Rheinmetall posts 69% Q2 sales surge and €80 bn order backlog
Rheinmetall reported a 69% jump in second‑quarter 2026 revenue to roughly €3.29 billion, while operating profit rose to €562 million, well above the €469.9 million market consensus. The defence contractor also disclosed that its order backlog surpassed €80 billion, boosted by new contracts including a €5.7 billion package from Romania.
German bottling‑equipment maker Krones increased its second‑quarter order intake by 3.5% to €1,340.4 million, taking first‑half intake to €2,852.5 million (up 4.5%). Adjusted revenue for the first half grew 1.8% to €2,714.9 million, EBITDA margin improved to 10.8% (from 10.6%) and free cash flow before M&A moved from a €118.5 million deficit to a €21.3 million shortfall, delivering a ROCE of 17.7%.
Knorr‑Bremse posted a 7.2% revenue increase to €2.143 billion in Q2 2026 and lifted its EBIT margin to 14.2%, exceeding its internal target of 14%.
These results underline strong demand and robust order pipelines across Germany’s industrial sector despite broader macro‑economic uncertainty.
Entities: European defence market · Knorr-Bremse AG · Knorr‑Bremse AG · Krones AG · Rheinmetall AG · Romanian Ministry of Defence
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Order intake in the second quarter of 2026 increased by 3.5% to €1.3404 billion versus the previous year. (Krones AG press release)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Return on capital employed (ROCE) for the first half of 2026 was 17.7%, down from 19.0% in the prior year. (Krones AG press release)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Free cash flow before M&A activities improved by €97.2 million to a loss of €21.3 million in Q2 2026, from a loss of €118.5 million a year earlier. (Krones AG press release)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Krones confirmed its full‑year 2026 guidance: revenue growth of 3‑5% (currency‑adjusted), EBITDA margin of 10.7‑11.1%, and ROCE of 19‑20%. (Krones AG press release)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Order intake for the first six months of 2026 rose by 4.5% to €2.8525 billion compared with €2.7304 billion a year earlier. (Krones AG press release)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Krones said customers' willingness to invest remained robust despite macroeconomic uncertainties. (Krones AG press release)
- [● 2 SOURCES] EBITDA margin for January–June 2026 improved to 10.8% from 10.6% in the prior year. (Krones AG press release)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Revenue adjusted for currency translation effects increased by 1.8% to €2.7149 billion in the first half of 2026. (Krones AG press release)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Krones confirmed its 2026 full‑year guidance: revenue growth of 3‑5% (currency‑adjusted), EBITDA margin of 10.7‑11.1% and ROCE of 19‑20%. (afcb7301-0091-48ab-b84d-1841148075c1, 8bc10143-eb03-47de-aa20-fc2b95a20289, 8e5348a8-0ed0-4677-a2f0-07b98d881182)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Order intake rose 4.5% in the first six months of 2026 to €2.8525 bn. (afcb7301-0091-48ab-b84d-1841148075c1, 8bc10143-eb03-47de-aa20-fc2b95a20289, 8e5348a8-0ed0-4677-a2f0-07b98d881182)
- [● 2 SOURCES] EBITDA margin improved from 10.6% to 10.8% for Jan‑June 2026. (afcb7301-0091-48ab-b84d-1841148075c1, 8bc10143-eb03-47de-aa20-fc2b95a20289)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] EBITDA increased 3.5% to €143.9 m and net profit rose to €70.5 m. (8e5348a8-0ed0-4677-a2f0-07b98d881182)