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BA or HON or NOC
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Boeing (BA) vs. Honeywell (HON) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- NOC leads with 33% YTD gains, driven by a record $95-96 billion backlog and new defense contracts like a $225 million military training award.
- HON shows 21% YTD performance, bolstered by aerospace spin-off plans including a Form 10 filing and debt offerings up to $16-20 billion.
- BA trails at 6% YTD but recently surged 4% amid potential 500-jet China deal talks and defense wins like $4.7 billion Apache helicopters.
- All three benefit from aerospace/defense tailwinds, including Trump administration pushes to quadruple weapons production involving their CEOs.
- NOC offers stability with a 26 P/E and 1.22% yield; HON at 31 P/E shows diversified strength; BA's high 94 P/E reflects recovery risks.
- Recent momentum favors NOC with 7% monthly gains, versus mixed trends for BA and HON.
Introduction
This stock comparison examines BA, HON, and NOC, key players in aerospace and defense amid rising geopolitical tensions and commercial aviation recovery. These firms offer exposure to commercial aircraft, diversified industrials, and pure defense systems, respectively. Traders seeking momentum in defense spending or investors eyeing sector rotation from tech to industrials will find value in their relative performance, valuations, and catalysts like government contracts and spin-offs. Recent market activity highlights contrasts in stability, growth drivers, and risk profiles in this cyclical sector.
BA Overview and Recent Performance
Boeing (BA), a leading commercial and defense aircraft manufacturer, trades at around $231 with a $182 billion market cap. YTD performance stands at 6%, with shares up 46% over the past year but showing volatility in recent weeks due to production challenges and regulatory scrutiny. Key influences include talks for a potential 500-jet order from China and a $4.7 billion U.S. Army Apache helicopter contract, boosting sentiment. Defense unit improvements and expected 737/787 delivery ramps in coming years support recovery, though high debt and past safety issues temper gains. Trading at a 94 P/E, BA reflects high growth expectations amid broader aerospace demand.
HON Overview and Recent Performance
Honeywell (HON), a diversified technology and manufacturing conglomerate with strong aerospace ties, trades near $235 with a $159 billion market cap. It has delivered 21% YTD returns and 21% over the past year, outperforming in recent market activity. Sentiment has lifted on the planned spin-off of its Honeywell Aerospace unit (HONA), marked by a recent Form 10 filing with the SEC and senior notes offerings up to $16-20 billion ahead of a Q3 2026 independence. This refocuses the core on industrials while highlighting aerospace growth in electrification and defense. At a 31 P/E with 2% yield, HON balances stability and transformation.
NOC Overview and Recent Performance
Northrop Grumman (NOC), focused on advanced defense systems, missiles, and space, trades at $756 with a $108 billion market cap. YTD gains reach 33%, with 62% over the past year and 7% monthly momentum. A record $95-96 billion backlog, $225 million military training contract, and $76.7 million Space Force order drive positive sentiment. New Pentagon rare earth regulations pose supply challenges but underscore demand. Q4 results showed 17% operating income growth. With a 26 P/E and 1.2% yield, NOC exhibits defensive strength amid heightened global threats.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
In business models, BA emphasizes commercial aviation (high cyclicality) alongside defense, contrasting HON's diversified industrials-aerospace mix and NOC's defense purity. Growth drivers favor NOC's backlog visibility and contracts over BA's order hopes and HON's spin-off. Recent momentum peaks for NOC (33% YTD), then HON (21%), with BA (6%) volatile. Risks include BA's regulatory/debt exposure, HON's separation costs, and NOC's supply chains. All share aerospace/defense exposure but NOC leads in sector tailwinds. Valuation sensitivity is highest for BA (94 P/E), moderate for HON (31), stable for NOC (26). Market sentiment tilts toward defense stability over commercial recovery.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron's AI currently favors NOC due to superior trend consistency, 33% YTD gains, massive backlog, and defense catalysts like production ramps, offering probabilistic outperformance in a geopolitical risk environment over BA's volatility and HON's transition uncertainties.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer. Disclaimers and Limitations
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
BA’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileHON’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s), and NOC’s FA Score reflects 1 green FA rating(s).
- BA’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- HON’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
- NOC’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
BA’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while HON’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s), and NOC’s TA Score reflects 4 bullish TA indicator(s).
- BA’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
- HON’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
- NOC’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 6 bearish.
Price Growth
BA (@Aerospace & Defense) experienced а +4.52% price change this week, while HON (@Industrial Conglomerates) price change was +2.44% , and NOC (@Aerospace & Defense) price fluctuated -4.10% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Aerospace & Defense industry was +4.88%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +0.84%, and the average quarterly price growth was +27.47%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Industrial Conglomerates industry was +2.02%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +1.95%, and the average quarterly price growth was +21.38%.
Reported Earning Dates
BA is expected to report earnings on Apr 22, 2026.
HON is expected to report earnings on Apr 23, 2026.
