Industrials
Aerospace & Defense
$13.99B
35K
Textron Inc. operates in the aircraft, defense, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Textron Aviation, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, Textron eAviation, and Finance. The Textron Aviation segment manufactures, sells, and services business jets, turboprop and piston engine aircraft, and military trainer and defense aircraft; and offers maintenance, inspection, and repair services, as well as sells commercial parts. The Bell segment supplies military and commercial helicopters, tiltrotor aircrafts, and related spare parts and services. The Textron Systems segment offers unmanned aircraft systems, electronic systems and solutions, advanced marine crafts, piston aircraft engines, live military air-to-air and air-to-ship training, weapons and related components, and armored and specialty vehicles. The Industrial segment offers blow-molded solutions, including conventional plastic fuel tanks and pressurized fuel tanks for hybrid vehicle applications, clear-vision systems, plastic tanks for catalytic reduction systems, and battery housing systems for use in electric vehicles primarily to automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); and golf cars, off-road utility vehicles, powersports products, light transportation vehicles, aviation ground support equipment, professional turf-maintenance equipment, and turf-care vehicles to golf courses and resorts, government agencies and municipalities, consumers, outdoor enthusiasts, and commercial and industrial users. The Textron eAviation segment manufactures and sells light aircraft and gliders with electric and combustion engines; and provides other research and development initiatives related to sustainable aviation solutions. The Finance segment offers financing services to purchase new and pre-owned aviation aircraft and Bell helicopters. Textron Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.
Key insights and themes extracted from this filing
Total revenues increased slightly by $19 million to $13.702 billion in 2024, but gross margin as a percentage of manufacturing revenues decreased by 250 basis points to 18.0%. This indicates potential cost management issues despite top-line stability.
Net income decreased from $921 million in 2023 to $824 million in 2024. This decrease is a critical indicator of overall financial health and profitability.
Net cash from operating activities decreased by $262 million to $1.0 billion in 2024. This reduction in cash generation is a key concern, potentially impacting investment and shareholder returns.
Bell was awarded contracts totaling approximately $3.0 billion for the FLRAA program, contributing to a company backlog increase of $4.0 billion, or 29%. The FLRAA program is a key growth driver for Bell.
The Industrial segment experienced lower revenues and profit due to a decline in demand for Textron Specialized Vehicles products. A strategic review of the powersports product line is in progress, indicating potential portfolio adjustments.
Research and development costs increased at Textron eAviation due to development efforts on hybrid and electric propulsion aircraft. This signals a commitment to future growth in sustainable aviation technologies.
A strike at Textron Aviation negatively impacted revenues and profit in the second half of 2024 due to delayed aircraft deliveries and manufacturing inefficiencies. This highlights potential labor relations risks.
Management initiated a restructuring plan to reduce operating expenses, including headcount reductions at the Industrial, Bell, and Textron Systems segments. These actions reflect a focus on improving operational efficiency.
The company repurchased 12.9 million shares of common stock for $1.1 billion in 2024, demonstrating a commitment to returning capital to shareholders. However, this reduces cash available for other investments.
The 10-K states U.S. Government contracts can be terminated at any time and may contain other unfavorable provisions. This is a risk factor because the U.S. Government typically can terminate or modify any of its contracts with us either for its convenience or if we default by failing to perform under the terms of the applicable contract.
The 10-K states the company routinely face persistent security threats, including threats to our IT infrastructure and unlawful attempts to gain access to our confidential, classified or otherwise proprietary information via phishing/malware campaigns and other cyberattack methods, as well as threats to the physical security of our facilities and employees.
The 10-K states that Demand for business jets, turbo props and commercial helicopters has been cyclical and difficult to forecast. From time to time, the demand for our aircraft products has been adversely impacted by unexpected events and may be impacted by such events in the future.
The market for U.S. Government defense business is highly competitive, and the competitive bidding process increases pricing pressure and cost which may affect our ability to win new contracts for major government programs.
The 10-K states that to continue to grow our revenues and segment profit, we must successfully develop new products and technologies or modify our existing products and technologies for our current and future markets.
The 10-K states that we have made and may continue to make acquisitions that increase the risks of our business. We enter into acquisitions with the intention of expanding our business and enhancing shareholder value. Acquisitions involve risks and uncertainties that, in some cases, have resulted, and, in the future, could result in our not achieving expected benefits.
The 10-K states that Textron Aviation's cost of sales decreased $14 million in 2024, compared with 2023. The impact of lower volume and mix on our cost of sales was offset by $127 million of inflation and $43 million in manufacturing inefficiencies, largely reflecting idle facilities costs resulting from the strike discussed above.
The 10-K states that segment profit for the Industrial segment decreased $77 million, 34%, in 2024, compared with 2023, largely due to a $105 million impact from lower volume and mix, partially offset by $22 million in manufacturing efficiencies and $21 million in lower selling and administrative expense and research and development costs, largely due to cost reduction activities.
The 10-K states that challenges faced by our subcontractors or suppliers could materially and adversely affect our performance. We rely on other companies to provide raw materials, major components and subsystems for our products.
The 10-K states that research and development costs decreased $79 million, 14%, in 2024, compared with 2023, largely reflecting the winddown of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Program at the Bell segment, partially offset by a $17 million increase at the Textron eAviation segment, largely due to development efforts on hybrid and electric propulsion aircraft.
The 10-K states that the Textron eAviation segment is focused on research and development initiatives related to sustainable aviation solutions and also manufactures a family of light aircraft and gliders with both electric and combustion engines.
The 10-K states that our business could be negatively impacted by cybersecurity threats and other disruptions. Our information technology (IT) and related systems are critical to the efficient operation of our business and essential to our ability to perform day to day processes.
The 10-K states that cash flows used by financing activities in 2024 included $1.1 billion of cash paid to repurchase an aggregate of 12.9 million shares of our common stock under the 2023 share repurchase plan described below and payments on long-term debt of $361 million.
The 10-K states that in 2024 and 2023, investing cash flows included capital expenditures of $364 million and $402 million, respectively, partially offset by net proceeds from corporate-owned life insurance policies of $85 million and $40 million, respectively.
The 10-K states that dividend payments to shareholders totaled $12 million and $16 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively. Due to the timing of our fiscal year-end, we made three dividend payments in 2024, compared with four dividend payments in 2023.
The 10-K states that the Textron eAviation segment is focused on research and development initiatives related to sustainable aviation solutions and also manufactures a family of light aircraft and gliders with both electric and combustion engines.
The 10-K states that a significant portion of the products sold by these businesses are powered with lithium batteries, greatly reducing the products' impact on the environment.
The 10-K states that the health and safety of our employees, contractors and communities is a priority, and we strive to provide our employees with healthy working conditions and safe facilities.
The 10-K states that during 2024, we derived approximately 29% of our revenues from international business, including U.S. exports. Conducting business internationally exposes us to additional risks than if we conducted our business solely within the U.S.
The 10-K states that finance receivables are diversified across geographic region and borrower industry. At December 28, 2024, 58% of our finance receivables were distributed internationally and 42% throughout the U.S., compared with 57% and 43%, respectively, at December 30, 2023.
The 10-K states that we are subject to increasing compliance risks that could adversely affect our operating results. As a global business, we are subject to laws and regulations in the U.S. and other countries in which we operate.