Backlog: $52 Billion to $86 BillionWide moat

RTX (RTX) — moat facet

Raytheon's backlog rose from $52 billion to $86 billion in two and a half years, about three years of sales under contract.

Raytheon's backlog has grown faster than its sales. It stood at $52 billion at the end of 20231 and $75 billion at the end of 20252, and reached $86 billion in June 20263, a rise of about 65% in two and a half years4. Raytheon's sales were $28,043 million in 20255, so the backlog is about three years of work6.

Raytheon backlog ($bn)52Dec 202363Dec 202475Dec 202586Jun 2026RTX Form 10-K FY2025; Q2 2026 earnings call
Up about two-thirds in two and a half years.

Defence bookings explain it. Raytheon booked $31,889 million of defence orders in 2023, $39,235 million in 2024 and $39,975 million in 20257, each year more than it shipped. In the second quarter of 2026 alone it booked $19.9 billion8.

A defence backlog is sturdier than a commercial one. It is mostly funded government contracts, and the products are sole-source designs: Standard Missile, AMRAAM, Patriot interceptors, SPY-6 radars9. The risk is not cancellation so much as execution, since many of these contracts carry fixed prices.

The backlog also shows the international shift. It was 48% international in June 202610.

The quarter's bookings show the scale. Raytheon booked $19.9 billion in the second quarter of 2026, driven by more than $5 billion of GEM-T Patriot effector orders and more than $4 billion of classified awards11. At that pace the segment could add more backlog in a single quarter than it ships in two.

Raytheon's backlog would be larger still if RTX counted options. Its backlog excludes unexercised contract options and potential orders under indefinite-delivery contracts12, which are common in missile programmes. The reported figure is a floor on what customers intend to buy, not a ceiling.

The backlog is the most reliable forecast in RTX. It turns into sales at a rate set by factory capacity, so the number to watch is Raytheon's sales growth, 18% in the second quarter of 202613; if the backlog keeps rising while sales growth falls below 5%, capacity rather than demand is the constraint.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Backlog $75bn (2025) to $86bn (June 2026).

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Raytheon backlog, latest quarter
$86bn (June 2026), 48% international

Work under contract; a stall while sales grow would mean demand has peaked.

