RTX Balances Record Backlog Against Pratt & Whitney Charge as Raytheon Racks Up Defense Wins
Published on 10/26/2026 at 18:10 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Raytheon's Tucson workforce has ratified a five-year labor agreement covering more than 2,200 hourly employees, the IAM Local 933 union confirmed. The deal, negotiated with Raytheon as an RTX business unit, provides average wage increases of 24% over its term, with each successive raise building on the one before it.
The contract lands in the same week that RTX booked a string of defense awards. On October 19, the U.S. Army handed the Javelin Joint Venture — a partnership between Lockheed Martin and Raytheon — a $215 million production order for Lightweight Command Launch Units for the Javelin system. Four days earlier, the U.S. Space Force had tapped Raytheon to modernize early-warning radar sites worldwide under the Ground-Based Radar Digitization program.
Raytheon had already secured $729 million in contracts on October 13 for components of the LIDS counter-drone system, with the U.S. Army, Qatar and Jordan as customers. According to RTX, those represented the first international sales of KuRFS and Coyote.
Third-Quarter Beat Lifts Full-Year Guidance
RTX reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of 24.965 billion $, up 11% year over year, alongside adjusted earnings per share of 2.26 $ — a 33% jump. The stock climbed 2.7% on the day, with the earnings beat and raised outlook cited as the drivers behind the gain. Reuters attributed the early-session advance to sturdy demand across the aerospace and defense businesses and a record order book.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying RTX?
The company now projects full-year 2026 adjusted revenue of 97.0 to 97.5 billion $, with adjusted EPS of 7.65 to 7.75 $. Free cash flow guidance was lifted to 9.0 to 9.2 billion $ from a prior range of 8.50 to 8.75 billion $.
Backlog stood at 340 billion $ at quarter-end. Commercial operations accounted for 176 billion $ of that total, with the defense business contributing the remaining 164 billion $.
Pratt & Whitney Insolvency Weighs on Results
The quarterly filings also disclosed a 363 million $ charge at Pratt & Whitney tied to a customer's insolvency.
RTX at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Separately, RTX unit Collins Aerospace announced the deployment of its Tower MicroELITE surveillance solution at San Bernardino International Airport — the first site to adopt the system. The company said the solution received FAA system design approval as a tool for aircraft position referencing.
Analysts responded favorably to the quarter. Barclays raised its price target to 235 $ from 223 $ on Wednesday, according to media reports, while reaffirming its "Overweight" rating on the shares.
Ad
RTX Stock: New Analysis - 26 October
Fresh RTX information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
