RTX Corporation (RTX) Business Profile

What it does

RTX is an aerospace and defense company serving commercial, military, and government customers worldwide. It was founded on 2020-04-03, is headquartered in Arlington County, and is led by Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Christopher T. Calio.

The company operates through Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. Collins supplies aircraft systems and components, such as power and environmental-control equipment, landing gear, avionics, communications, navigation, sensors, nacelles, cabin interiors, airport systems, and air-traffic-management systems. It also repairs and overhauls equipment and provides technical support, training, fleet management, and information services.

Pratt & Whitney designs, makes, and services engines for commercial airliners, regional and business aircraft, helicopters, and military aircraft, as well as auxiliary power units. Its GTF engine family powers Airbus A320neo-family aircraft, Airbus A220 aircraft, and Embraer E-Jets E2 aircraft. It also produces and sustains the F135 engine used in F-35 aircraft.

Raytheon supplies air and missile defense systems, radars, sensors, missiles, interceptors, smart weapons, command-and-control systems, space systems, and related technologies. Its programs include Patriot, AMRAAM, Tomahawk, SM-3, SM-6, SPY-6, NASAMS, Stinger, Javelin, and Coyote. RTX had 180,000 employees at December 31, 2025.

How it makes money

RTX earns revenue by selling original equipment and by supplying replacement parts, repair, overhaul, maintenance, technical support, and other services after equipment enters use. Its commercial aerospace operations combine shorter-cycle spare-parts and service work with longer-cycle original-equipment and maintenance contracts. Its defense operations design, develop, manufacture, modify, and support complex systems under contracts that can run for years.

Collins earns from aircraft equipment and aerospace and defense systems, then from servicing the installed equipment base. Its aftermarket work includes spare parts, overhaul and repair, engineering and technical support, training, fleet management, asset management, and information management. Pratt & Whitney earns from engine deliveries, engine services, maintenance and overhaul work, fleet management, and auxiliary power units. Many Collins and Pratt & Whitney aerospace customers are covered by long-term aftermarket service agreements that include parts and services.

Raytheon earns mainly from government defense programs as a prime contractor or subcontractor. Backlog represents firm orders for products not yet provided or services not yet performed; it excludes unexercised options and potential ordering-contract orders. The company recognizes that its defense bookings exclude unexercised options and potential orders under ordering-type contracts.

Latest totals: management said on the call that Q3 2026 adjusted sales were $25 billion, while RTX raised its full-year adjusted-sales outlook to $97 to $97.5 billion. At December 31, 2025, total backlog was $268 billion, of which commercial backlog was $161 billion and defense backlog was $107 billion. Management said on the call that backlog reached $340 billion at the end of Q3 2026.

Customers and how it sells

RTX sells to aircraft manufacturers, airlines, airports, other aircraft operators, leasing companies, maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, distributors, the U.S. government, foreign governments, defense contractors, and commercial and government space customers. The U.S. government is its largest customer and represents a substantial majority of total defense sales.

Customer concentration is material in commercial aerospace. Boeing and Airbus together accounted for 16% of Collins segment sales in 2025, before discounts and incentives. Airbus accounted for 29% of Pratt & Whitney segment sales in 2025, before discounts and incentives. Pratt & Whitney also supplies F135 engines to the U.S. government for F-35 aircraft produced by Lockheed Martin.

RTX sells internationally as well as in the United States. International sales represented 47% of total net sales in 2025, while sales to the U.S. government represented 38% of total net sales. The company manufactures and services products in approximately 225 manufacturing, production, or overhaul facilities in approximately 25 countries. Its employees were located in 52 countries, with 69% located in the United States.

Management said on the call that 37% of Raytheon backlog was international at Q3 2026. It also said RTX has regional partnerships and local suppliers supporting systems production in Europe, Asia Pacific, and MENA.

Suppliers and costs

RTX depends on a global supply chain for raw materials, commodities, components, and services. It is largely dependent on foreign sources for cobalt, tantalum, chromium, rhenium, nickel, and titanium, and uses foreign single-source suppliers for some components. Certain products also require scarce raw materials or procurement requirements that limit available suppliers and subcontractors.

The company has faced delays and higher costs for rare earth elements, microelectronics, commodities, labor, materials, and components. Inflation has raised material and component prices, labor rates, and supplier costs. RTX cannot always recover these cost increases through contract prices, particularly on fixed-price contracts. It seeks to mitigate disruption by providing suppliers with materials and technical support, arranging second and third supply sources in some cases, increasing inventory, using long-term agreements, and re-sourcing purchases.

RTX manufactures and services products in approximately 225 facilities in approximately 25 countries. Management said on the call that Raytheon added 150 new suppliers in 2025 as it prepares for higher munitions-production rates. Management also said the company completed a $50 million expansion of its Forest, Mississippi manufacturing facility to support radar-system production ramps.

