KRMN vs MRCY: 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: KRMN 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. KRMN and MRCY 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 KRMN and MRCY 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.

Karman Holdings, which operates as Karman Space & Defense, is a Huntington Beach, California maker of highly engineered systems that go inside missiles, missile-defense interceptors, hypersonic vehicles, unmanned aircraft, and space launch vehicles. Its products fall into three families: payload protection and deployment systems (such as fairings and shrouds), propulsion systems, and aerodynamic interstage structures. It sells into three end markets, Hypersonics and Strategic Missile Defense, Missile and Integrated Defense Systems, and Space and Launch, and counts primes like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin among its customers. The company says it runs more than 100 active programs with no single program above roughly 10% of sales, which spreads its revenue across many contracts.

Full KRMN guide

Mercury Systems, based in Andover, Massachusetts, designs and manufactures hardware, software, and integrated subsystems that sit inside US and allied defense platforms. Its portfolio spans radio-frequency and microwave components, digital signal processing boards, embedded and secure processing modules, and fully integrated sensor-processing subsystems used in radar, electronic warfare, signals intelligence, missiles, and unmanned systems. The company positions itself as a trusted, domestically sourced supplier of open-architecture processing, sitting one layer below the large prime contractors that build the finished aircraft, ships, and weapons.

Full MRCY guide

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

• KRMN drivers: Defense budget and missile-defense tailwind; Record backlog and demand visibility.
• MRCY drivers: Record bookings and backlog; Margin recovery and turnaround execution.

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: The most immediate risk is valuation: with a trailing P/E reported above 200 and slim GAAP earnings, the stock prices in years of strong growth, so any disappointment can drive a sharp de-rating (the shares have already swung widely, trading between roughly $43 and $118 over the past year). For MRCY, mercury is still early in a turnaround and has reported GAAP net losses as recently as fiscal 2025, so profitability remains inconsistent.

Pick KRMN if you believe its drivers more; MRCY 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 KRMN and MRCY guides.

KRMN. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. KRMN's very high P/E reflects strong revenue growth and rising adjusted EBITDA against still-modest GAAP net income, so the multiple is best read as a gauge of how much future growth is already priced in rather than a normal earnings valuation. The 52-week range (roughly $43 to $118) shows how sensitive the shares are to sentiment on defense spending and growth.

MRCY. Mercury trades at a rich multiple of revenue for its size, reflecting investor expectations that the turnaround converts a large backlog into higher-margin, cash-generative earnings rather than trailing profits, which have been near breakeven. GAAP results still swing around losses, so traditional price-to-earnings is of limited use and much of the valuation debate centers on adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. The stock traded roughly in the low-100s per share in mid-July 2026, well above its levels of a year earlier, with a reported beta below the market average near 0.84.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): KRMN shows revenue (q1 2026 quarterly) ~$151.2 million, up 51% year over year, full-year 2026 revenue guidance ~$720 to $735 million, adjusted ebitda (q1 2026) ~$44.8 million, up ~48% year over year, backlog ~$1.03 billion (up ~61% year over year); MRCY shows revenue (ttm) ~$943M, fy2025 revenue ~$912M (vs ~$835M FY2024), q3 fy2026 revenue ~$236M (+11.5% organic YoY), backlog ~$1.6B (record, +18% YoY).

KRMN and MRCY 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 KRMN and MRCY exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.