Huntington Ingalls Shares Slide as Weak Cash Outlook Trumps Q4 Beat

Shares of the military shipbuilder fell 10% to $371.22 in Thursday trading, a sharp correction for a stock that has gained nearly 90% over the past year. The sell-off followed a company forecast for 2026 free cash flow between $500 million and $600 million. That guidance missed the $624.2 million consensus and represents a notable decline from the $800 million generated in 2025, according to FactSet data.

The cautious outlook eclipsed a robust fourth quarter where Huntington Ingalls reported a profit of $159 million, or $4.04 per share. The result easily beat the $3.77 per share anticipated by Wall Street. Total revenue rose to $3.48 billion, surpassing the $3.09 billion estimate as the company ramped up production to meet Department of Defense demand.

Production Gains Across Key Yards

The Ingalls shipbuilding segment saw revenue climb 21% to $889 million, fueled by higher volumes of amphibious assault ships and surface combatants. Meanwhile, Newport News shipbuilding revenue grew 19% to $1.9 billion, a surge the company attributed to increased work on submarines and aircraft carriers. While the Mission Technologies division saw a more modest 2.5% revenue increase, the company remains focused on high-margin warfare systems.

For the upcoming fiscal year, Huntington Ingalls issued the following revenue targets:

• Full-year shipbuilding revenue between $9.7 billion and $9.9 billion.
• Mission Technologies revenue between $3 billion and $3.2 billion.
• Increased volume in global security and unmanned systems.