Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $575 (market cap $82.10B), while Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. trades at $425.8 (market cap $1.91T). The key difference: Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. is far larger — about 23.3× Northrop Grumman Corporation's market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays the higher dividend (1.63%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| NOC | TSM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $82.10B | $1.91T |
Sector | Industrials | Technology |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $477.57 |
52-Week Low | $496.02 | $227.33 |
Enterprise Value | $96.08B | $1.84T |
Dividend Yield | 1.63% | 0.91% |
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.
TSM stock trades at $420.04, up 0.44% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and strong fundamentals including 44.56% net income margin in 2025. Recent July 2026 revenue surged 45% year-over-year to $14.5 billion (CNBC, 2026-08-10), reflecting robust AI demand. The company is expanding with a $64 billion investment (Benzinga, 2026-08-10) and a joint $6.3 billion image sensor venture with Sony (Reuters, 2026-08-09).
Outlook remains positive due to AI-driven growth and analyst consensus of $544 price target, but risks include high valuation (P/E 36.86) and geopolitical tensions. Earnings beat expectations in Q2 2026 with EPS of $4.31 versus $3.87 forecast, supporting upside potential.
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 →Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, is the world's largest dedicated chip foundry, with over 57% market share in 2021 per Gartner. TSMC was founded in 1987 as a joint venture of Philips, the government of Taiwan, and private investors. It went public as an ADR in the U.S. in 1997. TSMC's scale and high-quality technology allow the firm to generate solid operating margins, even in the highly competitive foundry business. Furthermore, the shift to the fabless business model has created tailwinds for TSMC. The foundry leader has an illustrious customer base, including Apple, AMD and Nvidia, that looks to apply cutting-edge process technologies to its semiconductor designs.
Read more on TSM →