Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $521.09 (market cap $73.16B), while Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF trades at $83.75. The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation pays a 1.92% dividend while Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF pays none, and Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF is trading nearer its 52-week high, Northrop Grumman Corporation nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| NOC | VOOG | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $73.16B | — |
Sector | Industrials | Broad Market / Factor |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $85.69 |
52-Week Low | $496.02 | $65.32 |
Enterprise Value | $87.14B | — |
Dividend Yield | 1.92% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $518.58, up 0.7% with strong earnings beats in recent quarters. Technical indicators show a bearish trend with oversold RSI signals, while fundamentals remain solid with 10.48% net margin and 26.96% ROE. The company maintains a record $105 billion backlog and raised guidance after strong Q2 results, supported by rising defense spending globally.
NOC presents a compelling value with a 16.37 P/E below industry averages and a $618.43 consensus price target implying 19% upside. Risks include execution on massive contracts and defense budget volatility, but analyst sentiment is strongly bullish with 57% buy ratings. The stock offers defensive growth exposure amid geopolitical tensions.
VOOG trades at $84.08, down 0.5% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and neutral oscillators. The ETF focuses on S&P 500 growth stocks, offering exposure to large-cap leaders with a low expense ratio of 0.07% (Vanguard, 2026). Recent news highlights strong long-term performance, including over 400% total returns in the past decade (The Motley Fool, 2026-09-07).
Outlook remains positive for growth-oriented investors, supported by institutional buying and media optimism. Key risks include tech sector concentration and market volatility. Analysts favor VOOG for its cost efficiency and historical outperformance, though valuation sensitivity persists amid economic uncertainties.
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 →VOOG is an index-based ETF that tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index, composed of the growth-oriented companies within the S&P 500. It selects constituents based on three key metrics—sales growth, the ratio of earnings change to price, and momentum—offering a highly liquid and low-cost way to capture the high-performing 'growth slice' of the broader U.S. large-cap market.
Read more on VOOG →