GE Aerospace raises 2026 earnings per share outlook to $8.00–$8.10
Key Facts
GE Aerospace raised its 2026 adjusted earnings per share forecast to a range of $8.00–$8.10, according to its third-quarter earnings release issued on October 20, as its commercial engines and services business grew. The company had previously forecast annual adjusted earnings of between $7.65 and $7.85 per share, before the update raised both ends of the range. The increase followed third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.25, up 36% year on year, according to the company statement. The result exceeded Wall Street expectations of $2.01 per share, according to Reuters, combining earnings growth from the year-earlier period with a beat of market estimates. The new annual range represents the company's estimate of its adjusted earnings for the full year, while quarterly earnings per share reflect performance over the months covered by the earnings announcement.
The company recorded total orders of $19.0 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 49% year on year, according to the earnings release. Orders grew faster than reported revenue, which reached $14.1 billion over the same period, up 16% from the corresponding quarter a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, revenue reached $13.3 billion, up 18% year on year, a higher growth rate than that recorded for reported revenue. Adjusted operating profit rose to $3.0 billion, up 30% year on year, outpacing adjusted revenue growth. Profit growth was accompanied by an improvement in the adjusted operating profit margin to 22.5%, up 220 basis points from the corresponding period, according to figures released by the company.
In the Commercial Engines and Services segment, services revenue grew 17% year on year in the third quarter of 2026, according to the company's earnings presentation. Equipment revenue in the same segment posted a larger increase of 38% from the corresponding period a year earlier, outpacing services revenue growth. Commercial engine deliveries rose 8% year on year, a slower increase than equipment revenue growth over the same period. The company attributed support for commercial segment earnings to services volumes and pricing, while business mix and inflation partially offset those factors. The company described these drivers in its earnings presentation as "services volumes and pricing, partially offset by business mix and inflation," linking the segment's performance to both operational and pricing factors.
On liquidity, free cash flow fell to $2.0 billion in the third quarter of 2026, down 14% from the corresponding period a year earlier, according to the company statement. The decline came during a period of higher adjusted operating profit and an improved margin, leaving free cash flow moving in a different direction from the reported profitability measures. On maintenance, the company said in its earnings presentation that it had reduced LEAP engine maintenance turnaround time by about two weeks, as part of the operational update accompanying its quarterly announcement. The improvement covered maintenance turnaround time, alongside the growth in services revenue recorded by the commercial segment during the period. In the market, Reuters reported that GE Aerospace shares rose about 1.2% in premarket trading on October 20, the day of the earnings announcement.
The results follow an agreement GE Aerospace signed in September 2026 to acquire CPP for $11.75 billion, according to the company's deal announcement. The acquisition aims to expand critical castings production capacity, adding manufacturing capacity to the operational developments the company outlined with its quarterly results. The agreement's value relates to the purchase of CPP, while completion of the acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals and the customary closing conditions specified by the company. The announced developments thus combine improved maintenance turnaround times within existing operations with an agreement to expand castings manufacturing capacity through an acquisition. The agreement remains a step ahead of the deal's closing, which the company expects next year.
GE Aerospace scheduled its earnings presentation for investors for October 20, 2026, according to the schedule published on its investor relations page. The presentation begins at 07:30 a.m. and ends at 08:20 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, according to the announced schedule. The event falls on the day of the quarterly earnings announcement and annual outlook update, covering company performance that included growth in earnings, revenue and orders. Further ahead, the company expects to close the CPP deal in the second half of 2027, according to the acquisition announcement. That expected timing remains subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions before completion of the transaction intended to expand critical castings capacity.