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 marked a 13.4% increase from $3.74 per share in the year-ago quarter, driven by higher operating earnings and lower net interest expense.
Total 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 business segments contributed to that top-line improvement, with Aerospace and Marine Systems leading the way.
Aerospace revenues climbed 15.1% year over year to $3.53 billion, with operating earnings surging 26.6% to $510 million and operating margin expanding 130 basis points to 14.5%.
Marine Systems revenues advanced 10.4% to $4.66 billion, while operating earnings increased 17.5% to $342 million and the segment’s operating margin improved 40 basis points to 7.3%.
Combat Systems revenues came in at $2.29 billion, up just 0.3% from the prior-year quarter, as operating earnings declined 1.9% to $318 million and operating margin contracted 30 basis points to 13.9%.
Technologies revenues increased 4.1% year over year to $3.62 billion, though operating margin dipped 20 basis points to 9.4% even as operating earnings improved 2.1% to $339 million.
Company-wide operating earnings totaled $1.46 billion, up 11.9% from $1.31 billion in the year-ago quarter, while interest expenses fell sharply by 44.3% year over year to $49 million.
General Dynamics recorded a total backlog of $186.9 billion, including a funded backlog of $136.5 billion and estimated potential contract value of $50.4 billion.
As of July 5, 2026, cash and cash equivalents stood at $4.33 billion, compared with $2.33 billion at the end of 2025, reflecting a significant improvement in liquidity.
Long-term debt fell to $6.26 billion from $7.01 billion at year-end 2025, signaling continued progress in reducing the company’s debt load.
Cash generated from operating activities during the first six months of 2026 totaled $4.04 billion, versus $1.45 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Elsewhere in the defense sector, RTX Corporation (RTX) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.89, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66 by 13.9%, with revenues rising 14.5% year over year to $24.71 billion.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) posted second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $7.68 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.84 by 12.3%, though the figure declined 5.8% from the prior-year quarter’s $8.15.
Textron Inc. (TXT) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.52 by 6.6%, with total revenues of $3.83 billion rising 3% year over year.
GD currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2, designated as a Buy rating by Zacks Investment Research.
