Howmet Aerospace Reports Record Q3 2026 Growth, Ups Guidance & Adds $5B Buyback Authorization

Executive Summary

On October 29, 2026, Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE: HWM) filed a Form 8-K announcing financial results for the third quarter of 2026. The company delivered record revenue growth driven by commercial aerospace, defense, and gas turbines demand, raised full-year 2026 guidance across all key metrics, provided strong preliminary 2027 revenue guidance, and announced an additional $5.0 billion share repurchase authorization.

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Key Financial Highlights

1. Q3 2026 Results

• Revenue: $2,703 million, up 29% year over year (25% organic growth).
  • Commercial Aerospace: +32% YoY
  • Gas Turbines: +45% YoY
  • Commercial Transportation: +28% YoY
  • Defense Aerospace: +10% YoY
• GAAP Operating Income: $777 million (+43% YoY); Operating Margin of 28.7% (+280 bps).
• GAAP Diluted EPS: $1.42, up 49% from $0.95 in Q3 2025.
• Adjusted EBITDA: $879 million (+43% YoY); Adjusted EBITDA Margin reached 32.5% (+310 bps YoY).
• Adjusted Diluted EPS: $1.46, up 54% from $0.95 in Q3 2025.
• Free Cash Flow: $562 million (+33% YoY), after funding $147 million in capital expenditures.

2. Segment Highlights

• Engine Products: Q3 third-party sales rose 33% YoY to $1,451 million, while segment adjusted EBITDA jumped 57% to $567 million (segment margin expanded to 39.1%).

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Capital Allocation & Share Repurchases

• Share Buybacks: Repurchased $500 million of common stock during Q3 2026, bringing year-to-date repurchases to $1.1 billion.
• New Authorization: On October 28, 2026, the Board of Directors approved an additional $5.0 billion increase to the share repurchase program, lifting total available repurchase capacity to $5.397 billion.
• Dividends: Quarterly common stock dividend was increased 17% to $0.14 per share in Q3 2026.

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Updated FY 2026 Guidance

• Revenue: $10,290M – $10,310M (Baseline: $10,300M, raised by +$250M)
• Adjusted EBITDA: $3,325M – $3,335M (Baseline: $3,330M, raised by +$100M)
• Adjusted EBITDA Margin: 32.3% (Baseline raised +20 bps)
• Adjusted EPS: $5.49 – $5.51 (Baseline: $5.50, raised by +$0.23)
• Free Cash Flow: $1,950M – $2,050M (Baseline: $2,000M, raised by +$100M)

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Preliminary 2027 Outlook

• Management outlined preliminary FY 2027 revenue expectations of approximately $11.5 billion, representing ~12% year-over-year revenue expansion over the updated 2026 baseline.