Northrop Grumman Corporation vs NetApp Inc. — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $574 (market cap $81.78B), while NetApp Inc. trades at $200.5 (market cap $38.95B). The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation is far larger — about 2.1× NetApp Inc.'s market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays the higher dividend (1.63%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| NOC | NTAP | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $81.78B | $38.95B |
Sector | Industrials | Technology |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $198.72 |
52-Week Low | $496.02 | $94.11 |
Enterprise Value | $95.77B | $38.10B |
Dividend Yield | 1.63% | 1.05% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $577.89, up 1.1% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and a record $105 billion backlog supporting fundamentals. Recent Q2 2026 earnings beat expectations, with sales growth of 5% and raised full-year guidance (Seeking Alpha, 2026-07-23). Valuation ratios like P/E of 18.3 and ROE of 26.96% reflect strong profitability, though RSI levels indicate overbought conditions.
The outlook is positive due to defense spending tailwinds and strategic contracts, but risks include margin pressure from specific programs and geopolitical volatility. Analysts maintain a buy consensus with a $598.57 price target, suggesting modest upside from current levels.
NetApp (NTAP) trades at $198.72, up 4.85% today, near its consensus price target high of $200. The stock shows strong technical momentum with bullish moving averages and recent earnings beats. Revenue grew to $6.57B in 2025 with an 18.43% net margin, while acquisitions like JetStream Software and DataPelago enhance its AI infrastructure capabilities. Cash flow turned positive at $840M in 2025 after two years of negative net flows.
Outlook is positive given earnings consistency and strategic AI investments, but high valuation ratios (P/E 31.26) and overbought RSI levels near 85 pose near-term risks. Analyst consensus leans Hold (50.7%), suggesting cautious optimism amid growth execution and competitive pressures in data storage.
Trailing returns across standard periods
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 →NetApp is a leading provider of enterprise data management and storage solutions. The company's three operating business units are products, software maintenance, and hardware maintenance. NetApp transitioned from a data center storage firm to a company with software data management solutions for multicloud environments. The California-headquartered company sells globally and has approximately 10,000 employees.
Read more on NTAP →