Sifting through countless of stocks in the Aerospace & Defense industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Leonardo DRS, Inc. or Hexcel Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation

Leonardo DRS, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides defense electronic products and systems, and military support services worldwide. It operates through Advanced Sensing and Computing and Integrated Mission Systems segments. The Advanced Sensing and Computing segment designs, develops, and manufacture sensing and network computing technology that enables real-time situational awareness required for enhanced operational decision making and execution; and offers sensing capabilities span applications, such as missions requiring advanced detection, precision targeting and surveillance sensing, long range electro-optic/infrared, signals intelligence, and other intelligence systems including electronic warfare, ground vehicle sensing, active electronically scanned array tactical radars, dismounted soldier, and space sensing. This segment also provides network computing, which are utilized across a range of mission applications, such as platform computing on ground and shipboard for advanced battle management, combat systems, radar, command and control, tactical networks, tactical computing, and communications. The Integrated Mission Systems segment offers electrical propulsion systems, which includes power conversion, control, distribution, and propulsion systems, as well as power dense permanent magnet motors, energy storage systems, associated rugged and compact power conversion, electrical actuation systems, as well as advanced thermal management technologies, motor controllers, and instrumentation and control equipment. Leonardo DRS, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. Leonardo DRS, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Leonardo US Holding, LLC

Hexcel Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets advanced lightweight composites technology. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products. The company offers carbon fiber, reinforcements, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, honeycomb, resins, engineered core and composite structures for use in commercial aerospace, defense and space, and industrial applications. The Composite Materials segment manufactures and markets carbon fibers, fabrics, multi-axials, specialty reinforcements, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, structural adhesives, honeycomb, molding compounds, tooling materials, polyurethane systems, and laminates that are used in military aircraft, transportation, recreational products, and other industrial applications. The Engineered Products segment manufactures and markets aircraft structures and finished aircraft components, including wing to body fairings, wing panels, flight deck panels, door liners, rotorcraft blades, spars, and tip caps; and aircraft structural sub-components and semi-finished components used in rotorcraft blades, engine nacelles, and aircraft surfaces, such as flaps, wings, elevators, and fairings; and RF interference control products for military and aerospace applications. This segment also provides interference control materials, structural composites, and services; dielectric absorber foams; magnetic absorbers; and thermoplastics for commercial and defense applications. The company sells its products directly through its marketing managers, product managers, and sales personnel, as well as through independent distributors in the Americas, Europe, the Asia Pacific, India, and Africa. Hexcel Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

Latest Aerospace & Defense and Leonardo DRS, Inc., Hexcel Corporation Stock News

As of September 11, 2026, Leonardo DRS, Inc. had a $9.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Aerospace & Defense median of $4.3 million. Leonardo DRS, Inc.’s stock is up 5.8% in 2026, down 2.6% in the previous five trading days and down 12.32% in the past year.

Currently, Leonardo DRS, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 30.3. Leonardo DRS, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.8 billion with a 8.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.381 per share for the current fiscal year. Leonardo DRS, Inc. currently has a 1.0% dividend yield.

As of September 11, 2026, Hexcel Corporation had a $7.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 73rd percentile of all stocks. Hexcel Corporation’s stock is up 25.5% in 2026, up 0.3% in the previous five trading days and up 49.8% in the past year.

Currently, Hexcel Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 46.8. Hexcel Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.0 billion with a 7.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 8.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.399 per share for the current fiscal year. Hexcel Corporation currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Leonardo DRS, Inc.	DRS	D
Hexcel Corporation	HXL	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a Value Score of 22, which is Expensive. Hexcel Corporation has a Value Score of 23, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Leonardo DRS, Inc. or Hexcel Corporation has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Leonardo DRS, Inc. or Hexcel Corporation is the better investment when it comes to value.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Leonardo DRS, Inc.	DRS	B
Hexcel Corporation	HXL	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong. Hexcel Corporation has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Leonardo DRS, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Hexcel Corporation. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Leonardo DRS, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Leonardo DRS, Inc.	DRS	B
Hexcel Corporation	HXL	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 69, which is Positive. Hexcel Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 59, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Leonardo DRS, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Leonardo DRS, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Hexcel Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Leonardo DRS, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation Grades

In addition to Growth, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Leonardo DRS, Inc. or Hexcel Corporation Stock?

Overall, Leonardo DRS, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 22, Growth Score of 73 and Estimate Revisions Score of 69.

Hexcel Corporation stock has a Value Score of 23, Growth Score of 56 and Estimate Revisions Score of 59.

Comparing Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Hexcel Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.