Home Compare GD vs HO.PA
Stock Comparison · Industry comparison · Aerospace & Defense

General Dynamics vs Thales: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

General Dynamics holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across valuation and growth. Thales still has the edge on profitability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup is broadly comparable for both — no clear directional signal from price behavior. The market is not adding a decisive signal either way — the structural read carries the weight.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Peer scores are normalised within each company's primary universe (GD: Russell 1000, HO.PA: STOXX 600).

Updated 2026-08-16

This is not just a one-metric split: both valuation and growth materially support the lead. The overall score gap is 14 points in favour of General Dynamics Corporation.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Aerospace & Defense

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. GD and HO.PA share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how General Dynamics and Thales each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
GD
General Dynamics Corporation
67
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
HO.PA
Thales S.A.
53
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
Peer basis: STOXX 600

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: GD vs HO.PA Profitability 69 87 Stability 71 71 Valuation 73 35 Growth 49 13 GD HO.PA
Gap Ranking
#1 Valuation +38
#2 Growth +36
#3 Profitability +18
#4 Stability
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for GD and HO.PA Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer GDHO.PA Relative valuation Structural strength

Structure stays fairly close here, while current pricing still looks more supportive for General Dynamics Corporation.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where GD and HO.PA each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY GD Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 0 pct gap HO.PA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 99th
GD (99th percentile) and HO.PA (99th percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Valuation
General Dynamics Corporation ranks near the top of the group on valuation; Thales S.A. sits in the weaker half.
Growth
Growth also leans toward General Dynamics Corporation, reinforcing the broader structural lead.
Valuation — Dominant Gap
GD
73
HO.PA
35
Gap+38in favour of GD

The multiple-based pricing edge comes from a trailing P/E that is 13.1 turns lower.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Capital efficiency also runs the other way, with a 7.8-point ROIC edge acting as a real counterforce.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both valuation and growth — though profitability still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the GD vs HO.PA comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar valuation-and-growth comparisons

Explore how GD and HO.PA each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.