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 Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems or Inc. 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 Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc.

Woodward, Inc. designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment offers fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, as well as flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft. This segment also provides aftermarket maintenance, repair and overhaul, and other services to commercial airlines, repair facilities, military depots, third party repair shops, and other end users. Its Industrial segment offers actuators, valves, pumps, fuel injection systems, solenoids, ignition systems, control systems, electronics and software, and sensors used on industrial gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors, and reciprocating engines, as well as aftermarket products and related services. The company primarily serves OEMs and equipment packagers. Woodward, Inc. was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Mercury Systems, Inc., engages in the aerospace and defense electronics industry. The company manufactures and sells components, products, modules, and subsystems for defense prime contractors, original equipment manufacturers, government, and commercial aerospace companies. It offers components, including power amplifiers and limiters, switches, oscillators, filters, equalizers, digital and analog converters, chips, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, and memory and storage devices; modules and sub-assemblies, such as embedded processing boards, switched fabrics and boards, digital receivers, multi-chip modules, integrated radio frequency and microwave multi-function assemblies, tuners, and transceivers, as well as graphics and video; and integrated subsystems. The company also designs, develops, and manufactures digital radio frequency memory units for various modern electronic warfare applications; radar environment simulation and test systems for defense and intelligence applications; and signals intelligence payloads and EO/IR technologies for small UAV platforms, as well as onboard UAV processor systems for real-time wide area motion imagery. It operates in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company was formerly known as Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Mercury Systems, Inc. in November 2012. Mercury Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts.

Latest Aerospace & Defense and Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems, Inc. Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Woodward, Inc. had a $19.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Aerospace & Defense median of $3.9 million. Woodward, Inc.’s stock is up 11% in 2026, down 3% in the previous five trading days and up 36.37% in the past year.

Currently, Woodward, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 37.5. Woodward, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.2 billion with a 13.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 21.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.458 per share for the current fiscal year. Woodward, Inc. currently has a 0.4% dividend yield.

As of September 1, 2026, Mercury Systems, Inc. had a $5.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 67th percentile of all stocks. Mercury Systems, Inc.’s stock is up 13.1% in 2026, down 8% in the previous five trading days and up 22.58% in the past year.

Currently, Mercury Systems, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Mercury Systems, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $983.6 million with a -3.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.672 per share for the current fiscal year. Mercury Systems, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc. 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 Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Woodward, Inc.	WWD	F
Mercury Systems, Inc.	MRCY	F

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.

Woodward, Inc. has a Value Score of 13, which is Ultra Expensive. Mercury Systems, Inc. has a Value Score of 9, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems or Inc. 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 Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Woodward, Inc.	WWD	A
Mercury Systems, Inc.	MRCY	D

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.

Woodward, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Mercury Systems, Inc. has a Growth Score of 26, which is Weak.

The Growth Grade Winner: Woodward, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Woodward, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Mercury Systems, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Woodward, 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.

Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Woodward, Inc.	WWD	C
Mercury Systems, Inc.	MRCY	B

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.

Woodward, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 57, which is Neutral. Mercury Systems, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 71, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Mercury Systems, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Mercury Systems, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Woodward, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Mercury Systems, 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 Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Estimate Revisions and Growth, 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 Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Woodward, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 13, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 57.

Mercury Systems, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 9, Growth Score of 26 and Estimate Revisions Score of 71.

Comparing Woodward, Inc., Mercury Systems and Inc.’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.