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Is RTX Stock's Momentum on Growing Jet Engine Demand Sustainable?
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Key Takeaways
RTX's Pratt and Whitney unit posted double-digit sales growth in each of the past four quarters.
Commercial and military jet engine demand is driving a surge in orders for RTX's GTF and F135 engines.
Recent RTX contracts include $1.5B for F119 engine support and $1.3B for the F135 Engine Core Upgrade.
The recent surge in global air travel and rising defense spending worldwide are driving robust demand for jet engines, thereby benefiting RTX Corp.’s (RTX - Free Report) Pratt & Whitney business unit, which is a renowned supplier of aircraft engines for commercial, military, business jet and general aviation customers.
In the commercial aviation sector, airlines are modernizing fleets with fuel-efficient engines to reduce operating costs and meet sustainability goals, backed by a rapid surge witnessed in global passenger traffic in the post-pandemic period. This trend has been boosting the demand for Pratt & Whitney’s GTF (Geared Turbofan) engines, which are currently the most fuel-efficient engine for the single aisle market, capable of delivering up to 20% lower fuel consumption.
On the defense side, Pratt & Whitney builds the F135 engine, which powers the F-35 Lightning II jet, the F119 engine for the F-22 Raptor, the F100 engine family that powers the F-15 and F-16, and the F117 engine for the C-17 Globemaster III. Growing geopolitical tensions are pushing countries to ramp up military aircraft procurement, thereby aiding the demand for RTX-built combat jet engines.
This momentum, fueled by both commercial and military aviation growth, has been contributing meaningfully to the top-line performance of RTX’s Pratt & Whitney business segment lately. Evidently, this segment’s sales rose 14% year over year in first-quarter 2025, 18% in fourth-quarter 2024, 14% in third-quarter 2024 and 19% in second-quarter 2024.
Looking ahead, a strong order count for the Pratt & Whitney unit should help retain this growth momentum for RTX in the coming quarters. As of June 18, 2025, RTX received nearly 1,100 GTF engine orders and commitments from multiple airlines across the globe. On the defense front, it won a three-year contract (valued up to $1.5 billion) to sustain F119 engines in February 2025, while in September 2024, it won a contract (valued up to $1.3 billion) to continue work on the F135 Engine Core Upgrade.
Other Stocks to Focus On
Other prominent jet engine manufacturers, like GE Aerospace (GE - Free Report) and RollsRoyce (RYCEY - Free Report) , are also benefiting from the aforementioned demand trend, in the form of solid order flows.
In May 2025, Ethiopian Airlines selected GE Aerospace’s GEnx engines for 11 new Boeing 787s, expanding its GEnx-powered fleet to 30. It also reaffirmed its GE9X engine order for eight Boeing 777-9s, with options for six more aircraft. Earlier, in January, the company secured an order for 210 T700 engines to power the 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters for the Polish Armed Forces.
In June 2025, RollsRoyce received an order to supply 20 Trent XWB-97 engines to STARLUX Airlines and another to deliver 50 Trent XWB-97 engines to Riyadh Air, which will power Airbus A350-1000 widebody aircraft. In May, RYCEY won a five-year support contract from the UK Ministry of Defence for the maintenance and service of the EJ200 engine that powers the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon aircraft.
The Zacks Rundown for RTX
Shares of RTX have surged 43.8% in the past year, outperforming its industry’s 14.2% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, RTX is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 23.17X, a roughly 11.6% discount when stacked up with the industry average of 26.20X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RTX’s 2025 and 2026 sales suggests an improvement of 4.2% and 5.8%, respectively, year over year. The consensus estimate for its 2025 and 2026 earnings per share has moved south over the past 60 days.
Image: Bigstock
Is RTX Stock's Momentum on Growing Jet Engine Demand Sustainable?
Key Takeaways
The recent surge in global air travel and rising defense spending worldwide are driving robust demand for jet engines, thereby benefiting RTX Corp.’s (RTX - Free Report) Pratt & Whitney business unit, which is a renowned supplier of aircraft engines for commercial, military, business jet and general aviation customers.
In the commercial aviation sector, airlines are modernizing fleets with fuel-efficient engines to reduce operating costs and meet sustainability goals, backed by a rapid surge witnessed in global passenger traffic in the post-pandemic period. This trend has been boosting the demand for Pratt & Whitney’s GTF (Geared Turbofan) engines, which are currently the most fuel-efficient engine for the single aisle market, capable of delivering up to 20% lower fuel consumption.
On the defense side, Pratt & Whitney builds the F135 engine, which powers the F-35 Lightning II jet, the F119 engine for the F-22 Raptor, the F100 engine family that powers the F-15 and F-16, and the F117 engine for the C-17 Globemaster III. Growing geopolitical tensions are pushing countries to ramp up military aircraft procurement, thereby aiding the demand for RTX-built combat jet engines.
This momentum, fueled by both commercial and military aviation growth, has been contributing meaningfully to the top-line performance of RTX’s Pratt & Whitney business segment lately. Evidently, this segment’s sales rose 14% year over year in first-quarter 2025, 18% in fourth-quarter 2024, 14% in third-quarter 2024 and 19% in second-quarter 2024.
Looking ahead, a strong order count for the Pratt & Whitney unit should help retain this growth momentum for RTX in the coming quarters. As of June 18, 2025, RTX received nearly 1,100 GTF engine orders and commitments from multiple airlines across the globe.
On the defense front, it won a three-year contract (valued up to $1.5 billion) to sustain F119 engines in February 2025, while in September 2024, it won a contract (valued up to $1.3 billion) to continue work on the F135 Engine Core Upgrade.
Other Stocks to Focus On
Other prominent jet engine manufacturers, like GE Aerospace (GE - Free Report) and RollsRoyce (RYCEY - Free Report) , are also benefiting from the aforementioned demand trend, in the form of solid order flows.
In May 2025, Ethiopian Airlines selected GE Aerospace’s GEnx engines for 11 new Boeing 787s, expanding its GEnx-powered fleet to 30. It also reaffirmed its GE9X engine order for eight Boeing 777-9s, with options for six more aircraft. Earlier, in January, the company secured an order for 210 T700 engines to power the 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters for the Polish Armed Forces.
In June 2025, RollsRoyce received an order to supply 20 Trent XWB-97 engines to STARLUX Airlines and another to deliver 50 Trent XWB-97 engines to Riyadh Air, which will power Airbus A350-1000 widebody aircraft. In May, RYCEY won a five-year support contract from the UK Ministry of Defence for the maintenance and service of the EJ200 engine that powers the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon aircraft.
The Zacks Rundown for RTX
Shares of RTX have surged 43.8% in the past year, outperforming its industry’s 14.2% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, RTX is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 23.17X, a roughly 11.6% discount when stacked up with the industry average of 26.20X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RTX’s 2025 and 2026 sales suggests an improvement of 4.2% and 5.8%, respectively, year over year. The consensus estimate for its 2025 and 2026 earnings per share has moved south over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
RTX currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.