iRobot Corporation (IRBT), The Procter & Gamble Company (PG), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC): Will This Company Continue to Clean House?

On the other end of the spectrum, the defense side, is Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC). In his article “Roomba Turns 11: Where Should iRobot Go From Here?,” Foolish contributor Steve Symington points out that Northrop Grumman is attempting to steal market share from iRobot with its six-wheeled CUTLASS, an unmanned ground vehicle. However, iRobot’s Warrior robot offers more speed and lifting power. These two companies will battle it out with tightly gripped mechanical fists going forward.

Let’s take a look at top-line growth over the past several years for these companies:

IRBT Revenue TTM data by YCharts

And bottom-line growth:

IRBT EPS Diluted TTM data by YCharts

While there are conflicting trends on the top and bottom line, it’s easy to determine that iRobot has delivered solid performances on both the top and bottom line, which indicates strong management. Furthermore, investors have shown more interest in iRobot than The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) recently:

IRBT data by YCharts

However, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) yield 3.10% and 2.50%, respectively. Both are also likely to be long-term winners, as they have been for decades.

The bottom line

iRobot might not pay a dividend, but its past innovations prove that it has the potential to become a big player for the military down the road. Imagine getting in on Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) before it was a household name? That’s the potential of iRobot. Additionally, thanks to iRobot’s successes and strong fundamentals, it could be an acquisition target. And even if the defense aspect doesn’t pan out and there is no acquisition, iRobot is seeing strong growth in Home Robots.

iRobot is a volatile stock, and considerable downside moves are possible, but long-term potential rewards seem to outweigh downside risks.

The article Will This Company Continue to Clean House? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Moskowitz.

Dan Moskowitz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends iRobot and Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. 

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