Northrop Grumman Corporation vs United Microelectronics Corp — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $513.84 (market cap $74.42B), while United Microelectronics Corp trades at $21.19 (market cap $51.00B). The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation is the larger of the two by market cap, and United Microelectronics Corp pays the higher dividend (2.03%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| NOC | UMC | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $74.42B | $51.00B |
Sector | Industrials | Technology |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $28.02 |
52-Week Low | $496.02 | $6.58 |
Enterprise Value | $88.65B | $48.57B |
Dividend Yield | 1.79% | 2.03% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $512.29, down 1.78% amid a bearish technical signal despite strong Q2 2026 earnings that beat estimates and a record $105 billion backlog. The stock faces margin pressures but maintains solid fundamentals with a P/E of 16.43 and ROE of 28.51%. Recent news highlights raised 2026 guidance driven by robust defense demand, though the stock's decline reflects investor concerns over cost challenges.
The outlook is mixed: bullish fundamentals and analyst consensus ($655 price target) support long-term growth, but near-term risks include execution on margin targets and technical bearishness. Investment appeal hinges on defense budget tailwinds offsetting operational headwinds.
UMC trades at $21.19, down 0.28% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from oscillators but bearish moving averages. The company reported Q1 2026 EPS of $0.20, beating expectations, and maintains a net income margin of 20.25%. Recent news highlights mass production of silicon photonics ICs and strong June 2026 sales growth of 22.85% year-over-year.
Outlook is supported by earnings beats and specialty technology demand, but risks include valuation above sector peers and competitive pressures. Analysts are mixed with 26.67% buy ratings, suggesting cautious optimism amid solid execution.
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 →Founded in 1980, United Microelectronics is the world's third-largest dedicated chip foundry, with 7% market share in 2021, according to Gartner, after TSMC and GlobalFoundries. UMC's headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and it operates 12 fabs in Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan and Singapore, with additional sales offices in Europe, the U.S. and South Korea. UMC features a diverse customer base including Texas Instruments, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Xilinx and Realtek, supplying a wide range of products applied in communications, display, memory, automotive and more. UMC employs about 20,000 people.
Read more on UMC →