Northrop Q3 Beats: Sales Up 7% to $11.1B, Backlog Hits Record $109.6B, 2026 Guidance Raised
NOC is trading near its 52-week low of $470.06 (8.6% above the low).
Summary
Northrop posted 7% sales growth to $11.1B and $7.89 EPS, lifted 2026 EPS guidance by $0.70 at the midpoint, and grew backlog to a record $109.6B on 1.5x book-to-bill.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · NOC
-
Q3 Sales Up 7% to $11.1B
Sales rose to $11.1B from $10.4B, with Aeronautics up 14% and Defense Systems up 12%; diluted EPS was $7.89 versus $7.67 a year ago.
-
2026 Guidance Raised
Segment operating income guidance lifted to $4.94-5.04B from $4.85-5.00B, and MTM-adjusted EPS to $29.35-29.75 from $28.60-29.10 — a $0.70 midpoint increase.
-
Record $109.6B Backlog
Net awards of $16.4B produced a 1.5x book-to-bill; backlog rose 15% from $95.7B at year-end 2025, led by $4.6B of restricted programs and $2.0B for Sentinel.
-
Margin Slips on Pension Adjustment
Total operating margin fell to 11.4% from 11.9% as the FAS/CAS operating adjustment dropped $52M to $15M; segment margin was 12.1% versus 12.3%.
Analysis · NOC · Manufacturing
A clean beat-and-raise quarter from Northrop. Sales grew 7% to $11.1B and EPS came in at $7.89, while a 1.5x book-to-bill pushed backlog to a record $109.6B — up 15% since year-end. Management raised 2026 segment operating income guidance by $65M at the midpoint and MTM-adjusted EPS by $0.70, the figure that resets consensus for the year. Margin was the one soft spot: total operating margin slipped to 11.4% from 11.9% on a lower FAS/CAS pension adjustment, and Mission Systems margin fell on a tough prior-year comparison. Cash generation stood out, with adjusted free cash flow up 44% to $1.81B.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 21, 2026, 29.2% of the 1544 measured filings Wiseek scored 7 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.49%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, NOC was trading at $510.65 on NYSE in the Manufacturing sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $72.5B. The 52-week trading range was $470.06 to $774.00. This filing was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.