the measurement window. That is uncommon for ordinary equities and can reflect commodity-linked or hedge-like exposure, but it can also come from statistical noise. Rockwell Automation (ROK) has a non-negative beta of 1.54.

Risk profile metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	NOC	ROK
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	28.86%	34.28%
Beta (5Y)	-0.12	1.54
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.80%	-45.09%
Avg. Volume (3M)	902.47K	799.28K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

NOC and ROK 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	NOC	ROK
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.26	0.06
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.37	0.07

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 26.07% and Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 38.73% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

26.07%

Max: 40.55%
NOC: 26.07%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

38.73%

Max: 40.55%
ROK: 38.73%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 15.68% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 10.37%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

10.37%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
NOC: 10.37%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

15.68%

Max: 27.47%
ROK: 15.68%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91% and Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 14.75% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

12.91%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
NOC: 12.91%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

14.75%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
ROK: 14.75%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	NOC	ROK
ROE (TTM)	26.07%	38.73%
ROA (TTM)	7.11%	9.32%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.37%	15.68%
Operating Margin (TTM)	12.91%	14.75%
Gross Margin (TTM)	20.03%	48.95%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Only one side can be read here: Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports revenue growth of 2.24%, ranked against its industry; Rockwell Automation (ROK) has no revenue growth figure this period.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 63.49% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.61% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for ROK.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	NOC	ROK
Revenue Growth (YoY)	2.24%	--
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.65%	--
EPS Growth (YoY)	2.61%	63.49%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-2.60%	1.62%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 2.11 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.23 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for NOC.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
NOC: 1.23
Min: 0.36

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

2.11

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
ROK: 2.11
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 and Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 1.00 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

0.93

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
NOC: 0.93
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

1.00

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
ROK: 1.00
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	NOC	ROK
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.23	2.11
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.93	1.00
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.87	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports a yield of 1.82%, ranking against industry peers normally.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.82%

Max: 2.66%
NOC: 1.82%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
ROK: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 30.18% and Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 51.03% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

30.18%

Max: 67.39%
NOC: 30.18%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

51.03%

Max: 67.39%
ROK: 51.03%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	NOC	ROK
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.82%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	30.18%	51.03%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 29.97 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for NOC, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

16.57

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
NOC: 16.57
Min: 3.03

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

29.97

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
ROK: 29.97
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 4.65 sits in the pricier quartile — ROK costs more per dollar of sales.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.71

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
NOC: 1.71
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

4.65

Max: 7.54
ROK: 4.65
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 3.99 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 11.76 prices above its benchmark range — ROK looks rich relative to book.

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

3.99

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
NOC: 3.99
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

11.76

ROK: 11.76
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	NOC	ROK
P/E Ratio (TTM)	16.57	29.97
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.71	4.65
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.99	11.76
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.21%	-1.13%