NOC is expected to report earnings on Apr 21, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Aerospace & Defense (+4.88% weekly)Aerospace & Defense is one of largest industries in the U.S., mainly comprising the following areas: commercial airliners, military aircraft, missiles, space, and general aviation. Focused heavily on research & development, it is also one of the fastest growing industries. Military aircraft has the largest market share in the industry’s sales, followed by space systems, civil aircraft, and missiles. Aerospace exports, directly and indirectly, support more jobs than the export of any other commodity, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation and General Electric Company are some of the most prominent players in this space.
@Industrial Conglomerates (+2.02% weekly)Industrial Conglomerates specialize in numerous types of products, most of which comprise industrial goods, while some also go towards meeting household needs. Honeywell (makes engineering services and aerospace systems), United Technologies Corporation(manufactures aircraft engines, aerospace systems, HVAC, elevators and escalators, fire and security, building systems, and industrial products, among others), 3M (over 60,000 products under several world-renowned brands, including adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, personal protective equipment, window films, paint protection films, dental and orthodontic products, electrical & electronic connecting and insulating materials, medical products, car-care products, electronic circuits, healthcare software and optical films).
| BA | HON | NOC | |
| Capitalization | 171B | 149B | 95.7B |
| EBITDA | 7.36B | 10.3B | 7.21B |
| Gain YTD | 0.235 | 21.076 | 18.533 |
| P/E Ratio | 87.75 | 33.87 | 23.17 |
| Revenue | 89.5B | 40.7B | 42B |
| Total Cash | 29.4B | N/A | 4.4B |
| Total Debt | 54.4B | 37B | 17B |
BA | HON | NOC | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 10 | 10 | 59 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 85 Overvalued | 64 Fair valued | 65 Fair valued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 49 | 8 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 10 | 26 | 34 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 51 | 46 | 49 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 73 | 22 | 35 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 75 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
HON's Valuation (64) in the Industrial Conglomerates industry is in the same range as NOC (65) in the Aerospace And Defense industry, and is in the same range as BA (85) in the Aerospace And Defense industry. This means that HON's stock grew similarly to NOC’s and similarly to BA’s over the last 12 months.
NOC's Profit vs Risk Rating (8) in the Aerospace And Defense industry is somewhat better than the same rating for HON (49) in the Industrial Conglomerates industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for BA (100) in the Aerospace And Defense industry. This means that NOC's stock grew somewhat faster than HON’s and significantly faster than BA’s over the last 12 months.
BA's SMR Rating (10) in the Aerospace And Defense industry is in the same range as HON (26) in the Industrial Conglomerates industry, and is in the same range as NOC (34) in the Aerospace And Defense industry. This means that BA's stock grew similarly to HON’s and similarly to NOC’s over the last 12 months.
HON's Price Growth Rating (46) in the Industrial Conglomerates industry is in the same range as NOC (49) in the Aerospace And Defense industry, and is in the same range as BA (51) in the Aerospace And Defense industry. This means that HON's stock grew similarly to NOC’s and similarly to BA’s over the last 12 months.
HON's P/E Growth Rating (22) in the Industrial Conglomerates industry is in the same range as NOC (35) in the Aerospace And Defense industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for BA (73) in the Aerospace And Defense industry. This means that HON's stock grew similarly to NOC’s and somewhat faster than BA’s over the last 12 months.
| BA | HON | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 81% | 1 day ago 74% | 1 day ago 58% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 74% | 1 day ago 49% | 1 day ago 49% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 64% | 1 day ago 49% | 1 day ago 43% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 66% | 1 day ago 59% | 3 days ago 50% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 68% | 1 day ago 48% | 1 day ago 42% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 73% | 1 day ago 44% | 1 day ago 32% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 65% | 3 days ago 44% | 10 days ago 60% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 13 days ago 75% | 5 days ago 46% | 4 days ago 42% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 63% | 1 day ago 41% | 1 day ago 63% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 72% | 1 day ago 34% | 1 day ago 28% |
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| 1 Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ETFs / NAME | Price $ | Chg $ | Chg % |
| VTEB | 50.24 | -0.02 | -0.04% |
| Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | |||
| BNDC | 22.20 | -0.03 | -0.13% |
| FlexShares Core Select Bond ETF | |||
| MYCJ | 24.79 | -0.03 | -0.13% |
| State Street® My2030 Corporate Bond ETF | |||
| JQC | 4.83 | -0.02 | -0.41% |
| Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund | |||
| GDOC | 32.81 | -0.52 | -1.55% |
| Goldman Sachs Future Health Care Eq ETF | |||
BA and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, BA has been loosely correlated with SARO. These tickers have moved in lockstep 57% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if BA jumps, then SARO could also see price increases.
HON and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, HON has been loosely correlated with MMM. These tickers have moved in lockstep 58% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if HON jumps, then MMM could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To HON | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HON | 100% | -0.43% | ||
| MMM - HON | 58% Loosely correlated | -0.12% | ||
| VMI - HON | 51% Loosely correlated | -0.12% | ||
| BBUC - HON | 50% Loosely correlated | +1.93% | ||
| BBU - HON | 49% Loosely correlated | N/A | ||
| MATW - HON | 46% Loosely correlated | +1.15% | ||
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NOC and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, NOC has been loosely correlated with RTX. These tickers have moved in lockstep 62% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if NOC jumps, then RTX could also see price increases.