Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC)

Northrop Grumman is the world's leading maker of stealth aircraft and a top-five U.S. defense contractor, with about $39 billion in annual revenue. The company builds the B-21 Raider (the next-generation stealth bomber), the James Webb Space Telescope, and critical missile defense systems. Northrop is also the prime contractor for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (Sentinel) — the replacement for America's aging Minuteman III ICBMs. The company employs about 100,000 people.

Four segments: Aeronautics Systems (B-21, Global Hawk, F-35 components), Defense Systems (ammunition, battle management), Mission Systems (radar, sensors, cyber), and Space Systems (satellites, launch vehicles, James Webb). U.S. government contracts account for over 85% of revenue. Long-term programs provide multi-decade revenue visibility but come with fixed-price contract risk.

Jack Northrop founded Northrop Corporation in 1939, focused on flying wing aircraft designs. The company merged with Grumman (maker of the F-14 Tomcat and Apollo Lunar Module) in 1994. Northrop won the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber contract in 1981 — a program that defined the company. The B-21 Raider contract, won in 2015, is the most important defense program of the 2020s and will generate revenue for decades.