Pratt & Whitney was a major driver of stronger-than-expected full-year 2025 results at RTX, with the East Hartford jet-engine maker posting a 53% increase in operating profit in the fourth quarter.
RTX, the Arlington, Virginia-based aerospace and defense company, reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.55, topping forecasts of $1.47. Revenue also beat expectations, totaling $24.2 billion versus projections of $22.69 billion.
Pratt & Whitney’s fourth-quarter sales rose 25% year over year, driven by growth across commercial engines, maintenance deals and military contracts.
“On the commercial side of the business, our backlog is up 29% year-over-year, driven by growing aircraft production rates and resilient passenger air travel,” RTX CEO Chris Calio said Tuesday during an earnings call with analysts.
The company expects 70% of Pratt’s growth in 2026 to come from commercial after-market maintenance contracts.
Meantime, RTX continues to put money aside to deal with aircraft groundings caused by manufacturing defects in its geared turbofan engine.
In 2023, Pratt & Whitney announced that more than 1,000 of its engines needed to be removed and re-inspected after the discovery of microscopic cracks due to a defect in a powder metal coating. The condition affected engines built for the Airbus A320neo between 2015 and 2021.
Executives say they expect compensation to airlines to be around $700 million in 2026. That would bring the cumulative amount it has spent on the repair program to total $2.8 billion by the end of the year.
On the defense side, Calio said Pratt booked $2.2 billion in sustainment contracts in 2025 for multiple engines, including the F135 and F119.
He also said RTX is expanding the use of proprietary data analytics and artificial intelligence tools across its factories to monitor performance and identify bottlenecks.
“Across RTX we’ve now connected factories that represent over 50% of our annual manufacturing hours to our digital platform,” he said.
RTX also continues to work with its supply chain companies to improve production — and Calio noted RTX isn’t looking to bring more capabilities in-house.
“It’s really about infusing more capital into the supply base, strengthening that supply base and then finding new suppliers in some of the constrained value streams,” he said.
He responded to criticisms that President Donald Trump leveled at the company earlier this month.
Trump labeled RTX the “least responsive” defense contractor to Pentagon needs, saying the company has prioritized shareholder returns over military requirements.
“We understand our products are critical to national security, and across the organization we absolutely feel the responsibility and urgency to deliver more and to deliver it faster,” Calio said. “Our focus and resources are fully aligned with the department’s mandate to ramp production and invest in capacity.”
However, he also said the company remains committed to providing shareholder dividends.
