General Dynamics' Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Improve Y/Y

General Dynamics' Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Improve Y/Y

General Dynamics Corporation GD reported second-quarter 2026 earnings of $4.24 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.95 by 7.3%. The bottom line increased 13.4% from $3.74 in the year-ago quarter, reflecting higher operating earnings and lower net interest expense.

Total Revenues of GD

Revenues of $14.09 billion surpassed the consensus mark of $13.49 billion by 4.5% and rose 8.1% year over year. Growth across all four segments, led by Aerospace and Marine Systems, supported the top line.

General Dynamics Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

General Dynamics Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

General Dynamics Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | General Dynamics Corporation Quote

GD’s Segmental Performance

Aerospace revenues increased 15.1% year over year to $3.53 billion. Operating earnings surged 26.6% to $510 million. The operating margin expanded 130 basis points to 14.5%.

Marine Systems revenues advanced 10.4% to $4.66 billion. Operating earnings increased 17.5% to $342 million. The segment’s operating margin improved 40 basis points to 7.3%.

Combat Systems revenues were $2.29 billion, up 0.3% from the prior-year quarter. However, operating earnings declined 1.9% to $318 million, while the operating margin contracted 30 basis points to 13.9%.

Technologies revenues increased 4.1% year over year to $3.62 billion. Operating earnings improved 2.1% to $339 million. The operating margin declined 20 basis points to 9.4%.

Operational Highlights of GD

Operating earnings totaled $1.46 billion, up 11.9% from the year-ago quarter’s $1.31 billion.

Operating costs and expenses increased 7.7% year over year to $12.63 billion.

Interest expenses decreased 44.3% year over year to $49 million.

GD’s Backlog

General Dynamics recorded a total backlog of $186.9 billion. This includes a backlog of $136.5 billion and estimated potential contract value, representing management’s estimate of additional value in unfunded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts and unexercised options of $50.4 billion.

Financial Condition of GD

As of July 5, 2026, cash and cash equivalents totaled $4.33 billion compared with $2.33 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025.

The long-term debt as of the same date was $6.26 billion compared with the 2025-end debt level of $7.01 billion.

During the first six months of 2026, cash generated by operating activities totaled $4.04 billion compared with $1.45 billion in the year-ago period.

GD’s Zacks Rank

GD currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Defense Releases

RTX Corporation’s RTX second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.89 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66 by 13.9%. The bottom line improved 21.1% from the year-ago quarter’s level of $1.56.

Revenues rose 14.5% year over year to $24.71 billion and outpaced the consensus mark of $22.83 billion by 8.2%.

Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $7.68 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.84 by 12.3%. The bottom line, however, declined 5.8% from the year-ago quarter’s level of $8.15.

NOC’s total sales of $10.88 billion in the second quarter outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.80 billion by 0.7%. The top line also improved 5.1% from $10.35 billion reported in the year-ago quarter.

Textron Inc. TXT reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.52 by 6.6%. The bottom line also rose 4.5% from $1.55 in the year-ago quarter. 

The company reported total revenues of $3.83 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.82 billion by 0.15%. The top line also increased 3% from the year-ago quarter’s level of $3.72 billion.

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General Dynamics Corporation (GD): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Textron Inc. (TXT): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
RTX Corporation (RTX): Free Stock Analysis Report

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