Leonardo (LDO IM) H1 2026 (EUR): adj. net 476mln (prev. 273.6mln Y/Y)

• Order backlog +30% to EUR 59bln
• Maintains FY26 revenue view; sees FY26 revenue of EUR 22.10bln
• Sees FY26 orders at EUR 28.2bln

A sharp rise in adjusted net profit alongside a large step-up in order backlog fits the pattern seen across European defence primes through the recent rearmament cycle, where earnings prints have been driven less by margin surprise than by the conversion of swelling backlogs into revenue. The distinction worth drawing is between the beat on profit and the maintained guidance: holding the full-year revenue view after a strong half tends to read as conservatism rather than softness, but it caps the upgrade narrative until order intake confirms the raised trajectory implied by the order forecast. Defence names of this kind have historically traded on backlog and book-to-bill as the leading indicators, with the income statement lagging procurement cycles by design. The follow-ons are the quality of the backlog composition, any commentary on margins within specific divisions such as helicopters and electronics, and whether guidance is revisited at the next checkpoint as has been common in this peer set when order momentum persists. Confirmed backlog growth of this magnitude is the harder number to dispute and typically anchors the rerating more than the half-year profit itself.