News · Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) · Industrials

Northrop Grumman rises 4.6% after quarterly results and raised outlook

Session of October 20, 2026 · Published October 21, 2026 · 3 min read

What happened

Northrop Grumman (NOC) rose 4.6% on October 20, 2026, because third-quarter results beat estimates and management raised its full-year earnings outlook. The company reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $11.1 billion and earnings per share of $7.89 against $7.18 expected. Management cited strong demand across strategic deterrence, space systems, missile production and autonomous technologies and noted backlog near $109.6–$110 billion.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 20, 2026, NOC closed at $534.00, up 4.6% on the day and 3.6% higher than 30 sessions earlier.

The stock closed at $534.00 on a session when trading volume was 2.0 times its 20-day average and the S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The move followed reporting by Reuters and Barrons that highlighted the beat and the raised outlook.

How big was the move

The day’s gain was sizable relative to the stock’s usual swings: the move was 2.7 times a typical daily move for this stock. Trading volume was 2.0 times its 20-day average. Over the last five sessions the stock rose 10.9%, while the S&P 500 over five sessions fell 1.2%, leaving the stock 25.9 percentage points different from the benchmark over that span.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 20, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 1.7%, so the latest move equals 2.6 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 3.5%) are unusual.

Compared with its sector, the Industrials sector median on the day rose 0.5%, so the stock’s performance was 4.0 percentage points better than the sector median. In the past five years the stock had 10 sessions with a gain of at least 4.6%; twenty trading days later the median result was a gain of 0.5% and 5 of 10 were higher.

The technical picture

The stock traded 7.7% above its 20-day moving average and 1.9% above its 50-day moving average, while it remained 10.0% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is below the 200-day average, a sign of a weak longer-term trend. The Relative Strength Index (14 days) was 63, in a neutral range between 30 and 70.

Closing price over the past year. NOC ends the period 30.5% below its 52-week high, above its 50-day average ($524.08) and below its 200-day average ($593.47).

Over one month the stock rose 1.4% and over three months it rose 1.7%, while over one year it fell 10.2%, leaving the stock 25.9 percentage points behind the S&P 500 over one year. Volatility was 27% annualized over 60 days, higher than 61% of its own readings over five years. The stock was 31.0% below the 52-week high.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, the company reported revenue of $43.59 billion, which grew 6.5% from a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share of $31.70, which rose 14.0% from a year earlier. Gross margin was 20.0% (a year earlier: 19.4%) and operating margin was 10.1% (a year earlier: 10.6%). Free-cash-flow margin was 8.8% and return on invested capital was 10.0%.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $11.1B, 6.7% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

The balance sheet showed net debt of 1.7 times EBITDA and share count over one year decreased by 0.8%. The stock traded with a market value of $73.85 billion and a price to trailing earnings of 16.8 times trailing earnings, lower than 52% of its own readings over the past five years (five-year median: 16.9 times earnings). Price to forward earnings was 18.5 times expected earnings and free-cash-flow yield was 5.2%.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Northrop Grumman reported third-quarter 2026 results on October 20, 2026: earnings per share of $7.89 against $7.18 expected, 9.9% above estimates, marking six consecutive quarters beating estimates. The average surprise over the last four reports was 6.9% above estimates. Typical two-day reaction after recent reports was fell 0.7%.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows $7.89, against $7.67 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Management said backlog was near $109.6–$110 billion and projected 2027 sales growth of 5% to 7% in commentary reported after the release. Analysts covering the stock numbered 35, with a consensus rating of Buy and 54% of ratings at Buy or higher. The consensus price target was $595.69, which was 11.6% above the closing price on October 20, 2026.

What to watch

January 26, 2027: next scheduled earnings report
Management guidance for full-year 2026 and 2027 sales growth of 5% to 7% as projected after the October 20, 2026, release
Backlog near $109.6–$110 billion and segment-level sales trends across strategic deterrence, space systems, missile production and autonomous technologies
Changes in net debt of 1.7 times EBITDA and free-cash-flow margin of 8.8%
Any revisions to consensus price target of $595.69 and analyst coverage among the 35 analysts

Full NOC analysis: scores, chart and financials →