Rheinmetall AG published an edited transcript of its Full Year 2025 earnings call (conference call held March 11, 2026). The call was led by Armin Papperger (Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO) and Klaus Neumann $(CFO)$ and included Q&A with analysts from Exane BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Bernstein, Jefferies, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Kepler Cheuvreux, Redburn Partners, Barclays and Warburg Research, among others. Management highlighted strong 2025 performance driven by defense demand, with nearly EUR10 billion in sales, operating result up 33% to EUR1.841 billion and an operating margin of 18.5%, while noting the figures exclude the automotive/civilian business. “The year 2025 was a good year for Rheinmetall,” Papperger said, adding that “with nearly EUR10 billion sales, it’s a good year.” Neumann said growth was “primarily existing businesses,” with about EUR0.5 billion of sales contributed by acquisitions, mainly Loc Performance. The company emphasized cash generation and customer prepayments, reporting EUR1.218 billion in operational free cash flow and citing strong Q4 advances. Neumann said a key driver was “successful negotiations with our customers that agreed to substantial advance and early payments from new orders.” Rheinmetall also detailed capacity expansion across ammunition, vehicles and air defense, including ramp-ups at Unterlüß and recovery at Murcia, plus plans to scale air defense output. Papperger said the group expects heightened demand for air defense and munitions amid Middle East tensions, noting customers have asked for faster deliveries: “We expect strong orders over the next months because… these countries asked us if we are able to deliver fast more of our systems.” For 2026, Rheinmetall guided to 40%–45% sales growth to EUR14.0–14.5 billion and an operating margin of about 19%, with potential backlog growth to EUR135 billion by end-2026. Papperger pointed to major order catalysts, especially the Boxer “Arminius” program, describing it as “the real big beast,” with an expected EUR12–13 billion fixed order and “down payment rate… between 20% and 30%.” He also flagged a multi-billion artillery ammunition contract (600,000–700,000 rounds) and additional potential in Puma upgrades and protected trucks. Strategically, Rheinmetall discussed integrating its newly acquired Naval Systems business, pursuing space and satellite programs in Germany (including SAR with ICEYE and a communications constellation), progressing digital modernization (D-LBO), and building missile/rocket-motor capacity with partners while pushing for faster execution. On U.S. opportunities, Papperger said the XM30 program remains promising: “We are… on a very good way with the US Army,” adding he hopes for an order next year. The full transcript can be accessed through the link below.
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