GE Aerospace Orders Jump 49% and Guidance Goes Up

Keypoints:

• Third-quarter orders rose 49% to $19.0 billion
• Adjusted revenue grew 18% to $13.3 billion, against about $12.85 billion expected
• Adjusted earnings per share were $2.25, above the roughly $2.01 consensus
• Full-year guidance was raised across the board, with adjusted revenue growth of 19% to 20%
• The commercial services backlog is above $170 billion

GE Aerospace reported third-quarter results on 20 October, and demand carried the numbers. Orders rose 49% to $19.0 billion. Total revenue under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was $14.1 billion, up 16%. Adjusted revenue grew 18% to $13.3 billion, which beat analyst estimates by about $400 million.

Profit followed. Adjusted earnings per share reached $2.25, up 36% from a year earlier. Operating profit margin improved 220 basis points to 22.5%. Chairman and chief executive Lawrence Culp said commercial services orders rose 23% and that the company is raising 2026 guidance across the board.

The engine business is the driver. In Commercial Engines & Services, orders rose 58% to $15.3 billion and revenue grew 21% to $10.3 billion. Services revenue increased 17%, while equipment revenue rose 38%. Year to date, commercial services revenue and total engine deliveries are both up more than 20%. Deliveries of the LEAP engine, which powers many narrow-body jets, are up 26%.

Defense grew more slowly. Defense & Propulsion Technologies orders rose 18% to $4.3 billion, and revenue rose 7% to $3.5 billion. The segment's operating margin was 13.7%, slightly above last year.

Big airline commitments are filling the order book. At the Farnborough International Airshow, customers committed to more than 1,800 engines. That included the largest LEAP agreement ever, for more than 1,000 LEAP-1A engines with IndiGo. In October, Turkish Airlines signed for more than 300 LEAP-1B engines plus a long-term services deal covering its fleet of over 600 such engines.

The new outlook is steeper. GE now expects adjusted revenue growth of 19% to 20% and adjusted earnings per share of $8.00 to $8.10 for 2026. It also expects commercial services to grow at a low-double-digit rate in 2027. Shares rose about 1.8% after the report.