Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) Stock Price & How to Invest

Northrop Grumman is one of the largest US defense contractors, supplying advanced aerospace, defense, and security systems primarily to the US government and allied militaries. Its business is organized around four segments: Aeronautics Systems (military aircraft and the B-21 Raider stealth bomber), Space Systems (satellites, launch, and missile-defense and space sensors), Mission Systems (radars, electronic warfare, sensors, and networking), and Defense Systems (missiles, ammunition, and the ground-based strategic deterrent program modernizing US intercontinental ballistic missiles). Northrop is a leader in stealth aircraft, space systems, and strategic deterrence, holding key positions on programs that are central to long-term US defense priorities. Revenue is dominated by long-duration government contracts, providing visibility and a large multi-year backlog, though margins depend on program execution and the mix of fixed-price versus cost-plus work. As a prime contractor on strategic programs like the B-21 bomber and the Sentinel ICBM, Northrop is tied to defense-budget trends and great-power competition. Founded in 1939 (modern form from the 1994 Northrop-Grumman merger) and headquartered in Virginia, it is a large-cap defense and aerospace company that pays a growing dividend.

Northrop depends heavily on the US government, so defense-budget cuts, continuing resolutions, or shifting priorities directly affect revenue. Large development programs like the B-21 and Sentinel carry execution and cost risk, and fixed-price contracts can produce charges if costs run over (Northrop has taken charges on certain programs). Margins are sensitive to program mix and inflation in labor and materials. Political risk, procurement delays, and program cancellations are persistent. The valuation reflects defense-sector premium and backlog visibility, but disappointing program execution or budget pressure can weigh on the stock. Concentration in a handful of major programs means problems on any one can be material, and ESG-driven exclusions limit part of the investor base.

21 analysts publish price targets on NOC, averaging $647.14 against a $532.91 price as of September 2026, or +21.4%. The published targets run from $538.00 to $815.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 13 buy, 10 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 3 raises and 9 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full NOC forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Northrop Grumman Corporation. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Strategic franchise programs. Northrop is the prime contractor on the B-21 Raider stealth bomber and the Sentinel ground-based strategic deterrent (the US ICBM modernization), two cornerstone programs central to national defense for decades. The most optimistic published target, $815.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Northrop depends heavily on the US government, so defense-budget cuts, continuing resolutions, or shifting priorities directly affect revenue. The most pessimistic target, $538.00, is roughly what NOC is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on NOC, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Northrop Grumman Corporation's investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$42 billion
• Operating margin: ~10-11% (sensitive to program mix and charges)
• Net income (TTM): ~$3.5-4 billion
• EPS (TTM): ~$25
• P/E (TTM): ~20x
• Dividend yield: ~1.7%, with a long record of annual increases
• Backlog: ~$80 billion+, multi-year funded and unfunded
• Free cash flow: Several billion annually, growing

Northrop trades at a valuation in line with large defense primes, reflecting backlog visibility, strategic-program leadership, and steady cash generation balanced against program-execution and budget risk. The multiple tends to expand during periods of rising defense budgets and geopolitical tension and compress when budget concerns or program charges weigh on sentiment. The dividend and buybacks support total return.

If you want NOC exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

These are the investment theses NOC naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.

Other names that sit close to NOC: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get NOC exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (XAR, PPA, ITA), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so NOC sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where NOC fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Northrop Grumman (NOC) is a backlog-rich defense prime whose revenue rests on long-duration government contracts and cornerstone strategic programs, supporting steady cash, dividends, and buybacks. In a portfolio it behaves as a defensive, dividend-growth industrial tied to US budgets and great-power competition, with program-execution and cost risk on B-21 and Sentinel and some ESG-driven exclusions, more stable than the broad market through cycles.

Whether NOC is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is NOC a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the NOC stock forecast.

For income investors, whether NOC pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does NOC pay a dividend? And to weigh NOC against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: NOC vs SPCX and NOC vs RKLB.