<p>Jessica Reed is a writer and editor with AIN. She joined the team in the fall of 2023 after two years covering the aviation industry at Avionics International. She earned her bachelor&#039;s degree in English (Writing &amp; Rhetoric) from Pepperdine University. Her hometown is St. Louis, Missouri, and she since has resided in Santa Barbara, California, and Brooklyn, New York, among others. She is currently based in Philadelphia.</p>


Writer & Editor

Jessica Reed

<p>Textron Aviation kicked off 2026 with a 22% revenue gain over first-quarter 2025—and growth in both jet and commercial turboprop deliveries—as parent Textron Inc. announced its intent to separate its Industrial segment to refocus the company as a pure-play aerospace and defense business.</p>
<p>The Wichita-based aircraft manufacturer delivered 37 Cessna Citations in the quarter, up from 31 in the same period last year, and handed over 35 turboprops, five more than in the same period a year ago. Quarterly revenues climbed to $1.5 billion, up $269 million year over year, driven by higher aircraft volume and mix and a 10% jump in aftermarket parts and services revenues.</p>
<p>Aircraft revenue alone reached $954 million in the quarter, up 30% year over year, according to Textron CFO David Rosenberg. Aftermarket revenue totaled $531 million, up $48 million. Textron Aviation’s profit was $154 million in the quarter, up 26% from a year ago, representing a 10.4% margin. Backlog grew to $8 billion at the end of the quarter, an increase of $276 million from year-end 2025.</p>
<p>“We got off to a strong start to the year with 37 jet deliveries and 35 commercial turboprop deliveries,” Textron Inc. CEO Lisa Atherton said during the company’s earnings call this morning, her second earnings call as chief executive. “Both are up nicely from a year ago as we continue to drive throughput in our factories. We also saw strong aftermarket performance, which resulted in 10% growth in aftermarket revenues.”</p>
<h3>Industrial Separation</h3>
<p>In a move announced alongside the quarterly results, Textron disclosed plans to separate its Industrial segment—which includes Kautex and Textron Specialized Vehicles—from the company’s aerospace and defense businesses. The company intends to explore multiple paths, including a sale of the Industrial businesses or a tax-free spinoff into a standalone, publicly traded company, with the goal of completing the separation within 12 to 18 months.</p>
<p>The resulting “new Textron” would be aligned around three core franchises: Textron Aviation, Bell, and Textron Systems. Atherton described the move as “a consequential and exciting step in our evolution, establishing new Textron as a pure-play A&amp;D company.”</p>
<p>She pointed to Textron Aviation’s trajectory as part of the rationale. “Textron Aviation is in a very strong position, having increased its backlog by more than four times since pre-Covid, from $1.7 billion in 2019 to $8 billion at the end of this quarter,” Atherton said. As a new entity, Textron’s aerospace and defense business would have approximately $12 billion in revenue and $1.2 billion in segment profit, with a combined backlog of $19.2 billion.</p>
<p>Asked during the call about timing, Atherton said previous attempts to act on the Industrial portfolio had been complicated by softer end markets, but added that, with Kautex and Textron Specialized Vehicles now performing strongly, “the timing is right.”</p>
<h3>Q1 Delivery Breakdown</h3>
<p>First-quarter jet deliveries comprised five Citation M2 Gen2s, six CJ3+/CJ3 Gen2s, six CJ4 Gen2s, two Ascends, 10 Latitudes, and eight Longitudes. By comparison, Textron Aviation delivered five M2 Gen2s, five CJ3+s, five CJ4 Gen2s, two XLS Gen2s, 11 Latitudes, and three Longitudes in first-quarter 2025. The Citation XLS Gen2 was absent from this year’s first-quarter mix, while the XLS successor Ascend, which received FAA certification in late 2025, contributed its first deliveries of the year.</p>
<p>The Longitude saw the biggest year-over-year gain, with eight units handed over compared with three in the year-ago quarter. The Latitude—which Atherton highlighted as the “number-one best-selling midsize business jet”—decreased by one aircraft delivery in the first quarter.</p>
<p>On the commercial turboprop side, Textron Aviation delivered 17 Caravans, down from 23 in the first quarter of 2025; six Cessna SkyCouriers, up from one a year ago; and 12 King Airs, including six Model 260s and six 360s, doubling the six King Airs (four 260s and two 360s) shipped in the year-ago period. The company also delivered one Beechcraft T-6 trainer, compared with three a year ago, and 84 piston-engine aircraft, including Pipistrel models, versus 87 last year.</p>
<h3>Order Activity and Notable Wins</h3>
<p>Atherton highlighted continued strength in order intake, noting that Aviation and Bell together posted “their best Q1 bookings in four years, frankly, since Q1 of 2022.” Among notable recent wins, European charter operator Luminair placed a fleet order (announced on the eve of the Aero Friedrichshafen show), <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2026-04-17/luminair-grows-charter-fleet-nine-citation-latitudes">committing to nine Citation Latitudes</a>.</p>
<p>Announced on April 7, Belgium’s Special Forces Group also placed an order for five SkyCouriers, which Atherton said is “our first military order for the aircraft” and highlights the platform’s applicability beyond commercial use into defense and special missions roles.</p>
<p>She additionally pointed to GAMA’s <a href="https://gama.aero/wp-content/uploads/2025ShipmentReport_02-18-2026.pdf">2025 annual report</a>, which she said showed Textron Aviation leading the industry in total business jet deliveries, total turbine aircraft deliveries, and total turboprop deliveries.</p>
<h3>Supply Chain and Production Outlook</h3>
<p>Rosenberg shared that first-quarter aviation margins came in roughly 100 basis points below the midpoint of the company’s full-year guidance, as inefficiencies from 2025 worked through the income statement. Sequential improvement is expected each quarter through 2026, with margins peaking in the fourth quarter and deliveries rising every quarter.</p>
<p>Atherton said engine supply remains the most acute pressure point but that broader supply chain conditions are improving. “We continue to work with our key suppliers. It’s mainly around engines, as we mentioned on last quarter’s call,” she said. “We continue to fight through getting those in every day, but I will say we’re not seeing as many systemic supply chain issues as we have over the past several years.”</p>
<p>Atherton outlined plans to redirect a portion of Textron Aviation’s research and development spending into factory and supply-chain improvements, without raising overall investment levels.</p>
<p>She said certain Citation models are sold out for years, and that the company is targeting an industry-aligned 18-month lead time for those aircraft. When asked whether such a goal implied total annual deliveries of around 200 jets, she agreed that the figure was “in the right ballpark.”</p>
<h3>Segment Realignment</h3>
<p>Rosenberg also noted that Textron has eliminated the Textron eAviation segment as a separate reporting unit beginning this year, with those operations realigned across Textron Aviation and Textron Systems. Prior-year comparisons in the company’s first-quarter results have been recast to reflect the change.</p>
<p>Companywide, Textron Inc. reported first-quarter revenues of $3.7 billion, up 12%, or $389 million, from the prior year, with adjusted earnings of $1.45 per share, compared with $1.28 per share a year ago. Segment profit across the company totaled $320 million, up 10% year over year. The company returned $168 million to shareholders through share repurchases during the quarter.</p>


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