Despite tariff concerns, GE Aerospace has hiked its profit forecast for 2025 and beyond following strong operational and financial performance in the second quarter.
“Our operating performance and robust commercial services outlook underpins our increased guidance,” GE chief executive Lawrence Culp said on 17 July during the Ohio engine maker’s second-quarter earnings call. “We expect this momentum to extend into 2028.”
GE turned a $2.0 billion profit in the second quarter, up from a $1.3 billion profit in the same period last year.
Driven largely by its commercial engines business, GE’s second-quarter revenue surged 21% year on year to $11 billion. Its commercial business alone brought in $8 billion in revenue, a 30% year-on-year bump, while revenue from its defence division increased 7% year on year to $2.6 billion.
“We had a strong second quarter, with improvement across all key metrics,” says GE chief financial officer Rahul Ghai. “We are raising our 2025 guidance across the board. Backlog is at record levels.”
GE now holds orders it values at $175 billion, up from $140 billion at the end the first three months of 2025. It landed orders last quarter for 1,049 aircraft engines, including 860 CFM International Leap powerplants, which power Airbus A320neo-family jets and Boeing’s 737 Max.
In response to what executives describe as a strong and enduring business environment, GE says it now expects to post a $8.2-8.5 billion 2025 operating profit, up from its previous estimate of $7.8-8.2 billion.
The company now anticipates 2025 adjusted revenue will increase in the mid-teens percentage range year on year, up from a previous expectation of a low-double-digit bump.
GE also released improved longer-term financial projections, saying it expects by 2028 to achieve an annual operating profit of $11.5 billion, up from a prior projection of $10 billion.
It forecasts annual revenues from its commercial engine services business will have doubled to $20 billion by 2030, up from $10 billion in 2024.
GE still predicts that newly imposed tariffs will cost it roughly $500 million in 2025, but the company is working to offset that impact through “cost controls and pricing actions”, says Ghai.
