GE vs IRTC: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: GE is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. GE and IRTC share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined GE and IRTC exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

GE Aerospace is the aviation business of the former General Electric conglomerate, which split into three independent companies, with GE Aerospace retaining the GE ticker. It is one of the world's largest makers of commercial and military jet engines. GE Aerospace designs, manufactures, and services engines that power a large share of the global airliner fleet, including through CFM International, its long-running joint venture with France's Safran that produces the best-selling engines for narrowbody aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families. The company makes money from selling new engines and, more importantly, from a highly profitable aftermarket of spare parts, maintenance, repair, and long-term service agreements that generate recurring revenue over each engine's decades-long life. GE Aerospace also supplies military engines and avionics. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, it benefits from a massive installed base of engines, strong air-travel demand, and the lucrative razor-and-blades economics of jet engine servicing.

Full GE guide

iRhythm Technologies makes the Zio service, a small adhesive patch that records a patient's heart rhythm continuously for up to 14 days and pairs it with AI-assisted analysis to detect arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation. The device replaced the older Holter-monitor workflow (short-window, wired recorders) with a longer, more comfortable, water-resistant patch that is mailed back for algorithmic analysis and a physician report. Zio has become the most widely prescribed ambulatory ECG monitor in the US, and iRhythm is extending the franchise with a next-generation mobile cardiac telemetry platform (Zio MCT), international expansion, and adjacencies such as sleep apnea and primary-care risk stratification.

Full IRTC guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• GE drivers: Aftermarket services engine; Dominant narrowbody position.
• IRTC drivers: Zio volume growth and category leadership; Next-generation Zio MCT and AI.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: GE Aerospace is exposed to the cyclical aviation industry, where downturns, pandemics, or shocks to air travel can sharply reduce flight hours and aftermarket revenue. For IRTC, regulatory risk is material: iRhythm has been working through FDA warning-letter remediation, which raises compliance costs and can create clearance timing uncertainty for new products like Zio MCT.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick GE if you believe its drivers more; IRTC if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the GE and IRTC guides.

GE. GE Aerospace is valued as a high-quality aviation franchise with durable, recurring aftermarket profits and leadership in narrowbody engines. Investors assign a premium multiple reflecting the predictability of services revenue and strong air-travel demand. The valuation has expanded considerably, leaving it sensitive to the cyclicality of aviation and to engine delivery and supply chain execution.

IRTC. IRTC trades at a premium price-to-sales multiple (roughly $4 billion of market value on under $1 billion of trailing revenue), typical of a high-growth medtech that is still scaling toward consistent GAAP profitability. The company is adjusted-EBITDA positive and guides to a 12% to 13% adjusted-EBITDA margin for 2026, but it still posts GAAP net losses. The valuation therefore leans heavily on continued volume growth and margin expansion rather than current earnings.

Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): GE shows revenue (ttm) ~$35 to 40 billion, operating margin ~high teens to twenties percent, net income (ttm) ~$6 billion or more, aftermarket revenue ~majority of profit; IRTC shows revenue (ttm) ~$790M, q1 2026 revenue growth ~26% YoY, gross margin ~71%, fy2026 revenue guidance ~$875M-$885M.

GE and IRTC are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined GE and IRTC exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.