Northrop Grumman Third-Quarter Sales Rise 6.7% to $11.12 Billion as EPS of $7.89 Beats Estimates, Backlog Hits a Record $109.6 Billion and Full-Year Profit Guidance Is Raised
Northrop Grumman Corporation reported third-quarter 2026 results on Tuesday, October 20. Sales rose 6.7% to $11.12 billion from $10.42 billion a year earlier. Net income was $1.124 billion, or $7.89 a share, up about 3% from $1.100 billion, or $7.67 a share, a year ago, and above analyst estimates of roughly $7.18 to $7.22 a share. All four segments grew sales; segment operating income rose 5% at a segment operating margin rate of 12.1%.
The company booked net awards of $16.4 billion in the quarter, a book-to-bill ratio of 1.5, lifting its backlog to a record $109.6 billion at quarter-end, up from $95.68 billion at the end of 2025 and about 20% higher than a year earlier. Major awards included $4.6 billion for restricted programs, $2.0 billion for the Sentinel missile program, $1.4 billion for Virginia-class submarines, $1.3 billion for the F-35 and $1.0 billion for the E-2. Aeronautics Systems sales rose 14%, Defense Systems sales rose 12% to $2.3 billion, Mission Systems sales were $3.16 billion at a 15.8% margin, and Space Systems sales grew 2% to $2.75 billion. Adjusted free cash flow reached $1.8 billion, up more than 40% from a year earlier, aided by $371 million from the sale of a B-21 test asset.
Northrop Grumman raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $29.35 to $29.75 a share, from $28.60 to $29.10, and lifted segment operating income guidance to $4.94 billion to $5.04 billion, while reaffirming full-year sales guidance of $43.75 billion to $44.25 billion. Chief Executive Kathy Warden tied the raised outlook to the record backlog and the company's portfolio positioning. Management expects 2027 sales growth of 5% to 7% with a further 10 to 20 basis points of margin expansion, confirmed a 25% ramp in B-21 production, and set a goal of doubling international sales by 2031. Northrop Grumman shares rose about 5% on Tuesday.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: B-21「突袭者」轰炸机在加州爱德华兹空军基地试飞资料图。照片：美国空军第412测试联队发布，公共领域，经维基共享资源。 / File photo: A B-21 Raider during flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. U.S. Air Force photo courtesy of the 412th Test Wing, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
