Textron Aviation delivered 49 Cessna Citation business jets in the second quarter, up from 42 in the same period last year, as the manufacturer continues its recovery from production disruptions caused by a labor strike in late 2024. However, turboprop deliveries declined to 34 from 44 year over year, reflecting ongoing challenges in that segment.
The Wichita-based Textron subsidiary posted revenues of $1.5 billion, up $42 million from second-quarter 2024, “reflecting higher aircraft revenues of $35 million and higher aftermarket parts and service revenues of $7 million,” according to Textron Inc. CFO David Rosenberg. Segment profit was $180 million in the second quarter, down $15 million from a year ago.
Textron Inc. chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly noted during this morning’s earnings call that “the second quarter was a good quarter for Textron with revenue growth in both our commercial aircraft and helicopter businesses.” He emphasized that “the factory operations continue to improve as we ramp production.”
Second-quarter jet deliveries included eight Citation M2 Gen2s, nine CJ3+s, seven CJ4 Gen2s, seven XLS+ Gen2s, 12 Latitudes, and six Longitudes. This compares to five M2 Gen2s, eight CJ3+s, eight CJ4 Gen2s, five XLS+ Gen2s, eight Latitudes, and eight Longitudes in the second quarter last year. In delivering a total of 49 jets in the second quarter of this year, Textron Aviation outperformed expectations, including Jefferies’ estimate of 43.
“Aviation continued to see solid demand across all products with backlog ending the quarter at $7.85 billion,” Donnelly said. The strong order activity included a significant agreement with a customer in Mexico for four Citations and an option for eight more, with deliveries expected to begin in 2026.
Civil turboprop deliveries showed mixed results. Textron Aviation delivered 20 Caravans in the quarter, down from 22 in the same period last year. The company also handed over four SkyCouriers, up from one last year, and 10 King Airs, including six King Air 260s and four King Air 360s, down from 21 King Airs a year ago.
When asked about aviation margins and the progression through the year, Donnelly expressed confidence in the company’s recovery trajectory: “I think we’re right on track with where we expected to be on aviation. As we guided at the beginning of the year with the recovery coming off of the strike and some of those issues, pricing of aircraft that moved into this year, we knew we would be a little more margin-challenged in the first half than the second half.”
He noted that King Airs had been particularly challenging: “King Air is probably the only one where we’ve been a little behind. That’s a tougher line to get going and picking back up. The good news is I think that's now running well.”
Donnelly emphasized that the production ramp is proceeding as planned: “We’ll see good jet deliveries in the back half of the year, but also much stronger turboprop deliveries in the back half of the year. So all those dynamics that we were factoring into our plan are playing out exactly as we expected, so we certainly expect to see nice volume increases here through Q3 and Q4 with margin step-ups that will put us right on our target for the full year.”
The company continues to advance its product portfolio, with certification progress on several key programs. “On the new product front, we continue to make progress on certification for the M2 Gen3, CJ3 Gen3, and the Ascend, with deliveries of these aircraft expected to begin in the second half of this year,” Donnelly said.
Customer response to the new models has been positive. “I think customers are very excited about the Gen 3s of both the M2 and the CJ3 coming out, Ascend [is] also getting close to certification here, and we have a good backlog on that as well,” he noted.
The SkyCourier program achieved several milestones during the quarter, including the first delivery in South America, the first aeromedical order (which was also the company’s first order in Africa), and marking the fifth anniversary of the aircraft’s first flight.
Despite economic uncertainty and ongoing tariff discussions, Donnelly indicated that demand remains robust across the product line. Regarding potential tariff impacts, he took a measured approach: “We haven’t really seen an impact yet on the tariff front. I would say that there are certainly some customers—particularly in some Latin American countries—that are concerned, but we’ll see how that plays out.”
He noted that Textron’s largely North American manufacturing base and delivery patterns provide some insulation from trade policy uncertainty.
Donnelly expressed confidence about the second-half: “Considering all the disruptions and challenges from the strike and the holdover and ongoing supply-chain issues to be posting about 12% margins, I think the business is doing pretty well, but certainly we expect that margin rate to expand over the course of the year.”
Jefferies noted in its report that with 80 jets delivered in the first half, Textron would need to deliver another 110 jets in the second half to hit the analyst’s estimate of 190 for the full year. Additionally, Jefferies calculated a book-to-bill ratio of 0.99:1 for the second quarter.
A backlog of $7.85 billion supports the company’s optimistic outlook for continued recovery and growth as production operations return to pre-strike performance levels. “With those disruptions behind us, you would expect to see good margins for the business as we go on into 2026,” Donnelly concluded.