German arms giant Rheinmetall reports strong earnings in first quarter

German arms giant Rheinmetall on Thursday reported higher earnings and operating margin in the first quarter as the company continues to benefit from Germany's boost in military spending. 

Consolidated operating result increased 17% to €224 million ($263 million) from last year's €191 million. The operating result margin was at 11.6%, up from 10.6% in the previous year.

In the first quarter, consolidated sales climbed 8% to €1.938 billion from the previous year's €1.8 billion.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger said the company expects "stronger growth in sales and order intake, with large-volume orders in the naval business and in the vehicles business."

Over the full year, the Dusseldorf-based company continues to expect an increase in consolidated sales to between €14 billion and €14.5 billion from last year's €9.94 billion.

Rheinmetall still expects the group, including acquisitions, to improve its operating result in the current 2026 fiscal year and to achieve an operating result margin of around 19%, compared to 18.5% last year.

In the first quarter, earnings per share from continuing operations improved to €2.18 euros from €1.78 last year.

Rheinmetall's backlog increased to €73 billion euros as of March 31, 2026 from last year's €56 billion. The Naval Systems division was included for the first time with an order backlog of €5.5 billion.