Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Palo Alto Networks Inc — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $481.63 (market cap $68.83B), while Palo Alto Networks Inc trades at $409.9 (market cap $331.76B). The key difference: Palo Alto Networks Inc is far larger — about 4.8× Northrop Grumman Corporation's market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays a 2.04% dividend while Palo Alto Networks Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Northrop Grumman Corporation for 81 Days and Palo Alto Networks Inc for 82 Days on average.
| NOC | PANW | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $68.83B | $331.76B |
Volume | 1,081,989 | 3,886,927 |
Sector | Industrials | Technology |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $419.91 |
52-Week Low | $473.46 | $141.67 |
Typical Hold Time | 81 Days | 82 Days |
Enterprise Value | $82.81B | $331.19B |
Dividend Yield | 2.04% | — |
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.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) trades at $405.41, down 3.45% today but maintains a bullish technical outlook with strong moving average signals. The company demonstrates robust revenue growth, reaching $9.22B in 2025, though net margins compressed to 2.67%. Recent AI security initiatives, including Unit 42 AI defense service, position PANW for continued growth in the cybersecurity sector.
PANW presents a mixed investment case with strong AI-driven growth potential offset by premium valuations (P/E 1,013.93, P/S 26.99). Analyst consensus remains strongly bullish (72% buy ratings) with a $398.70 price target. Key risks include valuation sensitivity and competitive pressures in the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.
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 →Palo Alto Networks is a pure-play cybersecurity vendor that sells security appliances, subscriptions, and support into enterprises, government entities, and service providers. The company's product portfolio includes firewall appliances, virtual firewalls, endpoint protection, cloud security, and cybersecurity analytics. The Santa Clara, California, firm was established in 2005 and sells its products worldwide.
Read more on PANW →