Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Palantir Technologies Inc — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $575 (market cap $82.10B), while Palantir Technologies Inc trades at $172.87 (market cap $421.09B). The key difference: Palantir Technologies Inc is far larger — about 5.1× Northrop Grumman Corporation's market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays a 1.63% dividend while Palantir Technologies Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| NOC | PLTR | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $82.10B | $421.09B |
Sector | Industrials | Technology |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $207.18 |
52-Week Low | $496.02 | $107.27 |
Enterprise Value | $96.08B | $411.89B |
Dividend Yield | 1.63% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $571.58, up 0.68% on the day, with a bullish technical signal driven by moving averages despite overbought RSI readings. The company reported strong Q2 2026 earnings, beating EPS estimates with $7.68 actual versus $6.82 expected, and raised full-year guidance amid a record $105 billion backlog. Fundamentals show robust profitability with a 10.48% net income margin and 26.96% ROE, while valuation metrics like a P/E of 18.17 appear reasonable relative to growth.
Outlook remains positive given defense spending tailwinds and contract wins like the $7.6 billion Sentinel program, though margin pressures and high debt levels pose risks. Analysts are bullish with a $598.57 consensus target, implying ~5% upside from current levels, supported by 20 buy ratings versus 1 sell.
Palantir (PLTR) trades at $172.01, up 10.32% in 24 hours and near its 52-week high, with bullish technical signals from moving averages. The company reported strong Q2 2026 earnings, beating estimates with 93% revenue growth and a 55% net income margin, while raising full-year guidance. Analyst consensus is a Buy with a $213.44 price target, reflecting optimism around AI-driven commercial expansion.
Outlook remains positive due to accelerating revenue and robust profitability, but high valuation multiples (P/E of 147.02) pose a risk if growth slows. Key opportunities include the $13.1 billion deal backlog and U.S. commercial segment growth, while risks involve competition and execution challenges in sustaining AI adoption momentum.
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 →Palantir Technologies provides organizations with solutions to manage large disparate data sets in an attempt to gain insight and drive operational outcomes. Founded in 2003, Palantir released its Gotham software platform in 2008, which focuses on the government intelligence and defense sectors. Palantir expanded into various commercial markets with its Foundry software platform in 2016 with the intent of becoming the data operating system for companies and industries. The Denver company had 125 customers as of its initial public offering and roughly splits its revenue between commercial and government customers.
Read more on PLTR →