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Boeing vs. General Dynamics: Which Aerospace Stock Is the Better Bet?
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Key Takeaways
Global unrest is driving higher defense spending, boosting demand for BA's military and aerospace products.
General Dynamics posted a $118.05B backlog and $178.94B total estimated contract value in Q4 2025.
GD shows stronger debt metrics and stock performance, with shares up 0.1% vs Boeing's 10.6% decline.
Heightened global unrest has emerged as a powerful growth driver for leading aerospace and defense companies, such as Boeing (BA - Free Report) and General Dynamics (GD - Free Report) . Rising geopolitical tensions have prompted governments worldwide to reassess and strengthen their defense capabilities.
As a result, many countries, particularly the United States and its allies, are increasing military budgets and accelerating procurement programs. This translates into stronger demand for advanced fighter jets, surveillance systems, naval platforms and next-generation defense technologies.
In this environment, global instability not only boosts near-term order flows but also supports sustained long-term growth, as defense modernization efforts typically span multiple years or even decades.
Let's compare the two stocks' fundamentals to determine which one is a better investment option at present.
Factors Acting in Favor of BA Stock
Boeing remains one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the United States in terms of revenues, orders and deliveries, particularly in the commercial aerospace industry. Thanks to the steadily growing demand in commercial aerospace, Boeing, a prominent jet manufacturer, has been seeing solid delivery and order activity lately.
Boeing’s diverse defense product portfolio and established footprint in the space technology industry drive a solid inflow of contracts. During the fourth quarter of 2025, the Boeing Defense, Space & Security (“BDS”) unit booked $15 billion in orders, including contracts for 15 KC-46A tankers from the U.S. Air Force and 96 Apaches from Poland, which resulted in a solid backlog amount of $85 billion for this segment as of Dec. 31, 2025. Such solid contract wins and subsequent backlog count should continue to bolster the BDS unit’s revenues, which improved a solid 37% in the fourth quarter.
Factors Acting in Favor of GD Stock
General Dynamics’ solid number of award wins and a strong global presence will help maintain a steady growth momentum. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, General Dynamics witnessed a solid backlog of $118.05 billion, driven by a strong order inflow. The estimated contract value, which combines the total backlog with the potential contract value, totaled $178.94 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. The strength of the order flow was driven by strong demand across the company’s product and services portfolio.
Significant awards won by General Dynamics in the last reported quarter included a $285 million contract to deliver cybersecurity services aimed at strengthening the Commonwealth of Virginia’s cybersecurity infrastructure. Such impressive order trends and strong backlog count indicate solid demand for the company’s products, bolstering its revenue generation prospects.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for BA & GD?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Boeing’s 2026 and 2027 earnings per share (EPS) indicates an increase of 104.23% and 854.95%, respectively, year over year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for General Dynamics’ 2026 and 2027 EPS indicates an increase of 7.37% and 10.46%, respectively, year over year. GD’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 10.3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation for BA & GD
BA shares trade at a forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S F12M) of 1.54X compared with GD’s 1.7X.
Debt Position of BA & GD
Currently, Boeing’s total debt to capital is 90.84% compared with General Dynamics’ 23.82%.
The time-to-interest earned ratio for Boeing and General Dynamics’ is 2 and 17.3, respectively. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.
BA & GD’s Price Performance
In the past three months, shares of General Dynamics’ have increased 0.1%, while those of Boeing have declined 10.6%. The industry declined approximately 4.3% during the same period.
BA or GD: Which Is a Better Choice Now?
The defense, space, and security division of Boeing is well positioned for sustained expansion. The unit's excellent momentum has been reinforced by strong funding for the Space Force and fighter jet programs, as well as a broad military portfolio that led to solid contract wins and a robust backlog. General Dynamics is benefiting from strong contract wins and a broad global presence, which are helping sustain steady growth. GD continues to see robust demand across its products and services, reflected in a healthy pipeline of orders and future opportunities.
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Boeing vs. General Dynamics: Which Aerospace Stock Is the Better Bet?
Key Takeaways
Heightened global unrest has emerged as a powerful growth driver for leading aerospace and defense companies, such as Boeing (BA - Free Report) and General Dynamics (GD - Free Report) . Rising geopolitical tensions have prompted governments worldwide to reassess and strengthen their defense capabilities.
As a result, many countries, particularly the United States and its allies, are increasing military budgets and accelerating procurement programs. This translates into stronger demand for advanced fighter jets, surveillance systems, naval platforms and next-generation defense technologies.
In this environment, global instability not only boosts near-term order flows but also supports sustained long-term growth, as defense modernization efforts typically span multiple years or even decades.
Let's compare the two stocks' fundamentals to determine which one is a better investment option at present.
Factors Acting in Favor of BA Stock
Boeing remains one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the United States in terms of revenues, orders and deliveries, particularly in the commercial aerospace industry. Thanks to the steadily growing demand in commercial aerospace, Boeing, a prominent jet manufacturer, has been seeing solid delivery and order activity lately.
Boeing’s diverse defense product portfolio and established footprint in the space technology industry drive a solid inflow of contracts. During the fourth quarter of 2025, the Boeing Defense, Space & Security (“BDS”) unit booked $15 billion in orders, including contracts for 15 KC-46A tankers from the U.S. Air Force and 96 Apaches from Poland, which resulted in a solid backlog amount of $85 billion for this segment as of Dec. 31, 2025. Such solid contract wins and subsequent backlog count should continue to bolster the BDS unit’s revenues, which improved a solid 37% in the fourth quarter.
Factors Acting in Favor of GD Stock
General Dynamics’ solid number of award wins and a strong global presence will help maintain a steady growth momentum. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, General Dynamics witnessed a solid backlog of $118.05 billion, driven by a strong order inflow. The estimated contract value, which combines the total backlog with the potential contract value, totaled $178.94 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. The strength of the order flow was driven by strong demand across the company’s product and services portfolio.
Significant awards won by General Dynamics in the last reported quarter included a $285 million contract to deliver cybersecurity services aimed at strengthening the Commonwealth of Virginia’s cybersecurity infrastructure. Such impressive order trends and strong backlog count indicate solid demand for the company’s products, bolstering its revenue generation prospects.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for BA & GD?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Boeing’s 2026 and 2027 earnings per share (EPS) indicates an increase of 104.23% and 854.95%, respectively, year over year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for General Dynamics’ 2026 and 2027 EPS indicates an increase of 7.37% and 10.46%, respectively, year over year. GD’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 10.3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation for BA & GD
BA shares trade at a forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S F12M) of 1.54X compared with GD’s 1.7X.
Debt Position of BA & GD
Currently, Boeing’s total debt to capital is 90.84% compared with General Dynamics’ 23.82%.
The time-to-interest earned ratio for Boeing and General Dynamics’ is 2 and 17.3, respectively. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.
BA & GD’s Price Performance
In the past three months, shares of General Dynamics’ have increased 0.1%, while those of Boeing have declined 10.6%. The industry declined approximately 4.3% during the same period.
BA or GD: Which Is a Better Choice Now?
The defense, space, and security division of Boeing is well positioned for sustained expansion. The unit's excellent momentum has been reinforced by strong funding for the Space Force and fighter jet programs, as well as a broad military portfolio that led to solid contract wins and a robust backlog. General Dynamics is benefiting from strong contract wins and a broad global presence, which are helping sustain steady growth. GD continues to see robust demand across its products and services, reflected in a healthy pipeline of orders and future opportunities.
Our choice at the moment is General Dynamics, given its better debt management and price performance than Boeing. Both BA and GD carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.