Top 15 Aerospace & Defense Stocks by Marvin Score
Marvin's rules ranked 15 aerospace & defense companies by Overall score within their own industry in 2026. General Dynamics, GE Aerospace and National Presto Industries sit at the top of the list.
Aerospace & defense companies build aircraft, engines, ships, weapons, electronics and the services that support them. Many of them depend on long government and airline contracts, so their results can look quite different from one company to the next.
This list shows 15 companies that Marvin's rules ranked highest on Overall score. Each short profile gives growth, profit margins, return on equity and debt where those figures are available, along with one caution.
Keep in mind that a score describes how a company compares with others in its industry today. It is not a forecast, and strong figures in one area can sit beside weak ones in another.
The list
How Marvin ranked these stocks
Marvin included companies above its minimum size cutoff and ranked them by Overall score, with the highest first. Overall, quality and opportunity scores are all relative to each company's own industry, so every company here is compared only with other aerospace & defense companies. The stocks are shown in the order the rules produced.
Companies above about $300 million in size, ranked by Marvin scores (0-100, relative to each company's own industry). The Aerospace & Defense industry, highest Overall score first.
The stocks, one by one
General Dynamics Corporation GD
General Dynamics has the top Overall score at 96. Revenue grew 10.1% last fiscal year, free cash flow margin is 11.5%, and debt-to-equity is a modest 0.38. Caution: operating margin of 10.2% is only moderate, so profit per dollar of sales is not especially high.
GE Aerospace GE
GE Aerospace has a quality score of 94 and revenue growth of 18.5%. Return on equity is 50.9%, and free cash flow margin is 16.6%. Caution: debt-to-equity of 1.15 is higher than some peers on this list, and operating margin data is missing.
National Presto Industries, Inc. NPK
National Presto Industries grew revenue 29.7% and has an opportunity score of 96. Operating margin is 9.6% and gross margin is 16.5%. Caution: its quality score of 68 is well below its Overall score, and debt data is missing.
Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT
Lockheed Martin shows steady but modest growth of 5.6%, with operating margin of 11.9% and free cash flow margin of 11.3%. Return on equity is 71.7%. Caution: debt-to-equity of 2.34 is the highest here, and a high return on equity can partly reflect borrowing.
Amentum Holdings, Inc. AMTM
Amentum Holdings grew revenue 71.6%, the fastest in this list, and has an opportunity score of 93. Caution: operating margin of 4.2%, free cash flow margin of 3.4% and return on equity of 4.3% are all thin, so profitability is low.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. HII
Huntington Ingalls grew revenue 8.2% and has a quality score of 80, with debt-to-equity of 0.55. Caution: operating margin of 5.3% is slim, and a free cash flow margin of -0.6% means little or no free cash was left after spending.
Park Aerospace Corp. PKE
Park Aerospace has strong margins: operating margin of 21.1%, gross margin of 32.7% and free cash flow margin of 14.2%. Revenue grew 18.2%. Caution: return on equity of 9.1% is modest, and debt data is missing.
RTX Corporation RTX
RTX grew revenue 9.7% with operating margin of 11.2% and free cash flow margin of 12.2%, and debt-to-equity is moderate at 0.51. Caution: its opportunity score of 55 is lower than its quality score of 88.
HEICO Corporation HEI
HEICO has the highest quality score in the list at 97, with operating margin of 24.0%, gross margin of 40.4% and growth of 16.3%. Caution: its opportunity score of 40 is the lowest among these 15 companies.
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. SWBI
Smith & Wesson Brands kept a solid share of sales as free cash, with a free cash flow margin of 14.9% and gross margin of 27.4%. Revenue grew 10.4%. Caution: operating margin of 6.6% and return on equity of 6.6% are low, and debt data is missing.
Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC
Northrop Grumman has operating margin of 10.7% and return on equity of 25.1%, with debt-to-equity of 0.95. Caution: revenue growth of 2.2% was the slowest in this list, so sales expanded only slightly last fiscal year.
Textron Inc. TXT
Textron grew revenue 8.0% and has a free cash flow margin of 5.0%, with return on equity of 11.6%. Caution: operating margin and debt figures are missing, so the picture of profits and borrowing is incomplete.
Leonardo DRS, Inc. DRS
Leonardo DRS carries very little debt, with debt-to-equity of 0.10, and has operating margin of 10.5% and growth of 12.8%. Caution: its opportunity score of 48 is on the low side, and return on equity is only 11.5%.
AAR Corp. AIR
AAR Corp. grew revenue 19.0% and has an opportunity score of 89, with gross margin of 19.1%. Caution: its quality score of 65 and free cash flow margin of 4.6% are modest, and operating margin data is missing.
BWX Technologies, Inc. BWXT
BWX Technologies has a quality score of 78, growth of 18.3% and operating margin of 12.1%. Caution: debt-to-equity of 1.51 is high for this list, and its opportunity score of 43 is low.
Common questions
What do aerospace and defense companies do?
They design and make aircraft, engines, parts, ships, electronics and weapons, and they provide related services. Customers include governments, militaries and airlines, so contracts often run for many years.
Why can quality and opportunity scores differ for the same company?
Quality reflects the strength of a company's financial results, such as margins, returns and debt, compared with its industry. Opportunity is a separate score that also compares the company with industry peers. A company can rank high on one and low on the other, as HEICO does in this list.
Does a high Overall score mean a stock is a good investment?
No. The Overall score only describes how a company compares with others in its industry today. It does not predict results, and it is not advice to buy, sell or hold. Readers should also look at the company's own reports and their own goals.
Keep reading
- Top 15 Industrials Companies With the Strongest Businesses
- Top 15 Industrials Stocks Ranked by Marvin Opportunity Score
- Top 15 Industrials Stocks Ranked by Marvin Scores
- Top 20 Large-Cap Stocks Right Now, Ranked by Marvin Scores
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Marvin's scores (0-100) compare each company with others in its industry today. Growth and margin figures come from SEC filings. This is general information, not personal investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Do your own research.