Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $483.55 (market cap $68.83B), while Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund trades at $49.55 (market cap $7.73B). The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation is far larger — about 8.9× Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund's market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays a 2.04% dividend while Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Northrop Grumman Corporation for 81 Days and Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund for 70 Days on average.
| NOC | XLB | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $68.83B | $7.73B |
Volume | 1,081,989 | 13,681,146 |
Sector | Industrials | — |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $53.67 |
52-Week Low | $473.46 | $42.23 |
Typical Hold Time | 81 Days | 70 Days |
Enterprise Value | $82.81B | — |
Dividend Yield | 2.04% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $479.00, up 1.17% with a bearish technical signal despite strong fundamentals. The stock shows consistent earnings beats with Q2 2026 EPS of $7.68 exceeding expectations, supported by a robust $104.7 billion backlog and expanding defense budgets. Recent news highlights both competitive pressures from Boeing's $20B fighter contract win and positive developments in F-35 radar demand.
The investment outlook remains positive with analyst consensus at $600.62 (25% upside) and 54% buy ratings, though technical indicators suggest near-term pressure. Key risks include contract competition and execution challenges on major programs like the B-21 bomber, while strong cash flow generation and dividend growth provide shareholder support.
XLB trades at $49.49, up 1.04% with a bearish technical signal from moving averages. The materials ETF shows neutral oscillators but faces selling pressure with ADX indicators signaling strong trends. Recent news highlights sector concentration risks with chemicals comprising 49% of assets, while infrastructure and manufacturing trends provide support. The ETF remains below its 200-day moving average of $50.93, indicating technical weakness.
Outlook remains cautious as materials sector faces cyclical headwinds with limited upside after recent rebound. Investment opportunity exists in AI-resistant businesses and infrastructure exposure, but risks include heavy concentration in chemicals and moderate overvaluation in construction materials. Wall Street sentiment appears mixed with some analysts viewing current levels as fully valued.
Trailing returns across standard periods
What Pluang investors did over the last 30 days
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 →In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes securities of companies from the following industries: chemicals; metals and mining; paper and forest products; containers and packaging; and construction materials. The fund is non-diversified.
Read more on XLB →