Higher deliveries toss Gulfstream revenues up by 45%
General Dynamics, which owns the Gulfstream brand, aerospace revenues jumped by a staggering 45.2% during the first quarter of 2025 to reach $3bn, up by $942m in absolute basis from same period last year owing to better supply chain and G700 deliveries.
The revenue growth was underpinned by sharp jump in first quarter deliveries. The company delivered 36 Gulfstream aircraft during the three months, 12 more than same period last year. Further breakdown showed that of these 36 deliveries, 30 were large-cabin aircraft with remainder six being mid-cabins.
“The aerospace segment saw a significant increase in profitability, reflecting the manufacturing efficiencies associated with reaching higher levels of production on our new aircraft models,” said Phebe Novakovic, chairman and chief executive officer of General Dynamics.
“To give you a little color here, the increase was driven by a 50% increase in aircraft deliveries, including 13 new G700s and higher services revenue at both Gulfstream and Jet Aviation,” she added further during the earnings call.
“The 36 deliveries in the quarter are about as planned. Recall, however, that there were no G700 deliveries in the first quarter of 2024. So this quarter really shows the robust revenue increase driven by the introduction of the G700. In addition, we saw improved margins on our G700 deliveries. In short, we expect revenue growth throughout the year, but at a slowing rate of growth because G700 deliveries began in the second quarter of last year. As I indicated last quarter, the supply chain continues to improve and is performing better to both schedule and quality.”
The aerospace segment remained the standout performer for the company during the quarter showing significant growth in both revenue and profitability. In addition to surge in revenue, the segment’s operating earnings climbed to $432m compared to $255m from last year – an increase of 69.4% year-over-year. This translates to operating margin of 14.3% – a jump of 210 basis points from same period of last year.
Although the company saw higher deliveries which translated to better top line, it’s book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.8x compared to 1.2x in the same period of last year.
At the end of first quarter, General Dynamics’ aerospace segment’s backlog hit stood at $18.99bn – lowest in the previous five quarters.
On a cumulative basis, General Dynamics reported operating earnings of $1.3bn, or $3.66 per diluted share (EPS), on revenue of $12.2bn. Compared with the year-ago quarter, operating earnings increased 22.4%,diluted EPS increased 27.1%, and revenue increased 13.9%.
Operating margin of 10.4% was a 70-basis-point expansion from the year-ago quarter.
