Northrop lifts 2026 profit forecast on strong defense demand, record backlog (updated)

Northrop Grumman

Tue 11:32

Updates share movement in paragraph 2
By Mike Stone and Aatreyee Dasgupta
Oct 20 (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman NOC.N raised its annual profit forecast on Tuesday after strong demand for military aircraft, missile and defense programs helped beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit, and drove its backlog to a record high.
Shares of the West Falls Church, Virginia-based defense contractor rose 5.6% in morning trading.
Northrop, which makes the B-21 Raider bomber and parts for the F-35 fighter jets, has been benefiting from rising US and allied military spending amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
"I'm confident our new record backlog, well-positioned portfolio and investments, and industry-leading performance will continue to drive sales and earnings growth as reflected in our 2027 outlook," said CEO Kathy Warden.
The company secured $16.4 billion in new contracts during the quarter, with its orders growing at 1.5 times its billings, driven by strong demand across programs including Sentinel, the F-35, Virginia-class submarines and certain classified programs.
Northrop's backlog rose to a record $109.6 billion as of September 30.
It now sees full-year 2026 adjusted profit per share in the range of $29.35 to $29.75, compared with its prior forecast if between $28.60 and $29.10.
Quarterly sales rose 7% from a year ago to $11.12 billion on higher sales across all four sectors. Analysts expected $11.14 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
This growth was mainly driven by a 14% increase at its Aeronautics Systems unit, which benefited from increased B-21 bomber sales, higher F-35 production and sustainment work.
Sales at its Defense Systems segment increased 12%, boosted by the continued ramp-up of the Sentinel missile program.
Its quarterly profit came in at $7.89 per share, compared with analysts' estimate of $7.18 per share.

 (Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta and Mike Stone; Editing by Leroy Leo)
 ((Aatreyee.Dasgupta@thomsonreuters.com;))