GE Aerospace Orders Jump 49% to $19 Billion in Third Quarter
Key Facts
GE Aerospace said orders totaled $19.0 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 49% year over year, as revenue under U.S. accounting standards rose to $14.1 billion and adjusted earnings per share reached $2.25. Revenue under those standards increased 16%, while adjusted earnings per share rose 36%, according to the company’s results. Its chief executive said, "Strong demand drove orders up 49%," also pointing to increases in the company’s revenue and earnings per share during the quarter. The company’s adjusted revenue rose 18%, according to the same statement, while commercial aviation services revenue grew 23%. The results showed a divergence between reported revenue measures: $14.1 billion under U.S. accounting standards and an 18% increase in the revenue cited by the chief executive.
GE Aerospace raised its 2026 operating profit forecast to a range of $10.5 billion to $10.6 billion, from previous guidance of $10.25 billion to $10.35 billion. The revision follows growth in orders, revenue and earnings per share in the third quarter, the company said. At another industrial company, Lincoln Electric beat analyst expectations for the third quarter, reporting adjusted earnings per share of $2.98 against a forecast of $2.81. Revenue was $1.22 billion, compared with expectations of $1.17 billion. The results offer a picture of two companies’ performance but do not, on their own, represent the performance of the entire industrial sector.
Lincoln Electric sales rose 15% from the same quarter a year earlier to $1.221 billion, while adjusted earnings per share climbed 21% to a record $2.98. Volume growth contributed 9% to the sales increase, while pricing added 6%, according to company data cited by Investing.com. The chief executive said volume growth outpaced pricing growth for the first time in more than two and a half years, adding that volume momentum remained strong during October. The company’s shares closed at $258.65 on October 26, then rose 6.99% in premarket trading on October 27 to $276.74. The stock moved after the results, which beat expectations for earnings per share and revenue.
The U.S. economy’s real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in the third quarter, after growth of 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on October 29. Increases in investment, consumer spending and government spending contributed to GDP growth, partly offset by a decline in exports. Real final sales to private domestic purchasers rose 4.9%, compared with 4.6% in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the increase in the core personal consumption expenditures price index slowed to 2.5% from 3.3% in the second quarter. The data provide context on economic activity and domestic demand, but do not by themselves establish an improvement in industrial companies’ profits.
In an update to its 2026 outlook, Lincoln Electric raised its sales growth estimate to the low double-digit range and increased its capital spending plan to between $140 million and $150 million, from a previous range of $110 million to $130 million. The changes follow the company’s sales and earnings per share growth in the third quarter, according to its results. Among upcoming releases related to U.S. company and economic data, the full September factory orders report is due on November 3 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. The Bureau of Economic Analysis is also scheduled to release its second estimate of third-quarter GDP and corporate profits on November 25 at 8:30 a.m. Those releases will provide subsequent data on the economy and profits, according to the bureau’s schedule.