Northrop Grumman Corporation vs NRG Energy Inc — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $482.14 (market cap $68.83B), while NRG Energy Inc trades at $106.53 (market cap $22.35B). The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation is far larger — about 3.1× NRG Energy Inc's market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays the higher dividend (2.04%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Northrop Grumman Corporation for 81 Days and NRG Energy Inc for 62 Days on average.
| NOC | NRG | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $68.83B | $22.35B |
Volume | 1,081,989 | 5,011,942 |
Sector | Industrials | Utilities |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $184.03 |
52-Week Low | $473.46 | $95.23 |
Typical Hold Time | 81 Days | 62 Days |
Enterprise Value | $82.81B | $46.30B |
Dividend Yield | 2.04% | 1.79% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $479.00, up 1.17% with a bearish technical signal despite strong fundamentals. The stock shows consistent earnings beats with Q2 2026 EPS of $7.68 exceeding expectations, supported by a robust $104.7 billion backlog and expanding defense budgets. Recent news highlights both competitive pressures from Boeing's $20B fighter contract win and positive developments in F-35 radar demand.
The investment outlook remains positive with analyst consensus at $600.62 (25% upside) and 54% buy ratings, though technical indicators suggest near-term pressure. Key risks include contract competition and execution challenges on major programs like the B-21 bomber, while strong cash flow generation and dividend growth provide shareholder support.
NRG Energy (NRG) trades at $108.61, up 4.84% today, with a bullish technical signal and strong analyst consensus. Recent earnings showed a Q2 2026 miss but the company is executing a growth strategy including a 1.2 GW Texas data-center power project. Financials indicate solid revenue of $30.71B in 2025, though net margins are thin at 2.56%, and cash flow trends are volatile with a projected net outflow in 2026.
The outlook is positive given high analyst buy ratings and a $202.90 price target, but risks include execution on large capital projects, rising debt levels, and competitive pressures. Earnings growth from new assets and customer relationships remains the key catalyst for upside, though the stock faces near-term volatility from recent misses.
Trailing returns across standard periods
What Pluang investors did over the last 30 days
Latest headlines on both assets
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 →NRG Energy is one of the largest retail energy providers in the U.S., with 7 million customers, including its 2021 acquisition of Direct Energy. It also is one of the largest U.S. independent power producers, with 16 gigawatts of nuclear, coal, gas, and oil power generation capacity primarily in Texas. Since 2018, NRG has divested its 47% stake in NRG Yield, among other renewable energy and conventional generation investments. NRG exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a stand-alone entity in December 2003.
Read more on NRG →