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 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. or Howmet Aerospace 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 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace Inc.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., a technology company, provides technology, hardware, products, system, and software for the defense, national security, and commercial markets in the United States, other North America, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, and Internationally. The company operates through Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems segments. It offers virtualized ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet powered unmanned aerial drone systems and hypersonic vehicles and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft and launch systems, command, control, communication, computing, combat, and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; and counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter. The company primarily serves national security-related agencies, the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence and classified agencies, international government agencies, and domestic and international commercial customers. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. was formerly known as Wireless Facilities, Inc. and changed its name to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. in August 1999. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Howmet Aerospace Inc. provides advanced engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation industries in the United States, Japan, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, Canada, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Engine Products, Fastening Systems, Engineered Structures, and Forged Wheels. The Engine Products segment offers airfoils and seamless rolled rings primarily for aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines; and rotating and structural parts. The Fastening Systems segment produces aerospace fastening systems, as well as commercial transportation, industrial, and other fasteners; and latches, bearings, fluid fittings, and installation tools. The Engineered Structures segment provides titanium ingots and mill products, aluminum and nickel forgings, and machined components and assemblies for aerospace and defense applications; and titanium forgings, extrusions, and forming and machining services for airframe, wing, aero-engine, and landing gear components. The Forged Wheels segment offers forged aluminum wheels and related products for heavy-duty trucks and commercial transportation markets. The company was formerly known as Arconic Inc. Howmet Aerospace Inc. was founded in 1888 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Latest Aerospace & Defense and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., Howmet Aerospace Inc. Stock News

As of July 2, 2026, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. had a $10.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Aerospace & Defense median of $4.0 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.’s stock is down 27.1% in 2026, up 19.5% in the previous five trading days and up 28.51% in the past year.

Currently, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 321.8. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.4 billion with a 2.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 22.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.764 per share for the current fiscal year. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of July 2, 2026, Howmet Aerospace Inc. had a $108.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 97th percentile of all stocks. Howmet Aerospace Inc.’s stock is up 31.9% in 2026, down 1% in the previous five trading days and up 53.45% in the past year.

Currently, Howmet Aerospace Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 62.8. Howmet Aerospace Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $8.6 billion with a 20.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 19.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.058 per share for the current fiscal year. Howmet Aerospace Inc. currently has a 0.2% dividend yield.

How We Compare Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace 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 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.	KTOS	F
Howmet Aerospace Inc.	HWM	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.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a Value Score of 5, which is Ultra Expensive. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a Value Score of 7, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. or Howmet Aerospace 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 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. or Howmet Aerospace Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.	KTOS	C
Howmet Aerospace Inc.	HWM	A

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.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Howmet Aerospace Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Howmet Aerospace 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.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.	KTOS	C
Howmet Aerospace Inc.	HWM	A

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.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 59, which is Neutral. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 87, which is Very Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Howmet Aerospace Inc.

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

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Value 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 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. or Howmet Aerospace Inc. Stock?

Overall, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 5, Growth Score of 56 and Estimate Revisions Score of 59.

Howmet Aerospace Inc. stock has a Value Score of 7, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 87.

Comparing Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. and Howmet Aerospace 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.