NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP /DE/ (NOC)

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company that designs, develops, produces, integrates and sustains a broad range of products, services and solutions primarily for the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, other U.S. government agencies, and international customers. Originally founded in 1939 as Northrop Aircraft Incorporated and reincorporated in Delaware in 1985, the company grew through major acquisitions including Grumman (1994), Westinghouse's defense/electronics businesses (1996), Litton Industries and Newport News Shipbuilding (2001), TRW (2002), and Orbital ATK (2018), while also spinning off Huntington Ingalls Industries (2011) and divesting its IT and mission support services business to Veritas Capital (2021). As of December 31, 2022, the company operates through four reportable segments: Aeronautics Systems, which designs and produces advanced manned and autonomous aircraft systems (including the B-21 Raider bomber, MQ-4C Triton, RQ-4 Global Hawk, and F-35/F-18 fuselage production) for strike, air dominance, battle management and ISR missions; Defense Systems, which provides battle management, missile and weapons systems (such as IBCS, AARGM, GMLRS, and hypersonic propulsion) along with full lifecycle sustainment, modernization and training support for aircraft and weapons platforms; Mission Systems, a leader in C4ISR, radar, electronic warfare, navigation, cyber and networked communications systems supporting airborne, maritime and land platforms with key programs including AEW&C, F-35 sensors, SEWIP, and CNI avionics; and Space Systems, which delivers satellites, payloads, ground systems, launch vehicles, missile defense interceptors and strategic missile systems, including the Cygnus spacecraft, Next-Gen OPIR satellites, GBSD, and solid rocket motors for NASA's SLS.

The U.S. government is by far the company's largest customer, accounting for 86%, 85%, and 84% of sales in 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively, and total backlog stood at $78.7 billion at year-end 2022, up from $76.0 billion in 2021. Northrop Grumman competes with major defense contractors including Boeing, General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon Technologies, in an industry characterized by long operating cycles, intense competition, and frequent collaboration among competitors as both prime contractors and subcontractors. The company maintains a substantial portfolio of patents and trade secrets, though the U.S. government typically retains licensing rights to inventions developed under its contracts, and has faced some raw material and supply chain challenges from macroeconomic conditions, microelectronics shortages, COVID-19, and geopolitical conflicts, though these have not materially impaired contract performance to date.

As of December 31, 2022, the company employed approximately 95,000 people, having hired around 16,000 new employees during the year despite a tight labor market, with its culture and values emphasizing integrity, accountability, shared success, and innovation supporting its workforce strategy.