General Dynamics (GD) — Company Research

Last Updated: 20 Oct 2026

General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) is a US aerospace and defence group with four businesses: Gulfstream business jets, nuclear submarines and surface ships, combat vehicles and munitions, and government IT and mission systems. FY2025 revenue rose 10.1% to a record $52.55bn and diluted EPS rose 13% to $15.45. Growth continued in 2026: Q2 revenue rose 8.1% to $14.1bn, backlog reached a record $136.5bn after a $76.6bn Navy submarine award, and management raised 2026 EPS guidance to $16.80–16.90. On 07 Oct 2026 the board named President Danny Deep as the next CEO, succeeding Phebe Novakovic from 01 Jan 2027. This refreshed report covers results through Q2 2026, the balance sheet at 05 Jul 2026, valuation and risks, using company releases and SEC filings only. Q3 2026 results are due on 30 Oct 2026.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Ticker / Exchange	GD / NYSE
CEO / Leadership	Phebe Novakovic, Chairman & CEO (since 2013); Danny Deep, President, CEO-elect from 01 Jan 2027; Kimberly Kuryea, CFO
Sector	Aerospace & defence — business jets, shipbuilding, land combat systems and munitions, government IT
Employees	~117,000 at 31 Dec 2025, ~84% US-based (FY2025 10-K)
Market cap	~$92.4bn ($341.43 at 19 Oct 2026 close × 270.56m shares at 05 Jul 2026)
FY2025 Revenue	$52,550m (+10.1%)
FY2025 net earnings	$4,210m (diluted EPS $15.45, +13.4%)
Backlog	Record $136.5bn at 05 Jul 2026 (total estimated contract value $186.9bn), up from $118.0bn at 31 Dec 2025
2026 guidance	Revenue ~$55.7bn, diluted EPS $16.80–16.90, operating margin ~10.5%, ~160 Gulfstream deliveries (raised 29 Jul 2026)
Dividend	$1.59 quarterly (raised 6% from $1.50 on 09 Mar 2026), $6.36 annualised, ~1.9% yield at $341.43

2. Bull & Bear Case

Bull Case

• Record backlog after submarine awards: Backlog reached $136.5bn at 05 Jul 2026. On 29 Jul 2026 Electric Boat was awarded $29.5bn for five more Columbia-class and $42.1bn for nine more Virginia-class submarines, part of a $76.6bn Navy award.
• Gulfstream momentum: Aerospace revenue rose 15.1% in Q2 2026 at a 14.5% margin, with a 1.5x book-to-bill. Management expects about 160 deliveries in 2026 after 158 in 2025.
• Consistent earnings growth: Revenue grew at about 8.1% a year from FY2021 to FY2025 and diluted EPS rose from $11.55 to $15.45. 2026 EPS guidance has been raised twice, from $16.10–16.20 in January to $16.80–16.90.
• Strong cash and falling debt: Free cash flow was $3.6bn in H1 2026, and net debt fell from $5.68bn at the end of 2025 to $3.18bn at 05 Jul 2026.
• Dividend growth: The quarterly dividend has risen from $1.19 in 2021 to $1.59 in 2026, and GD also bought back $319m of stock in H1 2026.

Bear Case

• Thin shipbuilding margins: Marine Systems is the largest segment but earned only a 7.3% margin in Q2 2026 (~7.4% guided for 2026). Management describes the shipbuilding supply chain as under great pressure, and the first Columbia boat is not due until 2028.
• Business-jet cyclicality: Gulfstream demand is cyclical, the G300 and G400 have no announced certification dates, and tariffs cut Aerospace margin by 30 basis points in 2025.
• Munitions execution: A DoD Inspector General report found the GD-OTS Mesquite, Texas plant had produced no usable M795 projectile metal parts as of Mar 2026, against a design rate of 30,000 a month.
• Second-half cash headwinds: H1 cash flow was flattered by a $1.17bn rise in customer advances. Management expects higher capex, a ~$500m pension contribution and more than $500m of cash tax in H2 2026.
• Insider selling and leadership change: The CEO sold 51,568 shares (~$19.7m) on 03 Aug 2026, all 2026 insider transactions found were sales, and leadership passes to a new CEO on 01 Jan 2027.

3. Business Segments

General Dynamics reports four segments. Percentages use FY2025 revenue of $52,550m.

