HII raises 2026 shipbuilding revenue forecast as Q3 sales rise 10.8%

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII) raised its 2026 shipbuilding revenue forecast on Oct. 29 and reported third-quarter results that the company described as a record for revenue, it said in a press release furnished with a filing.

The company builds manned and unmanned maritime systems and mission technologies, and employs 46,000 people across three divisions.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $3.5 billion, up 10.8% from a year earlier. Net earnings rose to $217 million from $145 million, and diluted earnings per share were $5.48, compared with $3.68.

Here's how the company did:

• Diluted earnings per share: $5.48 vs. $3.68 a year earlier
• Revenue: $3,537 million vs. $3,192 million a year earlier
• Operating income: $246 million vs. $161 million a year earlier
• Segment operating margin: 7.4% vs. 5.6% a year earlier

New contract awards in the quarter totaled $32.4 billion, and year-to-date awards reached $43.1 billion, the company said.

“Our third quarter results reflect solid performance across all three segments,” Chris Kastner, HII's president and CEO, said. He said the company's awards in the quarter “have now secured approximately 90 percent of our expected shipbuilding revenue through 2030.”

Segment results

Newport News Shipbuilding revenue was $1.9 billion, up 18.1% from a year earlier, driven by higher volumes in submarines and aircraft carriers.

The segment's operating income was $132 million, up $52 million. The company said contract adjustments and incentives in the Virginia-class submarine program and higher submarine and aircraft carrier volumes drove the increase.

Ingalls Shipbuilding revenue was $876 million, up 5.8%, primarily on higher volumes in amphibious assault ships.

Ingalls segment operating income fell $6 million to $59 million. The company said the decrease was primarily driven by lower performance in surface combatants.

Mission Technologies revenue was $792 million, up 0.6%, as higher volumes in Unmanned Systems were partially offset by lower volumes in Global Security. Segment operating income rose $37 million to $71 million, and the company said it achieved third quarter book-to-bill of 2.4x.

2026 guidance

The company raised its FY26 shipbuilding revenue forecast to between $10.5 billion and $10.7 billion. It had given a range of $10.2 billion to $10.4 billion in its July 30 results release.

It reaffirmed its FY26 shipbuilding operating margin range of 6.0% to 6.5%, and its FY26 free cash flow outlook of $500 million to $600 million.

Mission Technologies revenue guidance is unchanged at $3.0 billion to $3.2 billion. The company now expects a Mission Technologies segment operating margin of about 6%, up from about 5%.

The company also set a cumulative FY26 and FY27 free cash flow target of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion.

Cash and capital returns

Net cash provided by operating activities was $520 million in the quarter, compared with $118 million a year earlier. Free cash flow was $429 million, compared with $16 million, according to the company's non-GAAP reconciliation.

Dividends declared were $1.38 per share in the quarter, compared with $1.35 a year earlier.