General Dynamics Lifts Outlook After Posting Higher 1Q Profit — Update

By Katherine Hamilton

General Dynamics raised its earnings outlook after posting higher profit and sales in the first quarter.

The defense company now expects full-year earnings per share to be $16.45 to $16.55, up from prior guidance of $16.10 to $16.20, President Danny Deep said Wednesday.

Shares gained 11% to $347.45 Wednesday morning.

General Dynamics doesn't typically update its outlook after the first quarter, but Deep said it would make sense to revise the guidance to reflect better-than-expected performance so far.

Profit rose to $1.13 billion, or $4.10 a share, in the most recently ended quarter, compared with $994 million, or $3.66 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting earnings of $3.70 a share.

Revenue increased 10% from a year earlier to $13.48 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast revenue of $12.7 billion.

Sales in marine systems increased the most, rising 21% to $4.34 billion. Aerospace revenue increased 8.4%, while combat systems and technologies increased 4.9% and 4.2%, respectively.

Margins in the aerospace company also came in ahead of expectations at 15%.

The strength in marine systems and margin growth in aerospace both contributed to the raised guidance, executives said. Management expects performance in the second quarter to be similar to the first, with higher results in the second half of the year.

Orders totaled $26.6 billion in the quarter. The total estimated contract value was $188.4 billion at the end of the quarter, including a backlog of $130.8 billion and estimated potential contract value of $57.6 billion.

Order intake started off strong in the first quarter, but slowed down after the conflict in the Middle East began, Deep said. The conflict is putting pressure on the aerospace labor force, which is impacting orders, while supply remains strong, he said.

All of the airplanes General Dynamics delivered in the first quarter were completed before the war in Iran began, Deep said. Whether the conflict will have a bigger impact on operations will depend on how long it lasts, he said.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2026 10:52 ET (14:52 GMT)