Key Highlights

● Orders rose 17% to $16.5 billion, with backlog cited above $210 billion.

● Adjusted EPS was $2.02, up 22%, and free cash flow reached $3.03 billion.

● Operating margin of 21.7% was 130 basis points lower than a year earlier.

● 2026 adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $7.65 to $7.85.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE), the trading name of General Electric Company, reported second-quarter 2026 results on 16 July 2026 for the quarter ended 30 June. According to the company's Form 8-K, orders rose 17% to $16.5 billion, while GAAP revenue increased 21% to $13.35 billion. Adjusted revenue, a non-GAAP measure, was $12.63 billion, up 24%. Operating profit (non-GAAP) was $2.75 billion, up 18%, though the margin of 21.7% was 130 basis points lower than a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were $2.02, up 22%, and free cash flow reached $3.03 billion, up 43%. GAAP continuing EPS was $2.30, up 23%, and cash from operating activities was $3.26 billion, up 39%. The chief executive cited a backlog above $210 billion.

Engines and services drive the mix

Commercial Engines & Services (CES) supplied most of the growth. Segment orders were $12.93 billion, up 18%, and revenue was $9.73 billion, up 27%, with services up 26% and equipment up 30%. CES operating profit rose 20% to $2.66 billion, but the margin of 27.3% was 160 basis points lower. The pattern, in which revenue growth outpaces profit growth, means percentage margins fell even as absolute profit expanded. The filing does not attribute the margin decline to a single cause.

Defence and Propulsion Technologies

Defense & Propulsion Technologies (DPT) reported orders of $4.14 billion, up 12%, and revenue of $3.44 billion, up 16%. Within that, Defense & Systems revenue grew 12% and Propulsion & Additive Technologies grew 23%. Operating profit was $475 million, up 18%, and the margin improved by 30 basis points to 13.8%. DPT is considerably smaller than CES and carries a lower margin, so its contribution to group profit is more modest, based on reported segment figures. Yet it was the only segment whose margin moved upward in the quarter, which is a useful counterpoint to the compression seen in the larger commercial business.

Guidance and capital returns

Management raised its full-year 2026 guidance. For CES it expects revenue growth of about 20% and operating profit of $10.25 billion to $10.35 billion; for DPT, low double-digit revenue growth and operating profit of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion. Adjusted revenue growth is now expected in the high teens, against low double digits previously. Operating profit is guided to $10.55 billion to $10.75 billion, adjusted EPS to $7.65 to $7.85, and free cash flow to $8.9 billion to $9.2 billion. Separately, the Form 10-Q shows that in the second quarter the company repurchased about 6.9 million shares for roughly $2.0 billion at an average price of $292.17, and that about $18.0 billion remains under a $20 billion authorisation approved in December 2025. The filing reports $873 million of dividends paid in the first half.

Tariff Refunds and Margin Compression Against Raised Guidance

The company's own forward-looking statements list macroeconomic conditions, inflation, interest rates, tariffs, supply chain disruption, Middle East conflict and product safety or quality issues as risks. On tariffs, the 10-Q says that the Supreme Court ruled against tariffs imposed under IEEPA, that GE Aerospace sought refunds and received part of what it had paid, that lower tariffs contributed to a $0.8 billion inventory-related cash flow benefit in the first half, and that zero-for-zero aerospace tariff arrangements with several jurisdictions remain in place. The shares sit within the S&P 500. The balance of strong demand, declining segment margins and a raised guidance range is the central issue.