The defense contractor posted $13.5 billion in revenue and diluted EPS of $4.10, both exceeding Wall Street forecasts
General Dynamics $GD reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $13.5 billion, up 10.3% from the year-ago quarter, with operating earnings of $1.4 billion and diluted EPS of $4.10, up 12% from a year earlier, the company said.
Analysts had projected EPS of $3.68 and revenue of $12.71 billion, according to Reuters.
Among the four segments, Marine Systems posted the largest year-over-year gain, with revenue climbing to $4.34 billion, a 21% increase. Combat Systems revenue rose 4.9% to $2.28 billion. Gulfstream business jet maker Aerospace brought in $3.28 billion, 8.4% more than a year ago, and delivered 38 aircraft during the quarter compared with 36 in the same period last year. The Technologies segment added 4.2% to reach $3.58 billion.
Order activity was strong across the business. Total bookings reached $26.6 billion for the quarter, putting the companywide book-to-bill ratio at 2-to-1, the company said. Defense segments ran at 2.2-to-1. Total estimated contract value stood at $188.4 billion at the end of the quarter, up from $178.9 billion at the end of 2025.
On the cash side, General Dynamics $GD generated $2.2 billion from operations, reversing a $148 million outflow posted in the first quarter of 2025, and represented 192% of net earnings. Free cash flow turned positive at $1.95 billion after coming in at negative $290 million a year earlier, aided by $764 million in additional customer advance payments, the company said. General Dynamics ended the quarter with $3.65 billion in cash and equivalents.
"Our businesses had a very good start to the year, delivering strong operating results and excellent cash conversion," CEO Phebe Novakovic said in a statement.
General Dynamics stock rose 7% in premarket trading after the results were published.
