Amid surging global demand for defense modernization, advanced nuclear technologies, and secure cloud infrastructure, Amentum is demonstrating significant financial momentum. In its latest earnings release, the Chantilly, Virginia-based government services contractor announced its highly anticipated Amentum Q3 2026 revenue, reporting $3.49 billion for the quarter and officially raising crucial portions of its full-year earnings outlook.
Strong Margins and Raised FY2026 Outlook
The third-quarter results highlight a massive leap in profitability and operational efficiency for the company. Amentum reported $66 million in net income for the quarter, a substantial jump compared to the $10 million recorded in the prior-year period. Operating income rose 67 percent year-over-year to hit $172 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 6 percent to $290 million. Free cash flow also saw a significant 35 percent boost, reaching $135 million.
Amentum CEO John Heller, a 10-time Wash100 Award winner, emphasized that the company’s strong year-to-date execution fundamentally enabled leadership to increase guidance for both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted diluted earnings per share.
For the remainder of fiscal 2026, Amentum narrowed its revenue guidance range to between $13.8 billion and $13.95 billion. Notably, the company raised its adjusted EBITDA guidance to between $1.115 billion and $1.14 billion, and increased adjusted diluted EPS expectations to between $2.40 and $2.50.
Surging Backlog and Major Contract Wins
A critical driver of this financial confidence is Amentum’s rapidly expanding pipeline of future work. The company recorded $17.7 billion in net bookings over the past 12 months, achieving a trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio of 1.3x. Total backlog increased by 8 percent year-over-year to a staggering $48.2 billion, while funded backlog grew 10 percent to reach $6.2 billion.
This massive backlog expansion was fueled by several highly strategic contract wins across multiple domains, including:
- More than $1 billion in classified U.S. and international defense awards.
- A $974 million Center Maintenance Operations and Engineering II contract to support NASA’s Langley Research Center.
- Roughly $500 million tied to NASA’s Contract for Organizing Spaceflight Mission Operations and Systems (COSMOS).
- Over $400 million in specialized work supporting advanced global nuclear technologies.
- Approximately $250 million in technology modernization efforts covering cloud infrastructure, data centers, and secure communications networks.
Navigating the NASA Workforce Directive
While the overall outlook is highly positive, Amentum leadership also addressed upcoming structural changes within its civilian space portfolio. Looking ahead to fiscal 2027, the company expects a roughly 3 percent revenue impact stemming from a new NASA workforce directive. This policy shift will transition certain scientific and engineering roles currently performed by contractors directly back into the agency.
Stephen Arnette, Chief Operating Officer of Amentum and a previous Wash100 Award winner, noted that NASA has successfully communicated its plan on a contract-by-contract basis, providing the company with clear visibility into the transition’s scope. Arnette highlighted that because the affected contracts are margin-dilutive to Amentum, the ultimate financial impact on the company’s adjusted EBITDA will be notably smaller than the top-line revenue adjustment, allowing the firm to maintain its strong profitability trajectory.