Source: RTX Q2 2026 earnings call transcript ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Framework Agreements Are Not Contracts
RTX's five munitions framework agreements with the Department of War are not yet contracts and are not counted in its backlog.
References
  1. ReportedIt stood at $52 billion at the end of 2023 and $75 billion at the end of 2025, and reached $86 billion in June 2026, a rise of about 65% in two and a half years.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - segment results for 2022-2024, backlog of $218 billion and the powder-metal customer-compensation accrual. — FY2024 · publ. February 2025 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt stood at $52 billion at the end of 2023 and $75 billion at the end of 2025, and reached $86 billion in June 2026, a rise of about 65% in two and a half years.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - customers and backlog: sales to the U.S. government (38%, 40%, 46% of net sales in 2025-2023), Airbus (about 14%, 14%, 17% before discounts and incentives; 29%, 31%, 48% of Pratt & Whitney sales), Boeing and Airbus at 16% of Collins sales, international sales of 47%, and total, commercial and defence backlog with remaining performance obligations. — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIt stood at $52 billion at the end of 2023 and $75 billion at the end of 2025, and reached $86 billion in June 2026, a rise of about 65% in two and a half years.
    RTX second-quarter 2026 earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool) - Raytheon bookings and book-to-bill, GTF aircraft-on-ground and MRO output, munitions output, framework agreements, the defence budget request, GTF Advantage, Collins margin plans and segment outlook - commercial: GTF fleet, maintenance output, aftermarket, orders, Collins and the outlook. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. Moat Explorer calcIt stood at $52 billion at the end of 2023 and $75 billion at the end of 2025, and reached $86 billion in June 2026, a rise of about 65% in two and a half years.
    Moat Explorer calculation from RTX's Forms 10-K FY2023-FY2025, Form 10-Q Q2 2026 and Q2 2026 earnings call. GTF aircraft: more than 2,600 against more than 1,700, about 900 more, 2,600 / 1,700 - 1 = 53%; operators 70 to over 90. Raytheon backlog 86 / 52 - 1 = 65% (December 2023 to June 2026); 86 / 28.043 = 3.1 years of 2025 sales. Total backlog 289 / 93.5 = 3.1 years of trailing sales. Pratt & Whitney share of backlog 151 / 268 = 56% (December 2025). Commercial share of backlog 170 / 289 = 59%; defence 119 / 289 = 41% (June 2026). Defence backlog 119 / 78 - 1 = 53% (December 2023 to June 2026). Government share of 2025 net sales (33,279 + 6,702 + 6,123) / 88,603 = 46,104 / 88,603 = 52%; foreign governments 6,702 + 6,123 = 12,825, 12,825 / 88,603 = 14.5%. — 2023-2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in RTX's Forms 10-K and 10-Q, earnings releases, earnings call and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  5. ReportedRaytheon's sales were $28,043 million in 2025, so the backlog is about three years of work.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 segment review and Note 20: net sales and operating profit by segment for 2023-2025, organic sales drivers (commercial aftermarket, OEM, military), sales by customer type, products and services, segment assets, capital expenditure and research and development - Raytheon: segment sales, operating profit, organic drivers, defence bookings and customer types. — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. Moat Explorer calcRaytheon's sales were $28,043 million in 2025, so the backlog is about three years of work.
    Moat Explorer calculation from RTX's Forms 10-K FY2023-FY2025, Form 10-Q Q2 2026 and Q2 2026 earnings call. GTF aircraft: more than 2,600 against more than 1,700, about 900 more, 2,600 / 1,700 - 1 = 53%; operators 70 to over 90. Raytheon backlog 86 / 52 - 1 = 65% (December 2023 to June 2026); 86 / 28.043 = 3.1 years of 2025 sales. Total backlog 289 / 93.5 = 3.1 years of trailing sales. Pratt & Whitney share of backlog 151 / 268 = 56% (December 2025). Commercial share of backlog 170 / 289 = 59%; defence 119 / 289 = 41% (June 2026). Defence backlog 119 / 78 - 1 = 53% (December 2023 to June 2026). Government share of 2025 net sales (33,279 + 6,702 + 6,123) / 88,603 = 46,104 / 88,603 = 52%; foreign governments 6,702 + 6,123 = 12,825, 12,825 / 88,603 = 14.5%. — 2023-2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in RTX's Forms 10-K and 10-Q, earnings releases, earnings call and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  7. ReportedRaytheon booked $31,889 million of defence orders in 2023, $39,235 million in 2024 and $39,975 million in 2025, each year more than it shipped.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - customers and backlog: sales to the U.S. government (38%, 40%, 46% of net sales in 2025-2023), Airbus (about 14%, 14%, 17% before discounts and incentives; 29%, 31%, 48% of Pratt & Whitney sales), Boeing and Airbus at 16% of Collins sales, international sales of 47%, and total, commercial and defence backlog with remaining performance obligations. — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedIn the second quarter of 2026 alone it booked $19.9 billion.
    RTX second-quarter 2026 earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool) - Raytheon bookings and book-to-bill, GTF aircraft-on-ground and MRO output, munitions output, framework agreements, the defence budget request, GTF Advantage, Collins margin plans and segment outlook - commercial: GTF fleet, maintenance output, aftermarket, orders, Collins and the outlook. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedIt is mostly funded government contracts, and the products are sole-source designs: Standard Missile, AMRAAM, Patriot interceptors, SPY-6 radars.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business: the three segments and their products, the GTF family powering more than 2,600 aircraft for over 90 operators, the F135 as sole-source engine on all F-35 variants, GTF Advantage certification, the IAE collaboration shares, employees (about 180,000 in 52 countries, 69% in the U.S.) and the divested businesses. — FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedIt was 48% international in June 2026.
    RTX second-quarter 2026 earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool) - Raytheon bookings and book-to-bill, GTF aircraft-on-ground and MRO output, munitions output, framework agreements, the defence budget request, GTF Advantage, Collins margin plans and segment outlook - defence: Raytheon bookings, book-to-bill and backlog, munitions output, framework agreements and the budget request. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedRaytheon booked $19.9 billion in the second quarter of 2026, driven by more than $5 billion of GEM-T Patriot effector orders and more than $4 billion of classified awards.
    RTX second-quarter 2026 earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool) - Raytheon bookings and book-to-bill, GTF aircraft-on-ground and MRO output, munitions output, framework agreements, the defence budget request, GTF Advantage, Collins margin plans and segment outlook - defence: Raytheon bookings, book-to-bill and backlog, munitions output, framework agreements and the budget request. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedIts backlog excludes unexercised contract options and potential orders under indefinite-delivery contracts, which are common in missile programmes.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - customers and backlog: sales to the U.S. government (38%, 40%, 46% of net sales in 2025-2023), Airbus (about 14%, 14%, 17% before discounts and incentives; 29%, 31%, 48% of Pratt & Whitney sales), Boeing and Airbus at 16% of Collins sales, international sales of 47%, and total, commercial and defence backlog with remaining performance obligations. — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  13. ReportedIt turns into sales at a rate set by factory capacity, so the number to watch is Raytheon's sales growth, 18% in the second quarter of 2026; if the backlog keeps rising while sales growth falls below 5%, capacity rather than demand is the constraint.
    RTX second-quarter 2026 earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool) - Raytheon bookings and book-to-bill, GTF aircraft-on-ground and MRO output, munitions output, framework agreements, the defence budget request, GTF Advantage, Collins margin plans and segment outlook - defence: Raytheon bookings, book-to-bill and backlog, munitions output, framework agreements and the budget request. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 28, 2026