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Marine Systems	31.8% ($16,723m)	Electric Boat (Columbia- and Virginia-class nuclear submarines), Bath Iron Works (DDG-51 destroyers) and NASSCO (auxiliary ships and repair); submarines alone were $12,608m.
Technologies	25.6% ($13,471m)	GDIT (IT modernisation, cloud, cyber, AI and machine learning for government) and Mission Systems (C5ISR systems).
Aerospace	24.9% ($13,110m)	Gulfstream business jets (aircraft manufacturing $9,413m) plus Jet Aviation and Gulfstream services, maintenance and FBOs ($3,697m).
Combat Systems	17.6% ($9,246m)	Land Systems (Abrams, Stryker, XM30), European Land Systems (Piranha, ASCOD) and Ordnance and Tactical Systems (artillery ammunition, propellants, rocket-motor parts).

Q2 2026 segment revenue was Marine $4,660m (+10.4%), Technologies $3,619m (+4.1%), Aerospace $3,525m (+15.1%) and Combat $2,290m (+0.3%).

4. Business Model & Moat

How it makes money. About 70% of revenue comes from the US government, mainly through long-term shipbuilding, vehicle, munitions and IT services contracts, with profit booked over the life of each contract. The rest comes mostly from Gulfstream jet sales and aircraft services to corporations, governments and wealthy individuals, where customers pay deposits and progress payments before delivery.

Duopoly shipyards and installed fleets. Electric Boat is one of only two US builders of nuclear submarines and the prime on the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine, a 12-boat programme the 10-K values at more than $125bn. The Abrams tank and Stryker fleets, and Gulfstream’s large installed jet base, generate decades of upgrade, sustainment and service revenue.

Trade-offs. Shipbuilding is labour- and supplier-intensive and earns single-digit margins. Gulfstream is exposed to the business-jet cycle and to aircraft certification timing.

5. Financial Health

Annual figures are from General Dynamics’ Q4 earnings releases and SEC XBRL filings. Long-term debt is the non-current balance-sheet amount at year end.

Fiscal Year	Revenue ($m)	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2021	$38,469m	+1.4%	$11.55	$11.55†	$4.76‡	$10,490m
FY2022	$39,407m	+2.4%	$12.19	$12.19†	$5.04‡	$9,243m
FY2023	$42,272m	+7.3%	$12.02	$12.02†	$5.28‡	$8,754m
FY2024	$47,716m	+12.9%	$13.63	$13.63†	$5.68‡	$7,260m
FY2025	$52,550m	+10.1%	$15.45	$15.45†	$6.00‡	$7,007m

† General Dynamics reports GAAP diluted EPS only and publishes no adjusted EPS, so the GAAP figure is repeated. ‡ Four quarterly declarations at the rate set each March, per the quarterly amounts tagged in SEC XBRL ($1.19, $1.26, $1.32, $1.42 and $1.50). FY2021 growth is measured against FY2020 revenue of $37,925m.

Quarterly progression, most recent first, with the FY2025 total in bold:

Quarter / Half	Revenue	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q2 2026	$14,094m	$4.24†	$4.24
Q1 2026	$13,481m	$4.10†	$4.10
Q4 2025	$14,379m	$4.17†	$4.17
Q3 2025	$12,907m	$3.88†	$3.88
Q2 2025	$13,041m	$3.74†	$3.74
Q1 2025	$12,223m	$3.66†	$3.66
FY2025 total	$52,550m	$15.45†	$15.45

Q2 2026 operating earnings rose 11.9% to $1,460m (10.4% margin), Gulfstream delivered 41 aircraft and orders of $20.0bn gave a 1.4x book-to-bill. Over the four quarters to 05 Jul 2026, revenue was ~$54.9bn and diluted EPS ~$16.39.

Cash flow and balance sheet. All figures are from SEC XBRL filings and General Dynamics’ earnings releases (FY2025 10-K and the Q2 2026 release).

• Operating cash flow: $5,120m in FY2025; ~$7,705m trailing twelve months to 05 Jul 2026, lifted by $4,035m in H1 2026 that included a $1,168m increase in customer advances and deposits.
• Capital expenditure: $1,161m in FY2025, giving free cash flow of $3,959m; ~$1,258m trailing twelve months, giving TTM free cash flow of ~$6,447m.
• Depreciation & amortisation: $924m in FY2025 (depreciation $680m plus amortisation of intangible and finance-lease assets $244m); ~$941m trailing twelve months.
• Debt at 05 Jul 2026: $6,260m of long-term debt plus $1,256m of short-term debt and current portion, $7,516m in total.
• Cash at 05 Jul 2026: cash and equivalents $4,333m; no short-term marketable securities are reported. Net debt was $3,183m and shareholders’ equity $26,826m.

