Hormel Foods Corp vs Northrop Grumman Corporation — how do they compare? Hormel Foods Corp trades at $24.25 (market cap $13.37B), while Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $578.96 (market cap $81.78B). The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation is far larger — about 6.1× Hormel Foods Corp's market cap, and Hormel Foods Corp pays the higher dividend (4.81%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| HRL | NOC | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $13.37B | $81.78B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Industrials |
52-Week High | $29.25 | $768.02 |
52-Week Low | $19.74 | $496.02 |
Enterprise Value | $15.37B | $95.77B |
Dividend Yield | 4.81% | 1.63% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Hormel Foods (HRL) trades at $24.23, down 1.92% over 24 hours, amid a bearish technical signal. The stock shows consistent earnings beats with Q1 2026 EPS of $0.40 surpassing the $0.3544 estimate. Revenue for 2025 was $12.11B, though net income margin compressed to 3.82%. Recent corporate developments include the appointment of John Ghingo as CEO and the sale of its CERATTI business in Brazil.
HRL presents a mixed outlook with a defensive profile as a consumer staple, supported by a 4.6% dividend yield. However, margin pressures and a bearish technical trend pose near-term risks. The consensus price target of $26.33 implies modest upside, but investor sentiment remains cautious given high hold ratings.
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $577.12, down 0.13% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages but overbought RSI readings. The company reported strong Q2 2026 earnings, beating estimates with EPS of $7.68, and raised full-year guidance, supported by a record $105 billion backlog. Revenue growth is steady, with 2026 projected at $42.9 billion, and profitability remains solid with a net income margin of 10.48%.
The outlook is positive, driven by strategic contracts like the $7.6 billion Sentinel program and defense spending tailwinds. Risks include margin pressures from specific programs and geopolitical uncertainties. Analysts are bullish with a consensus price target of $598.57, suggesting upside potential from current levels.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Hormel Foods is a protein-focused branded food company. Its brands include its namesake Hormel, Spam, Jennie-O, Dinty Moore, Applegate, Wholly Guacamole, and Skippy. The vast majority of the company's revenue is U.S.-based: 64% U.S. retail, 28% U.S. food service, and 8% international. By product type, in fiscal 2021, 23% of revenue was shelf-stable foods, 18% was poultry (branded and commodity), 55% was other perishable food, and 3% was other, primarily nutritional products. The company holds the number-one market position in shelf-stable meat, shelf-stable ready meals, pepperoni, natural/organic deli meat, and guacamole and the number-two position in turkey, bacon, chilled ready meals, and peanut butter.
Read more on HRL →Northrop Grumman is a defense contractor that is diversified across short-cycle and long-cycle businesses. The firm's segments include aeronautics, mission systems, defense services, and space systems. The company's aerospace segment creates the fuselage for the massive F-35 program and produces various piloted and autonomous flight systems. Mission systems creates a variety of sensors and processors for defense hardware. The defense systems segment is a long-range missile manufacturer. Finally, the company's space systems segment produces various space structures, sensors, and satellites.
Read more on NOC →