General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 16.800-16.900 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 16.670. The company issued revenue guidance of $55.7 billion-$55.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $55.2 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $393.32.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $3.47 on Wednesday, hitting $389.72. The company had a trading volume of 361,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,350,709. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $306.03 and a 12-month high of $400.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $358.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.28.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $14.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.52 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 16.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about General Dynamics

Here are the key news stories impacting General Dynamics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Second-quarter adjusted EPS was $4.24, above consensus estimates near $3.95–$3.96, while revenue reached $14.1 billion versus expectations of roughly $13.5 billion. EPS rose 13.4% year over year and revenue increased 8.1%. General Dynamics Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Improve Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was broad-based. Revenue increased across all four business segments, with Aerospace and Marine Systems leading performance. Operating earnings climbed 11.9%, and the operating margin expanded 40 basis points to 10.4%. General Dynamics posts higher quarterly profit on aerospace and marine strength
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and orders support future revenue. Quarterly orders totaled $20 billion, producing a companywide book-to-bill ratio of 1.4-to-1 and lifting backlog to $136.5 billion. Aerospace posted a particularly strong 1.5-to-1 book-to-bill ratio. General Dynamics Q2 revenue rises 8.1% to $14.1 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation was strong. General Dynamics generated $1.9 billion in operating cash flow, equivalent to 162% of net earnings, while paying $429 million in dividends. The Pentagon also reportedly cleared a path for the company’s next Virginia-class submarine contract, potentially supporting Marine Systems demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: The shares recently reached a new 12-month high, which may have increased the likelihood of profit-taking after the earnings release. The broader market was also focused on the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and major technology earnings, creating competing influences.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may weigh on sentiment. Quiver Quantitative reported 12 insider sales and no purchases over the past six months, including sales by CEO Phebe Novakovic and Executive Vice President Mark LaGrand Burns. These transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in business outlook, but they can temper investor enthusiasm.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $40,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 53.1% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 173 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.