General Dynamics management check
GD · Industrials · Aerospace & Defense · CEO Novakovic
Filings as of
5 good · 2 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $253, against $230 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.25 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.6% of net income$25.9m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $4.2bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 14 years of payThe CEO holds 933,117 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 14 years of pay. 7 insiders sold $68.9m in the last six months and none bought.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.6% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.4% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
9 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Novakovic. 9 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Industrials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 63 | 55 | |
| Pay for performance | 62 | 86 | |
| CEO cost | 67 | 48 | |
| Skin in the game | 72 | 55 | |
| Dilution | 58 | 62 | |
| Stable leadership | 80 | 75 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Aerospace & Defense, by management score. General Dynamics is 28th of 81 in its sector.
- 21GEGE Aerospace85
- 44RTXRTX Corporation82
- 98HWMHowmet Aerospace76
- 113NOCNorthrop Grumman75
- 130LMTLockheed Martin73
- 154GDGeneral Dynamics72
- 206TXTTextron68
- 217TDGTransDigm Group67
- 310LHXL3Harris61
- 382HIIHuntington Ingalls Industries55
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 27, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Novakovic | $25.9m | $51.2m | $8.7m | $253 | $230 | $4.2bn |
| 2024 | Novakovic | $23.8m | $25.9m | $7.1m | $194 | $162 | $3.8bn |
| 2023 | Novakovic | $22.6m | $31.6m | $7.2m | $187 | $142 | $3.3bn |
| 2022 | Novakovic | $21.5m | $48.7m | $6.2m | $175 | $133 | $3.4bn |
| 2021 | Novakovic | $23.6m | $42.6m | $6.5m | $144 | $113 | $3.3bn |
The board says pay is tied most to annual ROIC. Its other key measures: Annual ROIC, Diluted EPS, Free Cash Flow, Operating Margin, Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Total Shareholder Return.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Phebe N Novakovic (Chairman and CEO) held 933,117 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 3, 2026, roughly $358.2m at that filing's price.
7 insiders sold $68.9m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldMark Lagrand BurnsExecutive Vice President$25.0mMay 12, 2026
- SoldPhebe N NovakovicChairman and CEO$19.7mAug 3, 2026
- SoldMarguerite Amy GillilandExecutive Vice President$16.3mJul 31, 2026
- SoldRobert K SteelDirector$2.6mSep 23, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Oct 8, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 7, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 5, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 5, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 9, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 16, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 7, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 13, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jan 5, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 30, 2023Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jun 8, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 6, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 11, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $12.9bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 72% of net income, and $851.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $38.5bn | $39.4bn | $42.3bn | $47.7bn | $52.5bn |
| Net income | $3.3bn | $3.4bn | $3.3bn | $3.8bn | $4.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $126.0m | $165.0m | $181.0m | $183.0m | $196.0m |
| Buybacks | $1.8bn | $1.2bn | $434.0m | $1.5bn | $637.0m |
| Dividends | $1.3bn | $1.4bn | $1.4bn | $1.5bn | $1.6bn |
| Diluted shares | 282m | 278m | 276m | 277m | 272m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.