General Dynamics Tops Revenue Estimates at $14.6 Billion as Marine Systems Sales Jump 21%

General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) reported third-quarter revenue of $14.6 billion, above the $13.7 billion analysts expected, and diluted earnings per share of $4.49 against the $4.13 consensus estimate, in an 8-K filed Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. Revenue rose 12.9% from a year earlier, and diluted EPS rose 15.7%. The company did not report adjusted EPS in the release, so the comparison is on a GAAP basis.

Net earnings for the quarter ended Oct. 4 were $1.2 billion, up 16.1%. Operating earnings rose 14.7% to $1.5 billion, and the operating margin was 10.5%, a 20-basis-point expansion from the year-ago quarter.

Segment results

Revenue grew in all four segments. Marine Systems was the largest contributor, with revenue of $5.0 billion, up 21.1%, and operating earnings of $391 million, up 34.4%. Aerospace revenue rose 9.3% to $3.5 billion, and operating earnings rose 19.3% to $513 million. Technologies revenue increased 10.8% to $3.7 billion. Combat Systems revenue rose 6.0% to $2.4 billion, while its operating earnings fell 1.5% to $330 million.

Gulfstream delivered 40 aircraft in the quarter, up from 39 a year earlier.

Orders and backlog

The company booked $98.8 billion of orders in the quarter, including $93.8 billion in the defense segments, driven by large Marine Systems orders for Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines. The overall book-to-bill ratio was 6.8-to-1. Backlog ended the quarter at $220.3 billion, and total estimated contract value was $270.7 billion.

Cash and capital deployment

Cash from operations was $1.7 billion, or 139% of net earnings. During the quarter the company paid $429 million in dividends, spent $481 million on capital expenditures and reduced total debt by $500 million. It ended the quarter with $7.0 billion in total debt.

Outlook and stock

The release did not include new company guidance. Analysts expected revenue of $14.7 billion and EPS of $4.53 for the fourth quarter, and full-year EPS of $17.00 on revenue of $55.95 billion. The stock closed at $370.82 on Thursday, Oct. 29, the last close before the filing.