Debt is smaller than equity and it can meet short-term obligations.
Metrics · D/E ~35% · Current Ratio 1.44
💲Is the price expensive now?
Not cheap (fair to slightly pricey)
Because it is a good, popular company, those expectations are already priced in.
Metrics · P/E 23.3 · P/B 3.9
💡A top-4 U.S. defense prime that also builds Gulfstream jets. D/E 0.35 is lowest of the big three, ROE 17.8%. A 10.4% operating margin is modest for defense.
Compiled from public financial data. Not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. · Source: stockanalysis (margins, P/B, ROE are TTM) · P/E and P/B recomputed on the July 24 close, as of 2026-07-30
Business Summary · Key Value Metrics
One of the four largest U.S. defense primes and the maker of Gulfstream business jets. Marine Systems, which builds Virginia- and Columbia-class nuclear submarines, is the biggest segment, alongside aerospace, combat systems, and technologies. TTM revenue $53.81B, operating margin 10.4%, ROE 17.8%.
Current Price
$382.20
+0.33%+$1.24· Close 2026-07-30
Analyst Consensus Target (external reference)
$414.17
Avg. of 24 external analysts · stockanalysis (24-analyst consensus, Buy)
P/E (TTM)
23.3x
TTM
ROE
17.8%
TTM
Operating margin
10.4%
TTM · typical for defense
Debt/Equity
0.35x
lowest of the big three
Dividend yield
1.66%
quarterly · $6.36/yr
Market cap
$103.3B
As of 2026-07-30
Economic Moat · Key Business Segments
GD's moat is the only industrial base capable of building the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarines. Virginia- and Columbia-class boats rest on design know-how, skilled labor, and shipyards accumulated over decades, making entry effectively impossible. Gulfstream adds a commercial business-jet leg that partly offsets the defense budget cycle. The company reported total estimated contract value of $188.4B including a $130.8B backlog, with recent-quarter orders at roughly twice revenue (Source: company IR, stockanalysis).
Near-monopoly in submarines
The yards and skills behind Virginia- and Columbia-class boats took decades. Entry is effectively closed.
Long-dated backlog
$130.8B in backlog means years of revenue are already contracted, giving unusual visibility.
Gulfstream commercial leg
Business jets partly offset the defense budget cycle — unlike a pure-play prime.
Low leverage
D/E 0.35 is the lowest of the big three, leaving room to absorb a downturn.
10-Year Financial Trends
Revenue compounded at a 9-year CAGR of +6.2% ($30.6B in 2016 to $52.6B in 2025). Operating income grew +4.1% and net income +5.6%, but EPS rose fastest at +7.2% as buybacks cut the share count from about 310M to 273M. Operating margin drifted from 12.3% (2016) to 10.2% (2025), partly as lower-margin Marine Systems grew quickly. Growth re-accelerated over three years at +7%, +13%, +10%. Q2 2026 (Jul 29): revenue +8.1%, EPS +13.4%; FY EPS guidance raised to $16.80-16.90. (Source: SEC EDGAR 10-K, stockanalysis, company IR).
10-Year Growth
Revenue$52.5B · CAGR +6.2%
Operating Income$5.4B · CAGR +4.1%
EPS$15.45 · CAGR +7.2%
10-Year Valuation
P/E (year-end)21.8x · avg 18.6x
ROE17.7% · avg 21.7%
Operating Margin10.2% · avg 11.2%
📊 Annual Data Table (GD) — expand/collapse
Year
Revenue (B$)
Op. Income (B$)
EPS ($)
P/E (x)
ROE (%)
Op. Margin (%)
2016
30.56
3.74
8.29
20.8
24.8
12.3
2017
30.97
4.24
9.56
21.3
26.4
13.7
2018
36.19
4.39
11.18
14.1
28
12.1
2019
39.35
4.57
11.98
14.7
26.7
11.6
2020
37.93
4.13
11
13.5
21.4
10.9
2021
38.47
4.16
11.55
18
19.6
10.8
2022
39.41
4.21
12.19
20.4
18.7
10.7
2023
42.27
4.25
12.02
21.6
16.6
10
2024
47.72
4.8
13.63
19.3
17.4
10.1
2025
52.55
5.36
15.45
21.8
17.7
10.2
— = no data for that year/metric (P/E omitted before EPS turned positive)
9-Year CAGR: Revenue +6.2% · Operating Income +4.1% · Net Income +5.6% · EPS +7.2%
Source: SEC EDGAR 10-K (revenue, operating income, net income, diluted EPS, equity); fiscal year-end closes from Yahoo Finance; cross-checked against stockanalysis. P/E is year-end close ÷ diluted EPS and ROE is net income ÷ average equity; both match stockanalysis across all five overlapping years (P/E 18.05, 20.35, 21.60, 19.33, 21.79 / ROE 19.56, 18.72, 16.63, 17.44, 17.66). No one-off distortions in the series.
Mega-Cap Value Metric Comparison
GD trades at 23.3x earnings, above Northrop (16.9x) and Lockheed (21.5x), and its 10.4% operating margin trails Northrop's 13.4%. In exchange, D/E of 0.35 is the lowest of the three. Lockheed's 89.2% ROE and 14.9x P/B reflect buybacks thinning its equity rather than a better business, so ranking the three on ROE is badly distorted (Source: stockanalysis, company IR).
Dependence on defense budgets— Most revenue comes from U.S. government contracts, so budget timing and shifting priorities feed straight through to results.Source: company 10-K
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Cost risk in fixed-price work— Defense leans on fixed-price contracts, so overruns land on the contractor. Northrop’s $1.56B pretax B-21 charge in 2023 is the cautionary case.Source: company 10-Ks
●
P/E at a 10-year peak, price at its 52-week high— The current 23.3x P/E sits above the entire 10-year range of year-end multiples (13.5-21.8x). At $382.20 the stock is also near its $400.00 high. After Q2 results the average target rose to $414.17, widening the gap to 8.4%. Results are solid, but valuation headroom is the thinnest of the six.Source: stockanalysis, SEC EDGAR (year-end P/E computed in-house)
✦ ValueCrab Dashboard PreviewGD $382.2 +0.33% · as of 2026-07-30
Q. What are the key value metrics for General Dynamics (GD)?P/E (TTM) 23.3, ROE 17.8%, operating margin 10.4%, debt-to-equity 0.35x, dividend yield 1.65%, and a 9-year revenue CAGR of +6.2% (Source: stockanalysis, SEC EDGAR, as of 2026-07-24).
Q. How should a defense contractor be evaluated?Backlog and book-to-bill are the core measures. Backlog is revenue already under contract, so it shows how visible future results are. GD reported $188.4B of total contract value and $130.8B of backlog, with recent-quarter orders at roughly twice revenue.
Q. Isn’t a 10% operating margin low?That is the nature of defense. Government contracts often price cost plus a set fee, which caps margins. Against peers, GD’s 10.4% sits between Northrop’s 13.4% and Lockheed’s 11.0%. The trade-off is low revenue volatility and visibility from backlog.
Q. Lockheed shows 89% ROE — is it the better business?ROE alone misleads here. Lockheed’s 89.2% ROE and 14.9x P/B come from years of buybacks thinning its book equity. Operating margin distorts less: Northrop 13.4% > Lockheed 11.0% > GD 10.4%.