Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Shell PLC — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $575.89 (market cap $81.78B), while Shell PLC trades at $90.02 (market cap $250.44B). The key difference: Shell PLC is far larger — about 3.1× Northrop Grumman Corporation's market cap, and Shell PLC pays the higher dividend (3.45%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| NOC | SHEL | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $81.78B | $250.44B |
Sector | Industrials | Energy |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $94.15 |
52-Week Low | $496.02 | $70.31 |
Enterprise Value | $95.77B | $292.14B |
Dividend Yield | 1.63% | 3.45% |
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.
Shell (SHEL) trades at $90.15, up 0.22% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and a consensus analyst price target of $103.60. Recent Q2 2026 earnings beat estimates with EPS of $3.52 versus $3.23 expected, driven by higher oil prices and strong operational performance. The company maintains solid profitability with a net income margin of 8.76% and ROE of 14.35%, while cash flow from operations reached $42.86B in 2025.
Outlook is positive due to undervaluation (P/E of 10.01), rising oil prices, and strategic asset sales, but risks include commodity volatility and geopolitical tensions affecting energy markets. With 69% of analysts rating it Buy and institutional support, SHEL offers growth potential, though investors should monitor debt levels and global energy demand shifts.
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 →Shell is an integrated oil and gas company that explores for, produces, and refines oil around the world. In 2021, it produced 1.7 million barrels of liquids and 8.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. At year-end 2021, reserves stood at 9.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 50% of which consisted of liquids. Its production and reserves are in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and North and South America. The company operates refineries with capacity of 1.8 mmb/d located in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe and sells 15 mtpa of chemicals. Its largest chemical plants, often integrated with its local refineries, are in Central Europe, China, Singapore, and North America.
Read more on SHEL →