One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$363.84 our estimate vs market $364.07
Wall Street consensus: $420.02 (15.4% higher than our fair-value estimate)
0% above our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
General Dynamics Corporation
GD · NYQ · Industrials · Aerospace & Defense
Current price
$364.07
52-week range
$306.77 - $400.00
Market cap
$98.50B
Balance sheet
Healthy
13.32x Strong cushion
Net debt $5.15B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 2.4% last year.
- Reward Returns 17.8% on equity, ahead of 20% of its peers.
- Risk Stock trades 8.5% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 10.7% to 10.4% over 3 years.
What this company does
General Dynamics Corporation
General Dynamics is a major defense company that primarily makes money selling large-scale military equipment, like nuclear submarines and tanks, to the U.S. government. The company also builds and sells private Gulfstream jets for corporate and wealthy customers. Because most of its income is based on long-term government contracts, its business tends to be very stable and predictable.
How the company got here
General Dynamics started as the Electric Boat Company in 1899, building the first submarine for the U.S. Navy. It officially became General Dynamics in 1952, expanding into military aircraft and other defense areas. A key turning point came in the 1990s after the Cold War, when the company sold off many of its famous businesses, like its fighter jet division, to focus mainly on submarines and military vehicles. Starting in the mid-1990s, it rebuilt itself by buying new companies, most notably Gulfstream Aerospace, which makes private jets, and several technology firms, creating the broader company we see today.
What it actually does
General Dynamics is a large company that primarily builds and services advanced equipment for the military and wealthy clients. Think of it as a creator of very high-tech, expensive hardware, from private jets and nuclear-powered submarines to battle tanks and secure communication systems. Most of its sales come from government contracts, especially with the U.S. Department of Defense. You wouldn't find its products in a store, but they are crucial for national defense and private air travel.
Aerospace
This part of the company is best known for making Gulfstream private jets, which are luxurious, long-range airplanes used by corporations and very wealthy individuals. Besides selling new jets, this segment also makes money by providing services like maintenance, repairs, and custom interior completions for aircraft. This business provides a mix of high-value sales from new planes and steady, recurring revenue (income that is predictable and likely to continue) from servicing the existing fleet. This segment is a significant part of the business, contributing roughly a fifth of the company's total revenue.
Marine Systems
This is General Dynamics' oldest business, focused on building large ships for the U.S. Navy. Its most important products are nuclear-powered submarines, including the massive Columbia-class and Virginia-class submarines, which are central to the nation's defense. It also builds other surface warships like destroyers and support ships, and provides ongoing maintenance and modernization services for the naval fleet. This segment represents about a third of the company's revenue and is known for having very long-term, stable contracts with the government.
Combat Systems
This division manufactures the heavy-duty vehicles and weapons used by ground forces. Its most famous products are the M1 Abrams main battle tank and the Stryker wheeled combat vehicle, which are staples of the U.S. Army. The segment also produces a wide variety of munitions (ammunition and bombs) and weapons systems for both the U.S. military and its allies. This business, which makes up about 20% of company revenue, is directly tied to the spending priorities of land-based military forces around the world.
Technologies
This segment provides a wide range of high-tech services and products, primarily for U.S. government, defense, and intelligence agencies. It offers things like secure communication networks, command-and-control systems, and IT services like cloud computing and cybersecurity. Essentially, this group ensures that military and government clients have the secure and advanced technology needed to gather information and communicate effectively. As the largest single part of the company, it generates over a third of total revenue.
What management is betting on now
Management is focused on executing its large, long-term government contracts, especially for the new Columbia-class submarines, which provide a predictable stream of revenue for many years. They are also working to increase the production and delivery of their popular Gulfstream business jets to capitalize on strong demand in private aviation. Another key priority is growing the Technologies segment by winning contracts for modernizing the government's IT infrastructure, with a focus on cybersecurity and cloud services. The company is also benefiting from increased demand from allied nations for its combat vehicles and munitions.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$1.22B
FY2024 Q4
$1.80B
FY2025 Q1
$-290.00M
FY2025 Q2
$1.40B
FY2025 Q3
$1.90B
FY2025 Q4
$952.00M
FY2026 Q2
$1.95B
Revenue
$13.48B
Net income
$1.12B
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$2.15B
Free cash flow
$1.95B
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$14.38B
Net income
$1.14B
Diluted EPS
15.45
Operating cash flow
$1.56B
Free cash flow
$952.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$12.91B
Net income
$1.06B
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$2.11B
Free cash flow
$1.90B
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$13.04B
Net income
$1.01B
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$1.60B
Free cash flow
$1.40B
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$12.22B
Net income
$994.00M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$-148.00M
Free cash flow
$-290.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$13.34B
Net income
$1.15B
Diluted EPS
13.63
Operating cash flow
$2.16B
Free cash flow
$1.80B
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$11.67B
Net income
$930.00M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$1.42B
Free cash flow
$1.22B
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $363.84 vs current price $364.07
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $420.02 (15.4% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $363.84 a share — about 0.1% away from today's price of $364.07, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Healthy
Net debt $5.1B. Interest coverage 13.3x.
Net debt
$5.15B
Interest coverage
13.32x
General Dynamics Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 13.3 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here and 1 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Healthy
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
GD
BASELINE
General Dynamics Corporation
Total debt $9.48B Interest coverage 13.32x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $20.54B Interest coverage 6.92x -48% vs GD Carries about 1.9x less debt cushion than GD.
Total debt $17.05B Interest coverage 6.44x -52% vs GD Carries about 2.1x less debt cushion than GD.
Total debt $38.86B Interest coverage 5.07x -62% vs GD Carries about 2.6x less debt cushion than GD.
Total debt $48.36B Interest coverage -1.95x -100% vs GD This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with GD.
Total debt $7.93B Interest coverage 3.60x -73% vs GD Carries about 3.7x less debt cushion than GD.
What you should know
The case for and against GD
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 2.4% last year.
-
Returns 17.8% on equity, ahead of 20% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 8.5% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Operating margin compressed from 10.7% to 10.4% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
22.53x
Forward P/E
19.63x
P/B
3.67x
P/S
1.80x
EV/EBITDA
15.60x
PEG ratio
2.31x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
15.4%
Operating margin
10.4%
Net margin
8.2%
ROE
17.8%
ROA
6.1%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.35x
Current ratio
1.44x
Quick ratio
0.85x
Total debt
$9.48B
Total cash
$4.33B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$53.81B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
8.1%
EPS TTM
16.16
EPS 5Y CAGR
8.2%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$7.42B
Free CF TTM
$3.96B
FCF margin
7.4%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.8%
Payout ratio
37.7%
Last ex-div date
2026-10-09