LHX vs GD Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
L3Harris and General Dynamics are both major defense contractors, but L3Harris concentrates on communications, sensors, and defense electronics following its merger integration, while General Dynamics spans combat vehicles, naval shipbuilding, and Gulfstream business jets in a more diversified structure.
L3Harris offers concentrated exposure to defense electronics and communications with ongoing merger synergy upside, while General Dynamics offers diversified exposure spanning shipbuilding, combat vehicles, and business jets. Consider whether you prefer L3Harris's electronics-focused margin improvement story or General Dynamics' diversified defense-and-aerospace mix.
LHX holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. GD has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+6.96% vs -3.11%), though LHX has the better forward P/E setup (19.52x vs 20.45x for GD). On fundamentals, LHX is growing revenue faster (190.00%), while GD maintains the higher operating margin (10.38%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for LHX (+29.18%) 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.
- Believe continued merger integration and cost synergy realization will drive margin improvement
- Want concentrated exposure to defense communications, sensors, and electronics across multiple domains
- Value exposure to growing defense priorities in space and cyber domains
- Are comfortable with ongoing integration execution risk from the L3 and Harris combination
- 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 a broader diversified defense and aerospace platform over a more electronics-focused pure-play
| Metric | LHX | GD |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 60.9 | 52.9 |
| AI ranki | #149 | #374 |
| Latest closei | $278.43 | $370.82 |
| 1M returni | +17.74% | +11.58% |
| 3M returni | +2.40% | -2.98% |
| 6M returni | -13.14% | +7.70% |
| 1Y returni | -3.11% | +6.96% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | LHX | GD |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.71K (-2.9%) started 2025-10-29 | $10.8K (+8.0%) started 2025-10-29 |
| 5Y ago | $14.62K (+46.2%) started 2021-11-01 | $21.45K (+114.5%) started 2021-11-01 |
| 10Y ago | $43.69K (+336.9%) started 2016-10-31 | $36.53K (+265.3%) started 2016-10-31 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | LHX | GD |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $48.94B | $102.63B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 26.52 | 23.14 |
| Forward P/Ei | 19.52 | 20.45 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 5.07 | 1.96 |
| Analyst targeti | $339.50 | $420.02 |
| Target upsidei | +29.18% | +10.73% |
| Metric | LHX | GD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 190.00% | 8.10% |
| Earnings growthi | -6.10% | 13.40% |
| EPS growthi | -6.10% | +13.40% |
| FCF margini | +21.21% | +8.02% |
| Operating margini | 9.73% | 10.38% |
| Profit margini | 10.37% | 8.18% |
| ROIC proxyi | 8.19% | 17.80% |
| Return on equityi | 8.19% | 17.80% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.90% | 1.68% |
| Payout ratioi | 46.09% | 36.90% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.75 | 0.33 |
| Debt/equityi | 34.57 | 35.34 |
| Current ratioi | 1.19 | 1.44 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.84 | 0.85 |
Over the past year, LHX and GD have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.63), 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 | LHX | GD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -2.94% | +7.96% |
| CAGRi | -2.95% | +7.97% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.07% | 22.62% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.11 | 0.25 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.16 | 0.39 | |
| Max drawdowni | 38.27% | 17.51% | |
| Current drawdowni | 26.43% | 6.35% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.52% | 5.45% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 19.78% | 7.00% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.61% | 4.18% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.37% | 6.86% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +35.43% | +98.25% |
| CAGRi | +6.26% | +14.69% | |
| Volatilityi | 24.88% | 20.87% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.19 | 0.55 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.27 | 0.80 | |
| Max drawdowni | 38.27% | 22.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 26.43% | 6.35% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.19% | 6.21% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 18.16% | 8.33% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.61% | 7.27% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.37% | 10.82% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +266.68% | +197.21% |
| CAGRi | +13.88% | +11.52% | |
| Volatilityi | 25.96% | 22.93% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.46 | 0.40 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.67 | 0.56 | |
| Max drawdowni | 38.27% | 51.63% | |
| Current drawdowni | 26.43% | 6.35% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.52% | 10.92% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 15.08% | 14.99% | |
| Max daily dropi | 14.30% | 10.93% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.04% | 19.06% |
| Category | LHX | GD |
|---|---|---|
| Company | L3Harris Technologies, Inc. | General Dynamics Corporation |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Aerospace & Defense | Aerospace & Defense |
| Core business | A defense technology company providing communications systems, sensors, and electronics for space, air, land, sea, and cyber domains, serving defense and government intelligence customers. | 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 | Merger integration progress and cost synergy realization, classified program revenue growth, and defense electronics backlog trends. | Gulfstream business jet order trends and delivery cadence, defense segment backlog growth, and naval shipbuilding program execution. |
- Combined communications and defense electronics portfolio positions the company across multiple critical defense technology domains
- Meaningful exposure to space and cyber domains aligns with growing defense modernization priorities
- Ongoing integration and portfolio streamlining efforts aim to improve margins over time
- 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
- Merger integration between legacy L3 and Harris businesses carries ongoing execution risk
- Revenue concentration in United States defense spending creates exposure to budget and program funding shifts
- Margin improvement targets depend on successful cost synergy realization and portfolio optimization
- 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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