Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo has lifted its full-year order outlook for the second time this year after its order backlog passed €60 billion for the first time.

New orders reached €23.3 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 27.8 percent on the same period of 2025, or 22.4 percent excluding the recently acquired Iveco Defence Vehicles business. The order backlog stood at €60.4 billion at the end of September, up 28 percent year on year, giving the group production cover of more than 2.7 years. About €6 billion of the backlog came from the Iveco defence acquisition, completed in March.

Leonardo now expects new orders of about €29.5 billion for 2026, up from the €28.2 billion it guided to in July. Revenues for the nine months climbed 14.2 percent to €15.3 billion, while adjusted net profit jumped 74 percent to €812 million and core profit, measured as EBITA, rose 29.2 percent.

Free operating cash flow also improved, to a negative €68 million from a negative €426 million a year earlier, although management kept its full-year cash target of €1.37 billion unchanged. Sales and EBITA targets for the year were left untouched at €22.1 billion and €2.21 billion.

Chief executive Lorenzo Mariani said the results confirmed the group's growth strategy and pointed to the record backlog and improved delivery capability as the foundation for a more ambitious industrial plan, due in March 2027. The contrast with German rival Rheinmetall, which cut its 2026 sales forecast the same week, underlines how differently Europe's two largest defence primes are converting record order books into revenue.

[Source: leonardo.com](https://www.leonardo.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/05-11-2026-leonardo-board-of-directors-approves-9m2026-results?f=%2Fbusiness%2Fcustomer-support-services-training) | [Source: live.euronext.com](https://live.euronext.com/en/financial-news/italys-leonardo-lifts-2026-order-outlook-again-nine-month-profit-rises)