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# General Dynamics just posted $131 billion in backlog. Here's the full teardown.
- URL: https://american-made.ghost.io/general-dynamics-just-posted-131-billion-in-backlog-here-s-the-full-teardown/
- Published: 2026-06-17T12:05:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-17T12:05:49.000Z
- Description: Submarines. Gulfstream jets. Abrams tanks. Revenue up 10%. We break down all four businesses.
- Author: American Made
- Tags: #Import 2026-08-17 12:34

## AMERICANMADE

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Last week we covered BWXT — the company that builds nuclear reactors for every U.S. submarine. Today I want to cover the company that builds the submarines themselves.

General Dynamics started as the Electric Boat Company in 1899 — literally founded to build submarines. It built the Navy’s first modern submarine, the USS Holland, that same year. Today it’s a $96 billion defense and aerospace conglomerate with four businesses: submarines, Gulfstream jets, armored combat vehicles, and defense IT. It employs over 100,000 people and builds in shipyards, factories, and hangars across a dozen states.

The Q1 numbers were staggering. Revenue hit $13.5 billion. The backlog reached **$131 billion** — up 48% in a year. Total estimated contract value hit a record $188 billion. The company is booking orders faster than it can fill them.

**Marine Systems ($4.3B, +21%).** This is the crown jewel. Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut builds Columbia-class ballistic missile subs and Virginia-class fast-attack subs. Bath Iron Works in Maine builds destroyers. NASSCO in San Diego builds oilers and sealift ships. The marine backlog alone is $64 billion after $16 billion in new Q1 orders. Operating earnings grew 26% on improved productivity.

**Aerospace ($3.3B, +8%).** Gulfstream delivered a record 38 jets in Q1 with a 15% operating margin. The G700 is the flagship — the largest-cabin business jet ever built, assembled entirely in Savannah, Georgia. The new G800 extends range to 8,000 nautical miles. Together they represent the pinnacle of American luxury manufacturing. The book-to-bill was 1.2 times — orders still outpacing deliveries even at record production.

**Combat Systems ($2.3B, +5%).** Abrams tanks built in Lima, Ohio. Stryker vehicles in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Munitions and ordnance from multiple U.S. plants. The trailing 12-month book-to-bill is 2.1 times — demand is accelerating as NATO allies rearm and U.S. stockpiles get replenished.

**Technologies ($3.5B, +4%).** Defense IT, cybersecurity, and mission systems. This segment is less flashy but provides steady, recurring contract revenue from federal agencies.

**General Dynamics builds the hull. BWXT builds the reactor that powers it.** The Columbia-class submarine program — the Navy’s top priority — runs through Electric Boat in Groton. Every reactor inside comes from BWXT in Lynchburg. If you own both stocks, you own both halves of America’s nuclear deterrent.

The Pentagon’s FY2027 budget request puts $65 billion toward shipbuilding. That money flows directly to these two companies.

The bull case is visibility. A $131 billion backlog means years of locked-in revenue. Defense spending is bipartisan and rising. NATO rearmament adds international demand. And Gulfstream gives GD something most defense contractors don’t have — a high-margin commercial business that diversifies away from government dependence.

The bear case is execution. The Navy still can’t hit its target of two Virginia-class submarines per year. Supply chain constraints and single-source suppliers slow production. Capital expenditures jumped 40% in Q1\. And at roughly 22 times 2026 EPS guidance, the stock isn’t cheap. The consensus analyst target is about $393 — meaningful upside, but not a screaming bargain. GD paid $400 million in dividends and bought back $200 million in shares in Q1 alone.

But here’s what I keep coming back to. GD makes submarines, jets, tanks, and IT systems. It builds in shipyards, factories, and hangars across America. The Pentagon is its biggest customer and it’s spending more, not less. In a world that’s rearming, General Dynamics is the company that arms it. And every dollar of that $131 billion backlog creates American jobs in American shipyards, factories, and hangars.