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

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 16.800-16.900 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS 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

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna upped their target price on General Dynamics from $420.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $435.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $406.32.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $4.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $377.74. The company had a trading volume of 109,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,351,948. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $306.03 and a fifty-two week high of $400.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $359.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $14.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.52 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 8.18%.General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 EPS. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 16.66 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given 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 yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 38.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Key General Dynamics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results and raised guidance: General Dynamics reported adjusted EPS of $4.24, beating the $3.96 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $14.09 billion, above estimates. Growth was broad-based across all four segments, led by Aerospace and Marine Systems. Management projected fiscal 2026 EPS of $16.80–$16.90 and revenue of approximately $55.7 billion, both ahead of consensus. General Dynamics Corporation Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Record backlog and cash generation: Orders exceeded quarterly sales, supporting future revenue visibility, while the backlog reached approximately $136.5 billion. The earnings call highlighted strong cash generation, although supply-chain constraints and margin pressure remain considerations. General Dynamics Corp Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Largest-ever submarine award: General Dynamics Electric Boat received $29.5 billion for five Columbia-class submarines and $42.1 billion for nine Virginia-class submarines, plus infrastructure support, as part of a $76.6 billion Navy award shared with HII. The contracts should strengthen long-term revenue and capacity utilization. General Dynamics Electric Boat Submarine Award
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $465 with an overweight rating, Susquehanna lifted its target to $455 with a positive rating, and BNP Paribas Exane increased its target to $430 while maintaining an outperform rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive fundamentals versus spending uncertainty: William Blair maintained a Hold rating, citing strong execution and fundamentals but limited visibility into future U.S. defense spending.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: With GD trading near its yearly high at a P/E of roughly 23, some analysts argue that substantial optimism is already reflected in the stock and have issued downgrades despite strong contract tailwinds. General Dynamics Has Run Its Course

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 140.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth about $240,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $352,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,284,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.