Annual Sales $27.2 billion

Rank 4th (Revenue greater than $5 billion)

Average Five-Year Score Improvement15th (up 2.7%)

General Dynamics has long been regarded as the gold standard on how an A&D company should be run. But while a phenomenal balance sheet continues to drive impressive TPC scores, the company's improvement has begun to top out in recent years, allowing Lockheed Martin to catch up and BAE Systems, Raytheon and Goodrich to narrow the gap. Nicholas Chabraja, the architect of General Dynamics' success, plans to retire as CEO next June, but he will remain chairman for almost another year under a meticulously crafted succession plan.