Northrop Grumman Q3 FY2026: sales up 7.0%, EPS $7.89, guidance raised
Northrop Grumman beat the $7.253 consensus EPS with $7.89 and lifted full-year guidance across sales, segment income, EPS and free cash flow, so the quarter reads bullish on demand. Note what did the work, though: a 13.4% tax rate, a larger pension credit and a 1.5x book-to-bill — not a fattening operating margin, which slipped to 11.4%. Read the scorecard for growth, then guidance, then cash.
1 · Expected vs. Actual
Free preview belowDiluted EPS of $7.89 beat the $7.253 consensus by $0.64, or 8.8%, and rose 3% from $7.67 a year earlier. The beat leans on tax rather than margin: the effective rate fell to 13.4% from 16.9% on higher research credits. Nine-month EPS of $21.72 is 14% above last year's $19.12.
Sales rose 7.0% to $11.12 billion from $10.42 billion, with Aeronautics up 14.0% and Defense Systems up 12.0%. Mission Systems and Space Systems grew only 2.0% each, and $664 million of intersegment eliminations pulled the total down. Growth is concentrated in two segments, not spread evenly.
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Figures on this page come from the company's original SEC filings. The analysis is generated automatically and checked against validation rules, but may still contain errors or omissions. Not investment advice. · Generated 2026-10-20
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