Bombardier Deliveries, Revenues on Upswing

Bombardier deliveries increased by four units, to 34 aircraft, in the third quarter, contributing to an 11% year-over-year revenue gain, the Montreal-headquartered company reported this morning.  Revenues reached $2.3 billion in the third quarter, also thanks to a $590 million contribution from the services business representing a 12% growth.

“We are entering the final stretch of 2025 with excellent momentum across the board,” said Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel, pointing to the certification of the Global 8000 this week. “The aircraft is on track to enter service this year. Our service network is consistently full and expanding in the Middle East and the U.S. Finally, our defense team is well-positioned to grow its proportion of deliveries in the near term. The Bombardier team is on track for a strong end of year.”

The third-quarter mix weighted more toward the ultra-long-range Global family; Bombardier delivered 21 Globals and 13 Challengers. These Globals accounted for the entire four-unit increase in the quarter, up from 17 a year earlier, while Challenger deliveries were flat. For the first nine months, Global deliveries have increased by three, to 47, while Challengers are up one unit, to 46.

Bombardier expects deliveries to heighten further in the fourth quarter. “Our third-quarter results have put us on a confident path to meet our 2025 guidance as we focus on executing our plan for a very strong end of year,” Martel said. “We once again anticipate a more backloaded delivery profile similar to 2024. Our teams are working well to manage the tight schedule and meet all our customer commitments.”

Bombardier executive v-p and CFO Bart Demosky added that the company anticipates delivering about 40% of its year’s total shipments in the fourth quarter. He added that the shift in the back half of the year toward Global deliveries was in line with expectations. 

Even with the increased Global deliveries, Bombardier’s backlog surged to a five-year high of $16.6 billion. Backlog is up from $14.4 billion at the end of December, thanks to a book-to-bill of 1.3:1 in the third quarter.

Martel noted that the market has been strong in multiple regions. Interest has been particularly elevated in the U.S. since the passage of accelerated (or bonus) depreciation in July, saying “clearly…the impact on the business is a positive one.” But he also said the company has been receiving calls from Canadian customers with the announcement this week of the end of the luxury tax on aircraft. Martel expects the move to boost sales.

In addition, he pointed to strong interest, particularly in the Global 8000, and noted that fleet operators' hours on Bombardier aircraft are up 62% since 2019, and called momentum overall “amazing.”

Meanwhile, the services business now accounts for about a quarter of the company’s business. Revenues in this area are slated to continue to grow as Bombardier further expands in the U.S. and elsewhere, including the recent announcement to add a major center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

In addition, Bombardier is seeing expansion in its defense business and has deliveries on tap in that arena in the fourth quarter.

As far as profits, Bombardier reported a 16% bump in adjusted EBITDA to $356 million and adjusted margins of 15.4% in the third quarter. EBIT was up 13% to $227, but net profit was down by $64 million to $53 million.