At a glance
Curtiss-Wright Corporation is worth $17.64B, about 37 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 12.1% to $3.50B in fiscal 2025, with 13.8% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 7.9% a year. It pays a 0.21% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $1.32B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −18.7% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +30.4% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 47.8% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 20.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 23 months and 4 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Curtiss-Wright, based in Davidson, North Carolina, makes highly engineered parts and systems for uses where failure is not an option. Its main customers are defense prime contractors (the big companies that hold the main military contracts), commercial aircraft makers, and energy and manufacturing companies. In the year ended December 31, 2025, revenue was about $3.5 billion. Products made up 85% of that and services 15%. Sales for U.S. and foreign government end use were 58% of the total, and the U.S. accounted for about 73% of revenue.
Naval & Power is the largest segment, at 43% of revenue. It supplies pumps, motors, generators and valves for U.S. Navy submarines, including the Virginia-class and Columbia-class programs, and for Ford-class aircraft carriers. It also sells parts and services that keep existing nuclear power plants running, makes reactor coolant pumps for the Westinghouse AP1000 design, and is pursuing work on small modular reactors (compact designs that could power industry or data centers).
Defense Electronics, at 29%, sells rugged computer boards, flight test equipment and battlefield communications gear used on more than 400 defense platforms. Aerospace & Industrial, at 28%, sells sensors and actuators for aircraft, coatings and metal-strengthening treatments, and electronics and controls for industrial and specialty vehicles. This segment's commercial aircraft sales rise and fall with plane makers' production rates.
Price history
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CW -18.7% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Product | $2.98B | 85.1% |
| Service | $521.1M | 14.9% |
By business segment
| Naval & Power | $1.50B | 43% |
| Defense Electronics | $1.02B | 29.2% |
| Aerospace & Industrial | $977.2M | 27.9% |
By geography
| United States of America | $2.55B | 72.8% |
| Other foreign countries | $752.6M | 21.5% |
| United Kingdom | $197.5M | 5.6% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $924.0M, up 5.4% from a year earlier, and net income was $151.2M (+24.9%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $3.50B (+12.1% year over year; +7.9% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 13.8% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +7.9% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 18.1% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 15.8% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 19.1% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 9.3% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-480.2M weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $2.39B | $201.4M | $213.7M |
| FY2021 | $2.50B | $262.8M | $346.6M |
| FY2022 | $2.56B | $294.3M | $256.6M |
| FY2023 | $2.85B | $354.5M | $403.4M |
| FY2024 | $3.12B | $405.0M | $483.3M |
| FY2025 | $3.50B | $484.2M | $553.7M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $17.64B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 37.1 |
| Dividend yield | 0.21% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Curtiss-Wright’s market value went from $4.35B at the end of 2016 to $17.64B on Oct 28, 2026, about 4.1 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 13%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $17.64B | -13.2% |
| 2025 | $20.33B | +50.9% |
| 2024 | $13.47B | +58.1% |
| 2023 | $8.52B | +33.2% |
| 2022 | $6.40B | +17.6% |
| 2021 | $5.44B | +12.7% |
| 2020 | $4.83B | -19.7% |
| 2019 | $6.01B | +34.5% |
| 2018 | $4.47B | -16.8% |
| 2017 | $5.38B | +23.6% |
| 2016 | $4.35B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CW price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -13.3% | -18.7% | +34.9% | +30.4% | +18.8% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -13.3% |
| 2025 | +55.7% |
| 2024 | +59.7% |
| 2023 | +34.0% |
| 2022 | +21.0% |
| 2021 | +19.9% |
| 2020 | -16.8% |
| 2019 | +38.7% |
| 2018 | -15.8% |
| 2017 | +24.6% |
| 2016 | +44.5% |
| 2015 | -2.2% |
| 2014 | +14.3% |
| 2013 | +91.3% |
| 2012 | -6.1% |
| 2011 | +7.5% |
| 2010 | +7.1% |
| 2009 | -5.2% |
| 2008 | -32.9% |
| 2007 | +36.2% |
| 2006 | +36.8% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 55.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 59.2%, back to its old high 57.1 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 47.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 47.8%, back to its old high 23.2 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 20.5%, back to its old high 4 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 1 open-market purchases ($149K) and 15 sales ($7.7M), 7 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 2026 | Lynn M Bamford Chair and CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $1.9M |
| Jun 9, 2026 | Lynn M Bamford Chair and CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $1.8M |
| Mar 18, 2026 | K Christopher Farkas Executive VP and CFO | sell (plan) | $872K |
| Aug 27, 2026 | John C Watts EVP & Chief Growth Officer | sell | $641K |
| Mar 17, 2026 | K Christopher Farkas Executive VP and CFO | sell | $622K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.21% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in CW
| GCAD Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF | 4.36% |
| XAR SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF | 3.98% |
| CSMD Congress SMid Growth ETF | 3.45% |
| MISL First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF | 3.24% |
| GLRY Inspire Momentum ETF | 3.11% |
| RSMC Rockefeller U.S. Small-Mid Cap ETF | 2.96% |
| NUKZ Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF | 2.59% |
| PRN Invesco Dorsey Wright Industrials Momentum ETF | 2.33% |
What could go wrong
- Heavy dependence on defense budgets. Sales for U.S. and foreign government end use were 58% of the total in fiscal 2025. The U.S. Government can end contracts at its option, and budget cuts or delays could shrink orders.
