Defence stocks in the spotlight; Leonardo surges following its results
Analysts are responding positively to the guidance on order intake, which exceeded expectations
Le ultime da Radiocor
Borsa: stretta Fed piu' lontana ma Europa frena nel finale, Milano chiude invariata
Wall Street: apre in rialzo (S&P +0,23%), dopo prezzi produzione e calo greggio
*** Leonardo: definita governace jv droni, Basile a.d. e sede ad Albenga
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - In the wake of the results, Leonardo is standing out on the Milan Stock Exchange alongside the defence sector. The share price of the company led by Lorenzo Mariani is up by around three points, in line with other shares in the sector. Staying in Milan, Fincantieri and Avio . In Frankfurt, Rheinmetall is performing well (+2.2%), whilst in Paris, Thales is standing out (+2.7%).
Turning back to Leonardo, the company yesterday announced its first-half results, which showed an adjusted net profit of €476 million, up 74 per cent on the same period in 2025, and an EBITA of €780 million on revenue up 12% to €10 billion. New orders for the period totalled €16 billion (+45% on a year ago), bringing the order book to €58.58 billion. The group has also revised its forecasts for 2026 upwards in terms of orders, EBITA and cash flows. In particular, orders are now expected to reach 28.2 billion (up from 26.2 billion), whilst revenue is confirmed at 22.1 billion.
The second quarter was “better than expected, particularly in terms of order intake” and “EBITDA margin”, according to Equita. “In light of the recent positive news flow,” the analysts continued, “we are not surprised by the rise in order intake, whilst we had expected the other metrics to improve in the third quarter; however, there is clearly confidence and visibility regarding the business’s performance.”
“The quarterly results are encouraging (EBITDA up 5% on the consensus and orders 15% higher). The upgrade to the guidance for 2026 had been foreshadowed by former CEO Cingolani during the first-quarter results conference call,” Intermonte points out. The analysts emphasise that “the new guidance exceeds the consensus by 8 per cent on orders” and “by 1 per cent on EBITDA (€2.21 billion compared with the consensus of €2.19 billion)”.
According to Bernstein, the strong second-quarter results and the upward revision to guidance should meet investors’ high expectations. “The combination of upward revisions to earnings estimates and a re-rating of the stock makes the share very attractive in the current challenging environment for the European defence sector,” say the experts. The market is awaiting this afternoon’s earnings conference call for further details on the company’s medium- and long-term outlook.
