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.

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 show up alongside NOC in the same themes. Worth a look if you're thinking about diversification within a single 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 basket, so NOC sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the basket 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?, 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 RKLB and NOC vs ASTS.