- Higher book-to-bill ratio
- Two units set for sales declines in 2025
As with US sector rivals, Northrop Grumman (US:NOC) has markedly underperformed the S&P 500 at the same time as peers in Europe have been boosted by higher defence demand after the invasion of Ukraine.
But in the aftermath of contractor peer Lockheed Martin's (US:LMT) poorly received results, this was a reassuring set of annual figures from Northrop after it was hit in 2023 by a $1.56bn (£1.17bn) pre-tax charge on its B-21 bomber aircraft programme. In that context, no unpleasant surprises was a relief.