RTX reported third-quarter 2026 sales of $25.0 billion on 20 October, up 11 percent from a year earlier and 12 percent on an organic basis. GAAP earnings per share were $1.89, and adjusted earnings per share were $2.26, up $0.56 or 33 percent, including $0.25 from IEEPA cost recovery. Operating cash flow was $2.9 billion, including about $0.3 billion from the IEEPA recovery, and free cash flow was $2.1 billion. Backlog reached $340 billion, made up of $176 billion of commercial and $164 billion of defense work. The company raised its 2026 outlook for adjusted sales, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow.
The argument that the quarter was strong rests on the outlook and the order book. RTX now expects adjusted sales of $97.0 billion to $97.5 billion, up from $95.0 billion to $96.0 billion, organic sales growth of 10 percent to 11 percent, up from 8 percent to 9 percent, adjusted earnings per share of $7.65 to $7.75, up from $7.10 to $7.25, and free cash flow of $9.0 billion to $9.2 billion, up from $8.50 billion to $8.75 billion. The company said it received more than $81 billion of new commercial and defense awards in the quarter, including multi-year undefinitized production contracts for the Tomahawk and AMRAAM missiles. Chief Executive Chris Calio said demand for its products remains robust and that organic sales grew at double-digit rates in both commercial aerospace and defense.
The counter-argument is that a share of the profit gain came from a one-off type of item and that GAAP earnings were lower than adjusted ones. Adjusted earnings per share of $2.26 included $0.25 from IEEPA cost recovery, so without it the figure would have been $2.01, a calculation from the company’s numbers, and the increase over last year would have been about $0.31, or 18 percent, instead of 33 percent. GAAP earnings per share of $1.89 were reduced by $0.26 of acquisition accounting adjustments and $0.11 of restructuring and other significant items. About $0.3 billion of the quarter’s $2.9 billion in operating cash flow came from the same recovery. The release does not say how much more recovery, if any, is expected in later quarters, and the new guidance ranges are for adjusted measures.
The report matters because RTX makes engines, aircraft systems and missiles, so its results reflect both air travel demand and defense spending. The split of its backlog, $176 billion commercial and $164 billion defense, shows that neither side dominates. Management said it is focused on increasing output, reducing costs and investing in new technologies to support customers,, and its free cash flow outlook is $9.0 billion to $9.2 billion. The midpoint of the new adjusted sales range, $97.25 billion, is 1.8 percent above the previous midpoint, and the midpoint of the adjusted EPS range, $7.70, is 7.3 percent above the previous $7.175, calculations from the ranges. Commercial work is 52 percent of the backlog and defense 48 percent.
RTX reported double-digit growth, a record backlog and a higher outlook. How much of the profit gain was one-off will matter for the next quarter’s comparison.