Q3 Deliveries, Revenues Rise at Textron Aviation

Textron Aviation delivered 42 business jets in the third quarter, one more than the same period in 2024, while commercial turboprop deliveries surged to 39 aircraft, up from 25 a year ago. The strong performance contributed to a 10% revenue increase for the segment, to $1.5 billion.

“Overall, third-quarter revenue was up 5% for [parent company] Textron, with higher revenues at [Textron] Aviation, Bell, and Textron Systems,” Textron Inc. chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said this morning during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “Higher Aviation deliveries, acceleration of MV-75 at Bell, and solid performance at Systems all contributed to a strong quarter.”

Textron also announced that Lisa Atherton, currently president and CEO of Bell, will succeed Donnelly as Textron’s president and CEO on Jan. 4, 2026, with Donnelly transitioning to executive chairman.

Profits at aircraft manufacturer’ Textron Aviation jumped 40% year over year (YOY), to $179 million, driven by what Textron described as higher volume and favorable mix. Reflected in the revenue increase was $116 million in additional aircraft sales and $22 million more in aftermarket parts and services compared to third-quarter 2024.

Textron Aviation handed over eight Citation CJ3+s, nine CJ4 Gen2s, four XLS Gen2s, 11 Latitudes, and five Longitudes in the quarter. The M2 Gen2 accounted for five deliveries during the period, down from eight in last year’s third quarter.

On the turboprop side, the company delivered 20 Caravans (twice as many YOY), four SkyCouriers, 15 King Airs, and five T-6 trainers. The commercial turboprop total of 39 units marked a 56% increase from the 25 delivered in the third quarter last year.

In the first nine months, Textron Aviation delivered 122 jets and 63 commercial turboprops. This compares to 119 jets and 44 commercial turboprops a year ago.

Donnelly emphasized the robust state of the business aviation market during the call. “It’s really across the whole portfolio," he said when asked about demand trends. “We continue to see strong retail demand. People are flying. The end market and industry remain robust, I would say, everywhere that we see it.”

Fleet utilization remained strong during the quarter, contributing to 5% growth YOY in aftermarket revenues. “Yeah, we had a good quarter on the aftermarket side,” Donnelly noted. “There’s no doubt utilization is strong. People are flying, which is a great indicator.”

The company achieved several certification milestones during and immediately following the quarter. “We had a lot of certification activity in the quarter,” Donnelly said. “We would have originally planned probably to get the M2, the CJ3, and the Ascend in Q3. It turned out, of course, we now have the M2 and the CJ3, but those happened right at the beginning of Q4.”

Textron Aviation completed FAA certification of the Citation CJ3 Gen2 and autothrottles on the M2 Gen2 in early October. The highly anticipated Citation Ascend made its public debut when it landed in Las Vegas for the 2025 NBAA-BACE event. “We should have [Ascend] wrapped up here by the end of the month,” Donnelly said, referring to the certification process. “The FAA, despite the shutdown, is supporting us in that effort, which is great.”

The Citation Latitude also received FAA certification for new features of the Garmin G5000 avionics suite during the quarter, including synthetic vision guidance systems, improved approach capabilities down to 150 feet, and a new taxiway routing feature.

Connectivity options continued to expand across the product line. Textron Aviation announced supplemental type certifications for Starlink high-speed internet on the Latitude and Longitude, bringing the total number of platforms offering the service to 14 across Aviation’s portfolio.

On the defense front, the company announced a partnership with Leonardo to launch the Beechcraft M-346N as a solution for the U.S. Navy’s undergraduate jet training system competition. Aviation participated in a nationwide demonstration tour showcasing the aircraft’s capabilities.

Textron Aviation’s backlog stood at $7.7 billion at the end of the third quarter, reflecting what the company characterized as continued strong demand. When asked about the impact of supply-chain constraints on production targets, Donnelly acknowledged ongoing challenges but expressed confidence in meeting goals.

“There are still supply chain issues, as we’ve talked about,” he said. “It’s not as many part numbers, for instance, as it used to be, but there are still some critical suppliers that are struggling, and yes, it does impact us on different models at different times.” However, he added, “I think everything we look at today, getting to that $6.1 [billion in revenue], we clearly feel good about our path to get there.”

Donnelly also addressed the stability of demand across customer segments despite economic uncertainties. “Despite all of the noise, of which there’s plenty for sure, we’re not seeing it impact that market,” he said. “I think a part of that is the fact that you’re out there, whether it’s 18 months or two years—people are kind of looking beyond what current noise is in the marketplace because they’re not going to take delivery of that new aircraft for 18 months or so.”

The strong third-quarter performance contributed to Textron’s overall results, with the parent company reporting adjusted earnings per share of $1.55, up from $1.40 in the prior year. Textron reiterated its full-year 2025 adjusted earnings guidance of $6 to $6.20 per share.