6. Valuation

Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$92.4bn (price $341.43 at 19 Oct 2026 close × 270.56m shares)
Enterprise value	~$95.6bn (market cap ~$92.4bn + total debt ~$7.5bn − cash ~$4.3bn per 05 Jul 2026 balance sheet)
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	~20.8x ($341.43 / TTM diluted EPS ~$16.39, Q3 2025–Q2 2026)
P/E (forward)	~20.3x ($341.43 / $16.85, the midpoint of 2026 EPS guidance of $16.80–16.90)
P/S (TTM)	~1.68x ($92.4bn / ~$54.9bn TTM revenue)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~14.5x (EV ~$95.6bn / TTM EBITDA ~$6.60bn; EBITDA = operating earnings ~$5.66bn + D&A ~$0.94bn from the cash flow statement). On FY2025 EBITDA of ~$6.28bn ($5.36bn + $0.92bn) it is ~15.2x
P/FCF	~23.3x (market cap ~$92.4bn / FY2025 FCF ~$3.96bn; FCF = operating CF $5.12bn − capex $1.16bn per FY2025 cash flow statement). On TTM FCF of ~$6.45bn, boosted by customer advances, it is ~14.3x
Dividend yield	~1.9% ($6.36 annualised / $341.43)
52-week high	$400.00 (30 Jul 2026)
52-week low	$306.77
Short interest (% of float)	~0.81% (2.17m shares at the 30 Sep 2026 settlement, down 19% from the prior report)
Days to cover	~1.5 days

7. What Are They Building

General Dynamics is ramping submarine output, bringing new Gulfstream models to market and developing the next generation of US Army ground vehicles.

• Columbia-class submarines: The 12-boat ballistic-missile submarine programme is the Navy’s top acquisition priority. The Navy said in Feb 2026 that the first boat was about 65% complete and targeted for 2028 delivery, and hours earned on Columbia rose 37% year on year in H1 2026. Five more boats were awarded on 29 Jul 2026.
• Virginia-class submarines: Nine more attack submarines were awarded on 29 Jul 2026, on top of 14 in backlog at the end of 2025 with deliveries through 2034. The goal is one Columbia and up to two Virginias a year.
• Gulfstream line-up: The G700 entered service in 2024 and the G800 was certified in Apr 2025. The super-midsize G300, launched in Sep 2025 to replace the G280, made its first flight on 05 Dec 2025, and the large-cabin G400 has been in flight test since Aug 2024.
• Land combat vehicles: Land Systems is developing the next-generation M1E3 Abrams, with the Army’s FY2027 request including $474m of research funding, and is delivering eight XM30 prototypes in 2026. On 07 Oct 2026 it agreed to integrate Primordial Labs’ natural-language command software into Abrams and future vehicles.
• Munitions and digital: Ordnance and Tactical Systems is expanding 155mm artillery, propellant and solid-rocket-motor component capacity, while GDIT is building AI and data services, including the $1.3bn ENOCS network and cyber contract for the Army National Guard won on 07 Aug 2026.

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8. Competitive Landscape

General Dynamics competes with different peers in each segment: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and RTX for defence budgets, Huntington Ingalls in naval shipbuilding (where the two yards also cooperate on submarines), and Textron Aviation and Bombardier in business jets. Market caps are 19 Oct 2026 values from Google Finance, and metrics come from each company’s FY2025 results release.

Peer	Market cap (Oct 2026)	Key 2025 metric
RTX Corporation (RTX)	~$258.9bn	FY2025 sales $88.6bn, per RTX FY2025 results release
Lockheed Martin (LMT)	~$126.5bn	FY2025 net sales $75.0bn, per Lockheed Q4 2025 release
Northrop Grumman (NOC)	~$72.5bn	FY2025 sales $42.0bn, diluted EPS $29.08, per Northrop Q4 2025 release
Textron (TXT)	~$13.1bn	FY2025 revenue $14.8bn; Textron Aviation delivered 171 jets, per Textron Q4 2025 release
Huntington Ingalls (HII)	~$10.6bn	FY2025 revenue $12.5bn (+8.2%), per HII Q4 2025 release

