Is GE Aerospace Stock Worth More Than Its Competitors?

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Over its latest four quarters, GE Aerospace (GE) grew faster and earned a wider operating margin than each of the four peers in its group with comparable figures. Honeywell’s figures are distorted by its 2026 spin-off of its aerospace business. The stock trades at the highest P/E of the six, yet shares returned less over the past year than three of those peers. How far ahead of its peers is GE’s business, and how much more are you paying for it?

You Pay More For GE Aerospace’s Faster Growth

GE grew revenue 19.6% over its latest four quarters and produced an 18.2% operating margin. RTX, its largest peer by market value, posted 11.6% revenue growth and an 11.8% operating margin over the same period. Buying into that lead requires paying 35.6 times GE’s earnings, against 32.1 times for RTX.

Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman also grew more slowly and trade at lower P/Es than GE. The industrial conglomerate Honeywell is excluded from the group’s P/E ranking because it reported a net loss in its quarter ended December 31, 2025, one of its latest four.

GE’s shares have failed to match that lead. Including dividends, the stock returned 1.6% over the year to October 29, 2026, against 13.3% for RTX.

Most Of GE Aerospace’s Revenue Comes From Commercial Engines

GE’s Commercial Engines & Services segment generated 72.7% of its revenue in fiscal 2025. That business sells jet engines to aircraft makers such as Boeing and services the engines already flying through spare parts and shop visits. On the October 20 call, management said the segment’s revenue grew 21% in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. The defense and propulsion business grew 7% in the same quarter.

The commercial division is also the more profitable one. On management’s adjusted measure, the segment posted a 27.9% margin in the third quarter, against an adjusted 13.7% for the defense business. So GE’s growth and margin come mostly from commercial engines, and that appears to be the business buyers are paying the group’s highest P/E for.

GE Aerospace Raised Guidance As Reported Growth Slowed

On October 20, management raised its forecast for adjusted revenue growth in 2026 to 19.5% at the midpoint, up from 17.5% in July. For 2027, it expects commercial services to grow at a low double-digit rate, with margins on its own measure holding in line with 2026.

GE’s reported figures came in softer. Revenue grew 15.9% in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, compared with 23.8% in the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Management pegged the third quarter’s growth at 18% on its own measure. Paying the group’s highest P/E carries a risk: between the end of September 2025 and the end of September 2026, GE’s twelve-month profit rose, but its P/E fell from 39.5 to 35.5, so buyers paid less for each dollar of profit.

Current pricing appears to assume GE keeps growing well ahead of RTX, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The raised forecast and the faster growth in commercial engines support that expectation so far, while the slower reported quarter offers a sign against it. GE has also agreed to buy castings maker Consolidated Precision Products for $11.75 billion, a deal management expects approvals for next summer. When GE reports again, expected in January 2027, revenue growth in Commercial Engines & Services is the number to watch.

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