- Nuclear setbacks or reactor delays. A disruption in the commercial nuclear industry, or delays in developing small modular reactors, could hurt results and the growth outlook. The nuclear business also carries its own regulatory and financial risks.
- Fixed-price contracts can squeeze profits. On fixed-price contracts, Curtiss-Wright usually absorbs most cost overruns. Revenue on long contracts is booked using cost and progress estimates, so a change in those estimates can cut profits.
- Failures in must-not-fail products. Its parts often go into must-not-fail uses, such as submarines and nuclear plants. A failure could lead to injury claims, recalls and a damaged reputation, and insurance may not cover all costs.
- Commercial aircraft downturn. The Aerospace & Industrial segment, 28% of fiscal 2025 revenue, sells partly to commercial aircraft makers, whose production rates drive demand. Production cuts or a broader aviation downturn would reduce sales.
- Acquisitions may not pay off. Acquisitions top the company's list for spending cash. Overpaying or struggling to absorb a purchased business could hurt results and force write-downs, known as impairment charges, on the value of past deals.
Recent events
- Executive or board change
- Executive or board change
- Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; Major agreement ended; New debt or financial obligation; Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
Curtiss-Wright pays a small dividend, yielding 0.21% as of October 28, 2026. Dividends per share rose at least nine years in a row through fiscal 2025, to $0.93 from $0.68 in fiscal 2020. The fiscal 2025 dividend used just 7.2% of earnings and 6.3% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). Buybacks, where the company repurchases its own stock, get more: $1.17 billion from fiscal 2021 to 2025, versus $154 million in dividends.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns: 59.2% in the 2008 financial crisis, taking about 57 months to recover, and 47.8% in the 2020 COVID crash, recovering in about 23 months. In the 2022 bear market it fell 20.5% but recovered in four months. In the year to October 28, 2026, it fell as much as 41.3%. With so little dividend income, returns depend mostly on the share price. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Curtiss-Wright make money?
Curtiss-Wright makes money by selling highly engineered products, plus some services, mostly to defense and aerospace customers. In fiscal 2025 revenue was about $3.5 billion, with 85% from products and 15% from services. Naval & Power, which supplies submarine and aircraft carrier equipment and nuclear plant parts, brought in 43%. Defense Electronics, which sells rugged computing and communications gear, brought in 29%. Aerospace & Industrial, which serves aircraft and vehicle makers, brought in 28%.
Does Curtiss-Wright raise its dividend every year?
Yes. Through fiscal 2025 it had raised its dividend per share at least nine years in a row, and the true streak may be longer. The dividend reached $0.93 per share in fiscal 2025, up from $0.68 in fiscal 2020, about 6.5% growth a year. It is a small dividend, though: the yield was 0.21% as of October 28, 2026, and the payout used only 7.2% of fiscal 2025 earnings.
How much of Curtiss-Wright's business comes from the government?
More than half. Sales for U.S. and foreign government end use made up 58% of net sales in fiscal 2025, up from 57% in 2024 and 56% in 2023. Much of it comes from U.S. Navy shipbuilding, including Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines and Ford-class aircraft carriers, and from defense electronics used on more than 400 platforms. Government contracts can be ended at the customer's option, and on fixed-price deals the company usually absorbs most cost overruns.
Is Curtiss-Wright a nuclear power stock?
Partly. Its Naval & Power segment, 43% of fiscal 2025 revenue, combines U.S. Navy equipment with commercial nuclear and industrial process work. Most of its commercial nuclear revenue supports maintenance of existing reactors across North America. It also makes reactor coolant pumps for the Westinghouse AP1000 design and is pursuing work on small modular reactors, which could power industry or data centers. The company lists delays in those reactors as a risk. The Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF (NUKZ) holds it at a 2.59% weight.
How has Curtiss-Wright stock performed?
Very well over the long term, poorly over the past year. As of October 28, 2026, the stock had gained about 30.4% a year over five years and 18.8% a year over ten years, helped by gains of 59.7% in 2024 and 55.7% in 2025. But it was down 18.7% over one year and 13.3% year to date, and had fallen as much as 41.3% from its high during that year. It traded at 37.1 times fiscal 2025 earnings.