Vehicles and aerospace · 10/36 against 18/36 checks · to 2026-09-08
BA vs RTX.
BoeingBuilds commercial jets and defence aircraft, recovering from production and safety problems.
RTXMakes jet engines at Pratt & Whitney, and missiles and defence systems at Raytheon.→Boeing (BA) and RTX (RTX) are within reach of each other at $166.6B and $267.9B, and on the filings RTX passes more, 18 checks of 36 against 10.
Which passes more checks?
widest gap first→The two are furthest apart on Health, where RTX passes 3 more of the six.
| BA | RTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 1/6 | 4/6 |
| Shareholder returns | 1/6 | 4/6 |
| Trend analysis | 0/6 | 2/6 |
| Value | 0/6 | 1/6 |
| Growth | 5/6 | 4/6 |
| Quality | 3/6 | 3/6 |
| All checks | 10/36 | 18/36 |
→Boeing turns over $94.0B to RTX's $93.5B, 1.0 times as much. Boeing keeps 2.6% of revenue as profit against 8.3% at RTX.
Which balance sheet is stronger?
→RTX carries much the lighter balance sheet, 0.48x of debt to equity against 8.22x - which matters most in the year a downturn arrives, not this one.
| BA | RTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Debt / equity | 8.22x | 0.48x |
| Interest coverage | - | 5.6x |
| Cash and short-term investments | $20.0B | $9.0B |
Which hands more back to owners?
→Both pay: RTX yields the more at 1.3% against 0.2%. A yield rises when a price falls, so read it beside the payout checks in each report.
| BA | RTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 0.2% | 1.3% |
| Payout ratio | 13.6% | 46.2% |
| Years of unbroken dividend | - | - |
Which is cheaper?
→RTX is the cheaper of the two on earnings, 34.8x against 66.0x. Against their own histories, Boeing is above its 17.0x median and RTX is above its 24.5x.
| BA | RTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | $210.73 | $198.81 |
| Market cap | $166.6B | $267.9B |
| P/E | 66.0x | 34.8x |
| P/E, own median own 5-year median / own 10-year median | 17.0x | 24.5x |
| P/S | 1.8x | 2.9x |
| Free cash flow yield | -0.1% | 4.3% |
Which is growing faster, BA or RTX?
→Boeing grew revenue faster last year, +24.8% against +11.8% at RTX - 13 points apart. Over three years the order is the same, Boeing at +10.3% and RTX at +9.7%.
| BA | RTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $94.0B | $93.5B |
| Revenue growth, 1 year | +24.8% | +11.8% |
| Revenue CAGR, 3 years | +10.3% | +9.7% |
| Net income (TTM) | $2.4B | $7.7B |
| Free cash flow (TTM) | $-210M | $11.4B |
Which keeps more of each sale?
→RTX keeps more of each sale: gross margin of 9.1% against 4.7%, a gap of 4 points that flows into everything below it.
| BA | RTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 4.7% | 9.1% |
| Operating margin | 4.9% | 11.2% |
| Return on equity | 39.9% | 11.7% |
Where they differ most
the checks behind the gapHealth: RTX 3 ahead
- Debt isn't dominating 0.48 vs 1.00
- Earnings cover the interest 5.63 vs 5.00
- Converts sales to cash better than its sector 15.2% vs 9.8% (sector 70th pct, n=86)
- Comfortable near-term liquidity 1.14 vs 1.50
- Debt isn't dominating 8.22 vs 1.00
- Debt trending the right way debt/equity 8.22 now vs -3.95 five years ago
Shareholder returns: RTX 3 ahead
- Share count isn't climbing shares down 8.7% over 3 years
- What it hands back fits inside its cash flow 32.6% vs 100.0%
- Reliable payer, never cut paid 10/10 years, worst year-on-year change -0.7%
- Share count isn't climbing shares up 28.1% over 3 years
- Meaningful yield to owners (dividends and buybacks) $3.0B returned, 1.8% of market value
- Reliable payer, never cut paid 10/10 years, worst year-on-year change -75.0%