9. Leadership & Insider Activity

Phebe Novakovic has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 2013. On 07 Oct 2026 the board elected Danny Deep, President since Dec 2025 and a 25-year GD veteran, as CEO effective 01 Jan 2027, with Novakovic becoming Executive Chairman. Kimberly Kuryea has been CFO since Feb 2024. Form 4 filings show no open-market insider purchases in 2026; the sales below mostly followed option exercises. Several filings report weighted average prices, so values are estimates.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
Robert K. Steel (Director)	23 Sep 2026	Option exercise and sale	7,440	~$346.05	~$2.57m	No 10b5-1 plan indicated on Form 4
Peter A. Wall (Director)	10 Aug 2026	Option exercise and sale	1,990	$396.43	~$0.79m	No 10b5-1 plan indicated on Form 4
Christopher J. Brady (Vice President)	05 Aug 2026	Option exercise and sale	6,320	$383.32	~$2.42m	No 10b5-1 plan indicated on Form 4
Phebe Novakovic (Chairman & CEO)	03 Aug 2026	Sale	51,568	~$381.17–383.85	~$19.7m	No 10b5-1 plan indicated on Form 4
Marguerite Amy Gilliland (EVP)	31 Jul 2026	Option exercise and sale	43,180	~$377.44–378.42	~$16.3m	No 10b5-1 plan indicated on Form 4
Mark L. Burns (EVP)	11 May 2026	Option exercise and sale	72,710	$344.39	~$25.0m	No 10b5-1 plan indicated on Form 4

On 31 Jul 2026 Novakovic exercised 166,660 options at $165.47 and had 115,092 shares withheld to cover the exercise and tax; she held 766,457 shares directly after the August sale. Discuss insider activity with other members on the ChartsView Forum.

10. Key Risks

• US budget dependence (Macro): About 70% of revenue comes from the US government. Continuing resolutions, shutdowns and terminations for convenience can delay funding, and GD entered 2026 under a continuing resolution.
• Shipbuilding supply chain and labour (Operational): Electric Boat relies on about 3,000 suppliers, some single-source for large components that management calls potential pacing constraints. Hiring and retaining skilled shipyard labour is a constraint, and about 23% of the workforce is unionised.
• Contract estimates (Financial): Earnings depend on cost and schedule assumptions over long contracts; lower labour productivity or higher material costs can force unfavourable estimate changes, particularly on lower-margin shipbuilding.
• Gulfstream certification and demand (Operational): New models such as the G300 and G400 face regulatory certification risk, business-jet demand is cyclical, and tariffs, a delayed mid-cabin airframe supplier and Russia sanctions have affected the business.
• Munitions ramp execution (Operational): The DoD Inspector General found the Army-funded Mesquite artillery plant had produced no usable M795 metal parts as of Mar 2026. GD-OTS has agreed a path forward that includes its own investment.
• Leadership transition (Governance): Danny Deep succeeds a CEO who has led the company since 2013, on 01 Jan 2027; strategy and capital-allocation priorities could change.
• Federal IT spending (Regulatory): Some GDIT work was hit by 2025 federal cost-cutting and contract terminations, and further procurement changes could affect Technologies.

11. Recent Developments

• 09 Oct 2026 — Q3 date set. General Dynamics will webcast its Q3 2026 results call on 30 Oct at 9:00am EDT.
• 07 Oct 2026 — Danny Deep named CEO. The board elected President Danny Deep as CEO effective 01 Jan 2027; Phebe Novakovic will become Executive Chairman.
• 07 Oct 2026 — AI teaming for combat vehicles. GD Land Systems signed a master teaming agreement with Primordial Labs to bring natural-language control to Abrams and next-generation ground vehicles.
• 07 Aug 2026 — GDIT wins ENOCS. GDIT was awarded the $1.3bn Enterprise Network Operations and Cybersecurity Support contract for the Army National Guard, with a one-year base and six option years.
• 06 Aug 2026 — Board appointment. President Danny Deep was elected to the board of directors.
• 05 Aug 2026 — Dividend declared. The board declared a $1.59 quarterly dividend, payable 13 Nov 2026 to holders of record on 09 Oct.
• 29 Jul 2026 — $71.6bn of submarine contracts. Electric Boat was awarded $29.5bn for five Columbia-class and $42.1bn for nine Virginia-class submarines as part of a $76.6bn Navy award.
• 29 Jul 2026 — Q2 2026 results and guidance raise. Revenue rose 8.1% to $14.1bn and diluted EPS 13.4% to $4.24, backlog hit a record $136.5bn and 2026 EPS guidance rose to $16.80–16.90.

Budget and macro releases that move defence stocks are tracked on the Economic Calendar.

12. Key Dates

• 30 Oct 2026 — Q3 2026 results, conference call 9:00am EDT
• 13 Nov 2026 — $1.59 quarterly dividend payable (record date 09 Oct 2026)
• Expected Dec 2026 — next quarterly dividend declaration
• 01 Jan 2027 — Danny Deep becomes CEO and Phebe Novakovic Executive Chairman
• Expected Jan 2027 — Q4 and full-year 2026 results with 2027 guidance (FY2025 results were released on 28 Jan 2026)
• Expected 2028 — delivery of the first Columbia-class submarine

The FY2027 US defence appropriations timetable remains uncertain; a continuing resolution would limit new starts and production-rate increases.

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