NOC vs. URI: Northrop Grumman vs. United Rentals Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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

Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but NOC is classified in Aerospace & Defense while URI is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors.

Company profile comparison for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Profile Item	NOC	URI
Name	Northrop Grumman Corporation	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	74.59 billion USD	65.36 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	December 31, 1981	December 18, 1997
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NOC

URI

GSPC

Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	NOC	URI
Total Return (1Y)	-3.34%	35.39%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	7.23%	38.68%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	9.98%	24.76%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NOC

URI

GSPC

Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI). 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. United Rentals (URI) has a non-negative beta of 1.81.

Risk profile metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	NOC	URI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	28.86%	44.71%
Beta (5Y)	-0.12	1.81
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-37.80%	-39.76%
Avg. Volume (3M)	902.47K	496.78K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

NOC 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	NOC	URI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.26	0.70
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.37	1.16

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 26.07% and United Rentals (URI) at 30.56% 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%

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%

Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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 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%

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%

Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	NOC	URI
ROE (TTM)	26.07%	30.56%
ROA (TTM)	7.11%	9.14%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.37%	16.33%
Operating Margin (TTM)	12.91%	29.21%
Gross Margin (TTM)	20.03%	39.19%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.24% 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.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. United Rentals (URI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.61% 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.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. United Rentals (URI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	NOC	URI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	2.24%	4.91%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.65%	11.41%
EPS Growth (YoY)	2.61%	-0.21%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-2.60%	9.20%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.23 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.

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

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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while United Rentals (URI) at 1.64 uses more debt funding than most peers.

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

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

Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	NOC	URI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.23	0.80
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.93	1.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.87	3.12

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.82% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while United Rentals (URI) at 0.74% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, NOC the richer one.

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%

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%

Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 30.18% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

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%

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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	NOC	URI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.82%	0.74%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	30.18%	16.95%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while United Rentals (URI) at 23.24 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

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

Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 and United Rentals (URI) at 3.74 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

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

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

Northrop Grumman (NOC) vs. United Rentals (URI): 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 United Rentals (URI) at 6.75 carries an above-peer premium to book — URI 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

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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Northrop Grumman (NOC) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	NOC	URI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	16.57	23.24
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.71	3.74
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.99	6.75
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	4.21%	3.24%