HII vs GD Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Huntington Ingalls and General Dynamics both participate in United States naval shipbuilding, but Huntington Ingalls is a concentrated pure-play shipbuilder, while General Dynamics combines its own shipbuilding operations with combat vehicles, Gulfstream business jets, and technology services in a more diversified structure.
Huntington Ingalls offers concentrated exposure to naval shipbuilding backlog and Navy program funding, while General Dynamics offers diversified exposure spanning shipbuilding, combat vehicles, and business jets. Consider whether you prefer Huntington Ingalls's shipbuilding concentration or General Dynamics' broader defense-and-aerospace diversification.
GD holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. GD has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+9.67% vs +2.36%), though HII has the better forward P/E setup (13.88x vs 20.45x for GD). On fundamentals, HII is growing revenue faster (10.90%), while GD maintains the higher operating margin (10.38%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for HII (+27.44%) than for GD (+10.73%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want concentrated exposure to naval shipbuilding backlog tied to United States Navy programs
- Value Huntington Ingalls's unique position as one of few shipbuilders capable of constructing nuclear-powered vessels
- Believe long-duration shipbuilding programs provide durable, multi-year revenue visibility
- Are comfortable with revenue concentration in a small number of large, complex naval programs
- Want exposure to naval shipbuilding, combat vehicles, and Gulfstream business jets in one diversified company
- Believe multi-year defense program backlogs provide durable long-term revenue visibility
- Are comfortable with business jet demand cyclicality tied to the Gulfstream segment
- Prefer diversification across multiple defense and aerospace business lines over shipbuilding concentration
| Metric | HII | GD |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 39.3 | 52.2 |
| AI ranki | #1267 | #403 |
| Latest closei | $279.46 | $358.60 |
| 1M returni | -14.72% | -9.39% |
| 6M returni | -33.92% | +0.65% |
| 1Y returni | +2.36% | +9.67% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HII | GD |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.23K (+2.3%) started 2025-09-16 | $10.99K (+9.9%) started 2025-09-16 |
| 5Y ago | $16.88K (+68.8%) started 2021-09-17 | $21.73K (+117.3%) started 2021-09-17 |
| 10Y ago | $25.48K (+154.8%) started 2016-09-19 | $35.38K (+253.8%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | HII | GD |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $11.39B | $102.63B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 17.23 | 23.14 |
| Forward P/Ei | 13.88 | 20.45 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 1.10 | 1.96 |
| Analyst targeti | $368.42 | $420.02 |
| Target upsidei | +27.44% | +10.73% |
| Metric | HII | GD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 10.90% | 8.10% |
| Earnings growthi | 36.50% | 13.40% |
| EPS growthi | +36.50% | +13.40% |
| FCF margini | -2.28% | +8.02% |
| Operating margini | 7.08% | 10.38% |
| Profit margini | 5.01% | 8.18% |
| ROIC proxyi | 12.97% | 17.80% |
| Return on equityi | 12.97% | 17.80% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.89% | 1.68% |
| Payout ratioi | 32.70% | 37.68% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.24 | 0.33 |
| Debt/equityi | 55.25 | 35.34 |
| Current ratioi | 1.23 | 1.44 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.10 | 0.85 |
Over the past year, HII and GD have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.54), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | HII | GD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +2.30% | +9.87% |
| CAGRi | +2.30% | +9.88% | |
| Volatilityi | 38.24% | 22.26% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.13 | 0.33 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.20 | 0.51 | |
| Max drawdowni | 40.77% | 15.23% | |
| Current drawdowni | 38.41% | 9.44% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.61% | 4.06% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 21.61% | 5.10% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.59% | 4.18% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.66% | 6.86% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +55.32% | +99.56% |
| CAGRi | +9.21% | +14.83% | |
| Volatilityi | 32.17% | 20.70% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.30 | 0.56 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.41 | 0.81 | |
| Max drawdowni | 45.21% | 22.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 38.41% | 9.44% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 13.26% | 5.98% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 17.23% | 8.07% | |
| Max daily dropi | 26.16% | 7.27% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 27.38% | 10.82% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +113.08% | +186.13% |
| CAGRi | +7.87% | +11.10% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.19% | 22.84% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.26 | 0.38 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.35 | 0.54 | |
| Max drawdowni | 49.70% | 51.63% | |
| Current drawdowni | 38.41% | 9.44% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.21% | 10.78% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 21.09% | 14.91% | |
| Max daily dropi | 26.16% | 10.93% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 27.38% | 19.06% |
| Category | HII | GD |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. | General Dynamics Corporation |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Aerospace & Defense | Aerospace & Defense |
| Core business | A shipbuilding company that designs, builds, and maintains naval vessels including aircraft carriers, submarines, and surface combatants for the United States Navy and Coast Guard. | A diversified defense and aerospace company producing combat vehicles, naval ships and submarines, and Gulfstream business jets, along with information technology and mission systems services for government customers. |
| Investor focus | Naval shipbuilding backlog and program execution, margin trends across major shipbuilding programs, and dividend consistency. | Gulfstream business jet order trends and delivery cadence, defense segment backlog growth, and naval shipbuilding program execution. |
- Concentrated position as one of very few shipbuilders capable of constructing nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the Navy
- Long-duration shipbuilding programs provide multi-year, highly visible revenue backlog
- Consistent dividend history reflects the stable, contracted nature of naval shipbuilding revenue
- Diversified structure spans combat vehicles, marine systems, aerospace, and technology segments, balancing commercial and defense exposure
- Gulfstream franchise provides exposure to business jet demand alongside core defense contracting revenue
- Long-duration naval shipbuilding and combat systems programs provide multi-year revenue visibility
- Revenue concentration in a small number of large, complex shipbuilding programs creates execution and cost overrun risk
- Nearly entire revenue base depends on United States Navy and government shipbuilding budgets
- Large program schedule delays or cost growth can weigh on margins in a given period
- Gulfstream segment introduces sensitivity to broader business jet demand and corporate travel spending cycles
- Shipbuilding programs can face schedule and cost execution risk given their scale and complexity
- Defense budget allocation decisions and program funding priorities can shift program-level revenue growth
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