RTX Corporation (RTX) has delivered a standout performance over the past year, with its stock surging 36.6% and leaving much of the aerospace and defense sector behind.
That gain dwarfs the Zacks Aerospace-Defense industry’s growth of 6.6% and the broader Zacks Aerospace sector’s 11% return over the same period.
RTX also outpaced the S&P 500, which returned 23.7% in the same timeframe, underscoring the company’s relative strength across major market benchmarks.
Rival defense contractors General Dynamics (GD) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) posted more modest gains, with GD up 26.7% and LMT rising 16.4% over the past year.
Despite the impressive run, analysts caution that investors should carefully assess whether RTX’s fundamentals can support continued long-term growth before jumping in at current levels.
On the contract and technology front, RTX has been active, with its Pratt and Whitney unit surpassing 1 million flight hours on the F119 engine that powers the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.
RTX also announced it is developing a large-aperture telescope for the Lazuli Space Observatory, part of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Observatory System, with a 3.1-meter unobscured aperture expected to be the largest of its kind on a commercial platform.
Adding to its defense portfolio, Raytheon secured a $1.1 billion contract from the U.S. Navy to produce AIM-9X Block II missiles, covering production, hardware, and software to support military inventories and Foreign Military Sales.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RTX’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 6%, while the 2026 earnings consensus points to a year-over-year increase of 9.9%.
RTX trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 2.76X, a premium to the industry average of 2.64X, compared to GD at 1.80X and LMT at 1.56X.
RTX carries a current ratio of 1.02, indicating it holds sufficient capital to meet short-term debt obligations, though GD at 1.38 and LMT at 1.14 hold comparatively stronger liquidity positions.
RTX currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2, designated as a Buy, reflecting its rising earnings estimates, solid growth prospects, and expanding presence across aerospace and defense markets.
