By Aatreyee Dasgupta and Mike Stone
April 29 (Reuters) – General Dynamics on Wednesday lifted its annual profit forecast and beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and revenue, driven by continued strength in its marine and aerospace segments.
Shares of the Reston, Virginia-based company rose over 10% in early trading in New York, setting them on track for their best one-day jump since October 2008.
Robust defense demand amid ongoing global conflicts continued to drive higher sales across all segments during the quarter, while the company recovers from supply chain disruptions and ramps up production. The Pentagon unveiled a $1.5 trillion defense budget request for fiscal year 2027 earlier this month, including $65 billion for shipbuilding.
General Dynamics now expects full-year 2026 profit between $16.45 and $16.55 per share, compared with its previous projection of $16.10 to $16.20 per share.
Quarterly revenue in the marine systems segment rose 21% from a year ago, driven by higher production volumes on the Virginia‑ and Columbia‑class submarine programs.
General Dynamics reported strong order activity, with quarterly bookings running at roughly twice the level of billings, boosting the overall backlog.
In the aerospace segment, which makes Gulfstream business jets, revenue rose 8.4% as manufacturing volumes improved and services business strength held up.
“We (aerospace) were on our way to a spectacular quarter, but numerous transactions slowed at the end of the quarter as a result of the conflict in the Middle East,” General Dynamics President Danny Deep said during an earnings call.
Quarterly deliveries rose to 38 aircraft from last year’s 36.
The pickup in new contracts also lifted cash generation, with operating cash flow swinging to an inflow of $2.2 billion from an outflow of $148 million a year earlier, and free cash flow rebounding to nearly $2 billion from negative $290 million. The improvement was driven largely by a $764 million increase in customer advance payments.
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed earlier this year to block defense contractors from paying dividends or buying back shares to make the military-industrial complex’s production process more nimble.
“Share repurchases are a highly sensitive subject in this current environment, and so I think in this atmosphere, it behooves us to continue to be cautious,” Danny Deep said.
Quarterly per-share profit rose 12% to $4.10, compared with analysts’ estimate of $3.68, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Total revenue rose 10.3% to $13.48 billion for the quarter ended April 5, compared with estimates of $12.71 billion.
(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Maju Samuel)
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