Competitive position

RTX competes in commercial aerospace, defense electronics, space, weapons, communications, command and control, technical services, and support. Competition is based on price, delivery schedules, past performance, reliability, customer service, innovation, and technology. Commercial aerospace customers can select other approved manufacturers for products and spare parts, and may buy replacement parts from suppliers other than the original equipment manufacturer. Competitors may use discounts, financial incentives, operating-cost guarantees, and financing arrangements to compete for aftermarket work.

In defense, RTX competes with U.S. and foreign companies, while also partnering with major suppliers that can compete on other programs. The company identifies commercial entrants, different technology approaches and business models, government demands for intellectual-property disclosures, and government support for foreign competitors as features of the changing defense market. International defense bids can require offset or industrial-cooperation obligations, including local manufacturing, technology transfer, or other local participation.

No company is specifically identified as an RTX competitor in the available information. Boeing, Airbus, and Lockheed Martin are identified as customers, aircraft manufacturers, or program participants rather than as named competitors.

Our reading: RTX’s installed base of aircraft systems and engines supports subsequent parts and service work, but approved alternative suppliers and customer purchasing choices limit the protection this provides. [item1]

Our reading: Raytheon’s position rests on long-running government programs, technical capabilities, and production infrastructure, while contract awards remain competitive and foreign competitors may receive government assistance. [item1]

Growth opportunities

RTX’s growth opportunities span commercial aircraft production, the installed base of aircraft equipment and engines, aftermarket services, defense demand, and capacity expansion. Collins and Pratt & Whitney are positioned to earn from original equipment as aircraft are built and from later spare-parts, repair, overhaul, and maintenance work. Pratt & Whitney’s GTF fleet powers more than 2,600 aircraft for more than 90 operators, and the company says development of new engines and improvements to production engines present growth opportunities.

Management said on the call that RTX received over 800 GTF orders and commitments so far in 2026 and had a backlog of over 8,000 engines. It said the first GTF Advantage-powered aircraft entered service in October 2026, and that the company is progressing the Hot Section Plus upgrade package for the installed base. Management also said PW1100 maintenance, repair, and overhaul output rose over 35% year over year in Q3 2026.

Defense growth depends on awards, conversion of framework agreements into contracts, production capacity, and supply-chain execution. Management said on the call that RTX booked nearly $59.0 billion of defense awards in Q3 2026, including approximately $23 billion for Tomahawk and over $14 billion for AMRAAM. It said the converted munitions agreements had about $70.0 billion of combined value and could provide nearly a decade of demand visibility. Management said Raytheon plans to raise relevant production rates by two to four times and that output across critical munitions was up over 90% year to date.

RTX expects full-year 2026 adjusted sales of $97 to $97.5 billion and organic sales growth of between 10 and 11%.

Structural risks

• Government funding and contracting. U.S. government sales are a significant portion of consolidated sales. Changes in defense budgets, priorities, appropriations, program funding, contract awards, payments, or government operations can affect results. Government contracts can be terminated for convenience or default, and some programs may be only partially funded.

• Contract execution and cost risk. Fixed-price and fixed-price-incentive contracts can leave RTX responsible for cost overruns. Technical difficulties, schedule delays, inaccurate estimates, supplier performance, shortages, inflation, tariffs, and changes in specifications can reduce profitability.

• Commercial aerospace cycle and customer exposure. Demand for engines, systems, parts, and services depends on airlines, operators, lessors, and airframers. Traffic, fuel prices, financing, airline financial health, aircraft production, regulation, and the condition of Boeing, Airbus, and other customers can affect demand and margins.

• GTF powder-metal matter. Pratt & Whitney determined that a powder-metal condition requires accelerated inspections of certain PW1100G-JM engines. The issue has increased engine removals, inspections, shop visits, aircraft-on-ground levels, and company costs.

• Supply chain and labor. RTX depends on global suppliers, including some single-source and foreign sources. Material shortages, rare earth elements, microelectronics, inflation, labor availability, sanctions, tariffs, export controls, and geopolitical conditions can delay deliveries and raise costs.

• International, regulatory, and technology risk. International operations face currency, local-law, export-control, offset, sanctions, political, and competition risks. New aerospace and defense technologies must meet development, production, certification, regulatory, and customer-acceptance requirements.

Bottom line

Our reading

Our reading: RTX combines commercial aerospace equipment and recurring aftermarket work with government defense programs, operating through three businesses that share engineering, manufacturing, and supply-chain needs. [item1; item7]

Our reading: Its backlog and GTF installed base provide work visibility, while realizing that work depends on aircraft-industry demand, government funding, contract execution, and supplier capacity. [item1; call_prepared; call_qa]

Our reading: The principal operating pressure is balancing higher commercial and munitions output with fixed-price exposure, the GTF powder-metal inspections, and constrained materials and labor. [item1; item1a; item7]