RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX stock) is lighting up pre-market trading today, jumping more than 6% following the aerospace and defense giant’s impressive third-quarter earnings release.
The Arlington-based company delivered a knockout performance, reporting adjusted earnings per share of $1.70, crushing Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $1.41 by a comfortable margin.
The standout results were powered by robust demand across all three business segments: Collins Aerospace saw 8% revenue growth, Pratt & Whitney engines surged 16% on strong Airbus A320neo demand, and Raytheon’s defense unit posted a 10% sales increase.
What’s behind RTX stock’s surge today?
RTX stock impressive rally today stems from a powerful combination of earnings beats and upgraded financial guidance that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.70 per share, versus Wall Street’s estimate of $1.41; that’s a solid 29-cent beat.
Revenue also jumped 12% from a year ago to $22.5B, again well ahead of the roughly $21.3B analysts were looking for.
What’s really firing up investors, though, is that RTX didn’t stop at a strong quarter; they raised their full-year outlook.
They now expect adjusted EPS to land between $6.10 and $6.20 (up from $5.80–$5.95), and bumped revenue guidance to $86.5B–$87B, from the earlier $84.75–$85.5B range.
On top of that, the company hauled in a massive $37B in new orders this quarter, including $8B+ in munitions alone, pushing its total backlog to a stunning $251B, up 13% from before.
That kind of order book gives investors confidence that the growth isn’t just a one-off.
CEO Chris Calio also pointed out that this is the sixth straight quarter of margin expansion across all business units, proof that they are not just selling more, they are running the business more efficiently too.
All this comes after earlier worries about tariffs and trade headwinds. So far, RTX seems to be handling that pressure just fine thanks to strong demand on both the commercial and defense sides.
What analysts say?
Analysts on Wall Street are sticking with a bullish view on RTX stock after today’s blowout earnings.
The stock currently carries a “Moderate Buy” rating overall, with an average price target of about $164, so analysts still see some room to run from here.
Out of 21 analysts tracking the company, 16 rate it a Buy or Strong Buy. The remaining five say Hold, and interestingly, no one is calling it a Sell.
Big banks are getting even more upbeat. Bank of America just bumped its target from $150 to $175 and kept a Buy rating.
Morgan Stanley raised its target too, from $165 to $180, pointing to strength across all business units.
UBS is now at $177, TD Cowen went from $155 to $175, and Bernstein recently upped its target from $157 to $181, clearly, confidence is building.
Barron’s notes that the momentum in sentiment really comes down to execution: RTX keeps beating expectations even while dealing with supply chain friction and tariff worries.
And the raised full-year guidance, especially that new adjusted EPS range of $6.10–$6.20 versus the Street’s earlier $5.95 estimate, has convinced analysts that both the aerospace rebound and defense business are still moving in the right direction.
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