GE Aerospace profit rises 12% as company raises annual earnings per share forecast
Key Facts
GE Aerospace raised its annual adjusted earnings per share forecast as it reported third-quarter 2026 results showing higher profit, revenue and orders, coinciding with its scheduled results presentation on October 20. The company said in its earnings release that GAAP profit reached about $2.8 billion, up 12% year on year. Adjusted revenue for the same period reached about $13.3 billion, up 18% from the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were $2.25, up 36% year on year, outpacing growth in GAAP profit and adjusted revenue. The higher annual forecast came alongside profit growth in the Commercial Engines & Services segment, which the company attributed to higher services volume and pricing.
Adjusted earnings per share exceeded market expectations ahead of the company's results, according to a preview published by Investing.com on October 19, 2026. Those expectations pointed to third-quarter earnings per share of $2.00, compared with the adjusted result the company reported for the period. On revenue, the market had expected $12.85 billion, below the adjusted revenue recorded in the quarter. Alongside the beats on both estimates, GE Aerospace's quarterly orders totaled $19.0 billion, according to its earnings release. Orders rose 49% year on year, a faster pace than adjusted revenue growth over the same period, and their value exceeded total adjusted revenue.
Detailing its operating performance, GE Aerospace said profit growth in the Commercial Engines & Services segment reflected "higher services volume and pricing." The company thus linked the improvement in segment profit to increased services activity, alongside a contribution from pricing. However, it said in the accompanying earnings presentation that the positive impact of those two factors was partly offset by business mix and inflation. The company's overall adjusted operating profit margin was about 22.5% in the third quarter, according to the official presentation. On the operational front, the company signed an agreement to acquire Consolidated Precision Products, saying the deal aimed to support product deliveries and innovation in new technologies.
GE Aerospace's free cash flow, meanwhile, fell to about $2.0 billion in the third quarter, according to the company's release. That represented a 14% year-on-year decline, in contrast to the increases in profit, revenue and orders during the period. As background to the stock's performance following quarterly results, the second-quarter earnings announcement drew a negative reaction despite the company beating Wall Street expectations at the time. Investing.com reported in its coverage published on July 16, 2026, that the stock fell 4.3% in premarket trading following those results. That decline was associated with the second-quarter announcement, when better-than-expected results coincided with a fall in the stock before the trading session began.
For RTX, market expectations ahead of its third-quarter results pointed to earnings per share of $1.78, according to Investing.com's preview published on October 19. The preview estimated expected quarterly revenue at about $24.09 billion, compared with the higher sales the company reported for the preceding quarter. In the second quarter of 2026, RTX recorded sales of about $24.7 billion, according to its earnings release issued on July 23. Sales for that quarter rose 14% year on year compared with the corresponding period a year earlier. Second-quarter adjusted earnings per share were $1.89, up 21% year on year, also exceeding the earnings per share estimate in the third-quarter preview.
For the full year 2026, GE Aerospace now expects adjusted earnings per share of between $8.00 and $8.10, according to its earnings release. This range replaces its previous forecast of $7.65 to $7.85 per share, raising both the lower and upper ends of its annual estimates. In its announced earnings discussion schedule for October 20, 2026, the company set its official webcast for 07:30 to 08:20 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The webcast covers third-quarter results, according to the schedule published on the company's investor relations page. On the same day, RTX announced that its earnings conference call would begin at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with a replay available after the call.