General Dynamics Reports First-Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Revenue of $10.7 billion, up 8.6% from year-ago quarter
Operating earnings of $1 billion, up 10.4% from year-ago quarter
Diluted EPS of $2.88, up 9.1% from year-ago quarter
Operating margin of 9.7%, a 20 basis-point expansion from year-ago quarter

RESTON, Va. – General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) today reported first-quarter 2024 revenues of $10.7 billion, up 8.6% from the first quarter of 2023. Operating earnings of $1 billion were up 10.4% from the year-ago quarter, with operating margins expanding 20 basis points to 9.7% from the year-ago quarter. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $2.88, up 9.1% from the year-ago quarter.

“Our businesses delivered solid operating results in the quarter, growing revenue and backlog, while expanding margins, even as we awaited G700 certification,” said Phebe N. Novakovic, chairman and chief executive officer. “In the Aerospace segment, the recent FAA certification of the Gulfstream G700 has enabled us to begin customer deliveries. This is a strong start to 2024 and we remain confident in our outlook.”

Cash and Capital Deployment

Net cash used by operating activities in the quarter was $278 million due to growth of operating working capital in both the Aerospace and defense segments.

During the quarter, the company invested $159 million in capital expenditures, paid $361 million in dividends, and used $105 million to repurchase more than 390,000 shares, ending the quarter with $1 billion in cash and equivalents.

Backlog

The consolidated book-to-bill ratio, defined as orders divided by revenue, was 1-to-1 for the quarter. Company-wide backlog of $93.7 billion was up 4.4% from the year-ago quarter. Estimated potential contract value, representing management’s estimate of additional value in unfunded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts and unexercised options, was $40.3 billion. Total estimated contract value, the sum of all backlog components, was $134 billion, up 4.4% from the year-ago quarter.

In the Aerospace segment, orders in the quarter totaled $2.4 billion, growing backlog to $20.5 billion, up 6.2% from the year-ago quarter. Aerospace book-to-bill was 1.2-to-1 for the quarter.

In the defense segments, orders in the quarter totaled $8.8 billion, with particular strength in Combat Systems and Technologies, which had book-to-bill ratios of 1.6-to-1 and 1.2-to-1, respectively.

Significant awards in the defense segments included an IDIQ contract from the U.S. Army to provide medium-caliber ammunition cartridges, with a maximum potential value of $3 billion among two awardees; $1.3 billion, with a maximum potential value of $2 billion, from Austria’s ministry of defense to produce Pandur 6x6 wheeled combat vehicles; four IDIQ contracts from the Canadian government with a maximum potential value of $1.3 billion to support the Land Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) system for the Canadian army; $505 million, with a maximum potential value of $995 million, for several key contracts for classified customers; $325 million from the Canadian government to produce armored combat support vehicles; and $310 million from the U.S. Navy for maintenance, modernization and repair work on a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship. A detailed list of significant awards is provided in Exhibit G.

About General Dynamics

Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, General Dynamics is a global aerospace and defense company that offers a broad portfolio of products and services in business aviation; ship construction and repair; land combat vehicles, weapons systems and munitions; and technology products and services. General Dynamics employs more than 100,000 people worldwide and generated $42.3 billion in revenue in 2023. More information is available at www.gd.com.

WEBCAST INFORMATION: General Dynamics will webcast its first-quarter 2024 financial results conference call at 9 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The webcast will be a listen-only audio event available at www.gd.com. An on-demand replay of the webcast will be available by telephone two hours after the end of the call through May 1, 2024, at 800-770-2030 (international: +1 609-800-9909), conference ID 4299949. Charts furnished to investors and securities analysts in connection with General Dynamics’ announcement of its financial results are available at www.gd.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements (FLS), including statements about the company’s future operational and financial performance, which are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “forecasts,” “scheduled,” “outlook,” “estimates,” “should” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify FLS. In making FLS, we rely on assumptions and analyses based on our experience and perception of historical trends; current conditions and expected future developments; and other factors, estimates and judgments we consider reasonable and appropriate based on information available to us at the time. FLS are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. FLS are not guarantees of future performance and involve factors, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in the FLS. All FLS speak only as of the date they were made. We do not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release revisions to FLS to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release. Additional information regarding these factors is contained in the company’s filings with the SEC, and these factors may be revised or supplemented in future SEC filings. In addition, this press release contains some financial measures not prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). While we believe these non-GAAP metrics provide useful information for investors, there are limitations associated with their use, and our calculations of these metrics may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Non-GAAP metrics should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, GAAP measures. Reconciliations to comparable GAAP measures and other information relating to our non-GAAP measures are included in other filings with the SEC, which are available at investorrelations.gd.com.