General Dynamics saw its third-quarter 2024 revenue increase 10.4 percent to $11.7 billion and reported operating earnings of $1.2 billion and $3.35 in diluted earnings per share, up 10.2 percent from the prior-year period.
In an earnings report published Wednesday, the Reston, Virginia-based defense and aerospace contractor said it achieved a companywide backlog of $92.6 billion with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1-to-1 during the quarter.
The company reported $1.4 billion in net cash from operating activities and ended the quarter with $2.1 billion in cash and equivalents on hand. It spent $44 million to repurchase shares and paid $390 million in dividends in the quarter.
Financial Results of Defense Segments
At an earnings call Wednesday, General Dynamics Chairman and CEO Phebe Novakovic said the company’s defense businesses “saw strong growth and good operating performance across the portfolio.”
For the quarter, Novakovic said combat systems posted $2.2 billion in revenue and approximately $18 billion in backlog and saw its earnings rise 8.3 percent to $325 million.
According to the chief executive, the marine systems revenue climbed 20 percent to $3.6 billion during the third quarter, driven by Columbia-class submarine construction and engineering volume and Virginia-class submarine.
The company’s technologies segment, which includes General Dynamics Information Technology and General Dynamics Mission Systems, logged $3.4 billion in Q3 revenue, up 2 percent from the same period the previous year, and reported $326 million in operating earnings.
“The growth for this quarter and the first nine months was driven by GDIT’s investments in their digital accelerators. Mission Systems was flat year over year as they continue to transition from legacy programs to new franchises,” the nine-time Wash100 awardee said of the technologies segment.
“GDIT and Mission Systems have shared in the robust order activity so far this year, demonstrating the strength of this portfolio and prospects remain strong with a large qualified funnel of more than $120 billion in opportunities they are pursuing across the group,” Novakovic added.
Notable Q3 Defense Awards
The third-quarter orders booked by General Dynamics’ defense segments totaled $10.5 billion.
Significant defense awards during the quarter include two U.S. Army contracts worth $1.7 billion combined for 155mm artillery projectile metal parts; a potential $6.7 billion contract for the construction of additional John Lewis-class (T-AO-205) fleet replenishment oilers; and $1.5 billion for long-lead materials Block VI Virginia-class submarines.
