Lowe`s Companies Inc vs Northrop Grumman Corporation — how do they compare? Lowe`s Companies Inc trades at $204.77 (market cap $117.04B), while Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $525.41 (market cap $74.08B). The key difference: Lowe`s Companies Inc is the larger of the two by market cap, and Lowe`s Companies Inc pays the higher dividend (2.4%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LOW | NOC | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $117.04B | $74.08B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Industrials |
52-Week High | $287.39 | $768.02 |
52-Week Low | $206.62 | $496.02 |
Enterprise Value | $158.79B | $88.31B |
Dividend Yield | 2.4% | 1.8% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Lowe's (LOW) trades at $204.08, down 2.23% on the day, amid a bearish technical signal. The stock has consistently beaten earnings expectations in recent quarters, with Q1 2026 EPS of $3.03 exceeding the $2.97 estimate. Revenue for 2025 was $83.67 billion, with a net income margin of 7.51%. The company maintains a strong dividend history, recently declaring a $1.25 per share dividend payable in August 2026.
The outlook is mixed. Strong analyst consensus, with a $260.88 price target and 60.79% buy ratings, suggests upside potential. However, high debt levels, with a debt-to-asset ratio of 82.33% for 2025, and a projected net cash flow deficit of $2.3 billion for 2026 present significant financial risks. Competitive pressures in the home improvement sector remain a key challenge.
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $530.82, up 1.77% with strong earnings momentum after beating estimates for three consecutive quarters. The stock shows bearish technical signals but maintains solid fundamentals with 10.8% net income margin and 28.51% ROE. Recent news highlights defense budget tailwinds and a $96 billion backlog supporting growth. Analyst consensus remains bullish with a $655 price target, though technical indicators suggest near-term pressure near resistance at $535.
NOC presents a compelling value opportunity with below-average P/E of 16.35 and consistent earnings beats, but faces execution risks on major programs like Sentinel. Defense spending increases under the Trump administration provide revenue visibility, while technical weakness near key resistance requires monitoring. The stock's current discount to analyst targets offers potential upside if quarterly results continue exceeding expectations.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world, operating 1,969 stores and servicing around 230 dealer-owned stores throughout the United States and Canada. The firm's stores offer products and services for home decorating, maintenance, repair, and remodeling, with maintenance and repair accounting for two thirds of products sold. Lowe's targets retail do-it-yourself (around 75% of sales) and do-it-for-me customers as well as commercial and professional business clients (around 25% of sales). We estimate Lowe's captures a low-double-digit share of the domestic home improvement market, based on U.S. Census data and management's estimates for market size.
Read more on LOW →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 →