LOAR vs TDG: How Loar Holdings and TransDigm Group Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 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: TDG 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. LOAR and TDG 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 LOAR and TDG 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.

Loar Holdings is a diversified manufacturer of niche aerospace and defense components, supplying parts and systems that go onto commercial and military aircraft, helicopters, and other platforms. The company designs and produces a wide range of highly engineered, often proprietary products, including specialized seals, gaskets, fluid controls, actuation and motion systems, sensors, switches, instruments, and other flight-critical and cabin components. Loar grows through a combination of organic development and acquisitions, rolling up small, specialized aerospace suppliers and integrating them under a decentralized operating model. A defining feature of its business is high aftermarket exposure: a large share of revenue comes from selling spare parts and replacement components for the existing global fleet, which generates recurring, higher-margin sales over the multi-decade life of an aircraft. Because many of its parts are sole-source or hold proprietary designs and are certified onto specific platforms, Loar enjoys strong pricing power and switching costs. It went public in 2024 and is positioned as a fast-growing, acquisitive aerospace components specialist. Headquartered in White Plains, New York.

Full LOAR guide

TransDigm Group designs and manufactures highly engineered aerospace components used on commercial and military aircraft. Its business model is distinctive: it focuses on proprietary, sole-source parts (things like pumps, valves, actuators, ignition systems, cockpit controls, and specialized fasteners) where TransDigm is often the only approved supplier for a given aircraft. A large share of revenue comes from the aftermarket, selling replacement parts and spares over the decades-long service life of an aircraft, which carries very high margins and recurring demand. TransDigm grows through a disciplined acquisition strategy, buying niche aerospace-parts makers with similar proprietary, sole-source characteristics and then applying its playbook of value-based pricing and cost discipline. The company is known for a private-equity-style approach to capital allocation, high leverage, and large special dividends. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, it serves commercial airlines, business jets, and defense customers worldwide.

Full TDG guide

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

• LOAR drivers: High-margin aftermarket exposure; Proprietary, sole-source content.
• TDG drivers: High-margin proprietary aftermarket; Acquisition-driven growth.

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: Loar is a relatively new public company with a high valuation that embeds aggressive growth expectations, so any slowdown or execution stumble could pressure the multiple. For TDG, transDigm carries very high debt, a deliberate part of its model, which raises interest costs and financial risk if cash flow weakens or rates stay elevated.

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 LOAR if you believe its drivers more; TDG 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 LOAR and TDG guides.

LOAR. Loar trades at a premium growth multiple, well above the typical industrial, reflecting its high margins, large aftermarket mix, proprietary sole-source content, and acquisition-driven growth. The valuation embeds expectations of continued double-digit revenue growth and successful integration of acquisitions. As a smaller, recently public name, it is more volatile and is often valued on EBITDA and growth rather than trailing earnings, with the multiple sensitive to execution and the aerospace cycle.

TDG. TransDigm trades at a premium valuation justified by best-in-class margins, a wide sole-source moat, and a long record of compounding through acquisitions. The qualitative profile is a high-quality, highly levered aerospace compounder. The premium multiple and high leverage mean the stock is sensitive to air-traffic cycles, acquisition pace, and any erosion of pricing power.

Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): LOAR shows revenue (ttm) ~$0.5 billion, operating margin ~20%+ (high, reflecting proprietary, aftermarket-heavy mix), ebitda margin high, reflecting niche, sole-source content, revenue growth strong double-digit, organic plus acquisitions; TDG shows revenue (ttm) ~$8 to 9 billion, ebitda margin ~50%, among the highest in aerospace, aftermarket revenue share roughly half of total revenue, net leverage high, by design (around 5x EBITDA).

LOAR and TDG 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 LOAR and TDG exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.