Howmet (HWM) CEO says every major market is in growth mode at once

As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on August 6, 2026.

Earnings · 2026 Q2 John Plant CEO
Looking ahead, Howmet is well positioned, with all our major markets in growth mode. More robust build rates for commercial aircraft are supported by record backlogs, while engine spares needs continue to increase. Defense markets remain healthy, and the focus for missiles, drones and collaborative combat aircraft continues with growth expected over the medium term. Demand in the gas turbines market is extraordinary with customers already revisiting and adding to their demand outlooks. The…

Power-demand buyers are already coming back to raise their orders, and Howmet's chief says every end market it serves is growing at once: aero, defense, gas turbines and now commercial trucks. For a $109 billion supplier, that is the rare setup where no segment is dragging.

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John Plant's remarks on the Q2 2026 earnings call painted an unusually broad picture of demand strength. Commercial aerospace is being driven by what he called record backlogs and rising engine-spares needs, defense spending remains healthy with growth expected in missiles, drones, and collaborative combat aircraft over the medium term, and gas turbines have moved beyond steady demand into what Plant described as extraordinary territory, with customers already coming back to revise their outlooks upward.

The gas turbine comment is notable because it suggests the power-demand surge is not just holding — it is accelerating into Howmet's order book in real time. For a $109 billion supplier whose product lines span precision aerospace structures, jet engine components, fasteners, and forged wheels for commercial trucks, having no segment in retreat at the same time is the kind of operational leverage that tends to show up clearly in margins.

The commercial truck market rounds out the picture as the newest growth contributor alongside the more established aero and defense lines. With all four end markets moving in the same direction simultaneously, investors will be watching whether Howmet can translate that breadth of demand into sustained pricing power and capacity utilization through the back half of 2026.

Sources

Mentioned: HWM

Related Market Updates

HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
Q2 2026
EPS
$1.33
est $1.25 +6.7%
Revenue
$2.55B
est $2.43B +4.8%

Howmet raised full-year revenue guidance to $10.0 billion to $10.1 billion on gas turbine demand management calls extraordinary. Engine Products margins, the dividend increase and buybacks all moved higher with it.

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Earnings · 2026 Q2 John Plant CEO
Our capital expenditure requirements continue to increase, and we already see the need to increase this further in 2027 to support future organic growth expectations in both the aerospace and gas turbines markets. We closed the CAM acquisition in April, and the integration is on track. Continued healthy cash generation will allow us to achieve pre-CAM leverage levels in short order, with the Company well positioned to consider all paths of capital deployment optionality going forward.

A $109 billion supplier telegraphing another spending step-up for 2027 is confirming that jet engine and gas turbine order books are booked out well past next year. The April CAM deal added leverage, but management expects to be back at pre-deal levels quickly, which puts buybacks and further M&A back on the table.

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