Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) isn’t relying on one hot market to keep growing, with its products sitting across defense and commercial nuclear and marking two areas where spending is picking up at the same time.
That overlap caught Guggenheim’s attention, and the firm initiated coverage of Curtiss-Wright with a Buy rating and a $786 price target, representing 41% upside potential at the time of its September 15 update. The analyst described the combination of rising global defense spending and elevated demand for power generation as a “compelling one-two punch” for the company.
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Curtiss-Wright’s (NYSE:CW) recent results give some weight to that argument, so let’s take a deeper look.
Bull Case
Defense is already doing some of the heavy lifting, as Curtiss-Wright’s Aerospace & Defense market sales increased 6% year over year in the second quarter. Within defense, the company pointed to higher naval defense revenue and stronger sales of electromechanical actuation equipment as key contributors. Orders tell a similar story, with total company orders increasing 8% to $1.1 billion during the quarter, and Curtiss-Wright saying that it experienced record demand for its defense electronics products. Backlog ended the quarter at $4.5 billion, 10% higher than at the end of 2025.
The other half of Guggenheim’s thesis is also beginning to show up in the numbers. Commercial market sales increased 5% in fiscal Q2, with growth in Power & Process driven mainly by higher sales of commercial nuclear solutions. In July, the company announced an $80 million multi-year expansion of its Cheswick, Pennsylvania operations, which serve naval defense and commercial nuclear customers. The project includes additional manufacturing and testing capacity, with management saying the investment is intended to help meet growing demand in both markets.
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The broader quarter was solid as well. Sales rose 5% to $924 million, while adjusted diluted EPS increased 15% to $3.72. Adjusted operating margin improved 110 basis points to 19.4%. That performance gave management enough confidence to raise its full-year outlook, and Curtiss-Wright now expects 2026 adjusted sales growth of 8% to 9% and adjusted diluted EPS of $15.10 to $15.40, representing growth of 14% to 16%.
Bear Case
There is, however, a catch to the Guggenheim thesis, which primarily revolves around how defense and nuclear aren’t newly discovered opportunities for Curtiss-Wright. The company has already been investing in both themes, and some of that demand is already visible in its $4.5 billion backlog and current sales growth. The question from here is how much more those markets can add to earnings as expectations rise.
Growth also requires spending, as Curtiss-Wright said higher research and development investment partly offset the benefits of higher revenue, favorable mix, and restructuring initiatives during the second quarter. The company is simultaneously committing capital to projects such as the $80 million Cheswick expansion. That spending may support future growth, but the payoff still depends on demand translating into actual orders and revenue over time.
Guggenheim’s $786 target also sets a high bar, as the 41% upside embedded in the analyst’s initiation assumes considerably more appreciation beyond the level at which coverage began.
Conclusion
What makes the Guggenheim call interesting is that its thesis isn’t based on something Curtiss-Wright might eventually enter. The company is already selling into both of the markets the analyst highlighted.
Defense sales are growing, commercial nuclear helped lift Power & Process results, orders reached $1.1 billion in Q2, and backlog stands at $4.5 billion, all in a backdrop where management also raised its 2026 outlook. These factors give Guggenheim’s defense-and-power thesis a foundation in Curtiss-Wright’s current business. The bigger test is whether those tailwinds remain strong enough for the company’s earnings growth to keep pace with the expectations now being placed on the stock.
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
