NOC vs. SYM: Northrop Grumman vs. Symbotic Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM) 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 Symbotic (SYM) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but NOC is classified in Aerospace & Defense while SYM is classified in Machinery.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) has more than two decades of public-market history since December 31, 1981, whereas Symbotic (SYM) listed on March 9, 2021 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Company profile comparison for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM)
Profile Item	NOC	SYM
Name	Northrop Grumman Corporation	Symbotic Inc. Class A Common Stock
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	74.59 billion USD	22.29 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	December 31, 1981	March 9, 2021
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NOC

SYM

GSPC

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Symbotic (SYM), 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	NOC	SYM
Total Return (1Y)	-3.34%	-44.66%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	7.23%	6.78%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	9.98%	30.90%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NOC

SYM

GSPC

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Symbotic (SYM), 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM). 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. Symbotic (SYM) has a non-negative beta of 2.05.

Risk profile metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	NOC	SYM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	28.86%	78.15%
Beta (5Y)	-0.12	2.05
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.80%	-72.46%
Avg. Volume (3M)	902.47K	1.61M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

NOC and SYM 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 Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	NOC	SYM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.26	-0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.37	-0.93

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 26.07% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Symbotic (SYM) at 4.39% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for NOC.

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%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

4.39%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
SYM: 4.39%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 10.37% keeps about the industry-typical share of revenue as profit, while Symbotic (SYM) at 0.31% retains only a bottom-quartile 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%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

0.31%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
SYM: 0.31%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91% runs core operations around its industry’s norm, while Symbotic (SYM) at 4.59% operates in the bottom quartile.

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%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

4.59%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
SYM: 4.59%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	NOC	SYM
ROE (TTM)	26.07%	4.39%
ROA (TTM)	7.11%	0.32%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.37%	0.31%
Operating Margin (TTM)	12.91%	4.59%
Gross Margin (TTM)	20.03%	21.27%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Symbotic (SYM) at 25.65% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.24% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for SYM.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports EPS growth of 2.61%, ranked against its industry; Symbotic (SYM) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Symbotic (SYM): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	NOC	SYM
Revenue Growth (YoY)	2.24%	25.65%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.65%	55.87%
EPS Growth (YoY)	2.61%	--
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-2.60%	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.23 and Symbotic (SYM) at 1.33 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

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

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

1.33

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
SYM: 1.33
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Symbotic (SYM) at 0.02 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

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

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

0.02

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
SYM: 0.02
Min: 0.00

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. Symbotic (SYM): 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 Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	NOC	SYM
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.23	1.33
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.93	0.02
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.87	-30.44

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Symbotic (SYM) 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%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

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

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Symbotic (SYM) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports a payout of 30.18%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
SYM: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	NOC	SYM
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.82%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	30.18%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Symbotic (SYM) at 460.25 trades above its peer range — a wide earnings-valuation gap relative to industry peers.

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

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

460.25

SYM: 460.25
Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Symbotic (SYM) at 8.42 clears its benchmark range — SYM looks notably rich on 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

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

8.42

SYM: 8.42
Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 3.99 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Symbotic (SYM) at 6.70 carries an above-peer premium to book — SYM is pricier on assets.

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

SYM

Capital Goods industry group

6.70

Max: 9.66
SYM: 6.70
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Symbotic (SYM)
Metric	NOC	SYM
P/E Ratio (TTM)	16.57	460.25
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.71	8.42
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.99	6.70
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.21%	2.46%