It's an first quarter successes on all fronts for Leonardo under the guidance of the outgoing CEO Roberto Cingolani. The Italian aerospace and defense group recorded a significantly higher operating profit higher than analysts' forecasts, supported by a strong recovery in margins in the aerostructures division and greater profitability in thedefense electronics, with orders which have reached their highest levels in recent quarters.
Leonardo shares jumped more than 4% on the Milan Stock Exchange, reaching a high of 55,81 euros.
Leonardo saw double-digit growth year-on-year for orders and ebita, respectively 9 billion (+31%) and 281 million euros (+33%), and for theadjusted net profit, jumped to 184 million (+60%). revenues are increasing to 4,4 billion euros (+ 7%), while the free operating cash flow improved 29%, to -€411 million, with a reduction in cash absorption. New orders were 16% higher than the consensus of €7,79 billion, representing a book-to-bill ratio of approximately 2x. The order backlog grew 23% to €56,81 billion, ensuring production coverage for more than 2,5 years. The group's return on sales increased 120 basis points to 6,3%, compared to 5,1% the previous year.
“All the main economic and financial indicators show significant progress, confirming the effectiveness of the commercial and operational actions implemented by the Group and of the integrated technological strategy underlying the industrial plan,” said the CEO in a press release. Roberto Cingolani. "The upward revision of our rating by Moody's and our outlook by Standard & Poor's further signals our financial solidity. The finalization of the acquisition of Iveco Group's defense business represents a significant strategic step that strengthens our
positioning in land defense, completes the portfolio and consolidates Leonardo's role as an Original Equipment Manufacturer capable of integrating software, hardware and digital services for security and defense."
Thursday the shareholders' meeting will mark the exit of Cingolani and the passing of the baton to the new company head, Lorenzo Mariani.
The growth in orders concerns all business sectors, up to the US subsidiary Leonardo Drs. However, thenet debt to 3 billion (+44%), an increase which was affected by theacquisition of the Iveco Defense business, a 1,6 billion euro operation. Leonardo indicated that IDV should contribute Revenues of €1,10 billion, EBITA of €120 million, and free operating cash flow of €220 million in the nine-month period from April to December 2026.
Based on the results, the estimates for theentire exercise: orders of 25 billion euros, revenues of 21 billion, an EBITDA of over 2 billion and a net debt of approximately 800 million, net of the acquisition of Iveco Defense Vehicles.
The improvement in margins was across the board.Defense Electronics, Leonardo's largest division by revenue with €1,97 billion increased its EBITA margin by 150 basis points to 11,6%, with the European electronics division posting a margin of 12,6% and the US subsidiary Leonardo DRS reaching 9,8%.
La Aeronautics Division reported an EBITA of €20 million, compared to a loss of €3 million the previous year, thanks to the improvement in the Aerostructures margin deficit, which fell to 20,3% from 37,3%.
- Helicopters They recorded an EBITA of 76 million euros with a margin of 5,8%, with 29 aircraft delivered in the quarter compared to 28 in the same period of 2025.
