Is Elbit Systems profitable in 2025?

Yes. Elbit Systems reported FY2025 revenue of $7.9 billion (up 16% YoY), GAAP net income of $534 million, non-GAAP net income of $598 million, and free cash flow over $550 million at 100% cash conversion, per its results dated 2026-03-17 for the year ended 2025-12-31.

Who owns Elbit Systems?

Elbit Systems is an independent public company, dual-listed as NASDAQ: ESLT and TASE: ESLT, not a subsidiary of any parent. Chairman Michael Federmann is the largest shareholder following the 2000 El-Op merger; CEO is Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis, as of 2026.

Could AI replace Elbit Systems' defense products?

Unlikely near-term. Elbit builds its own AI/autonomy stack in-house (Dominion-X, Magni-X, SkyStriker) rather than relying on third-party models, and frontier AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic structurally avoid lethal-targeting integration due to liability and policy barriers, as of 2026.

Who is Elbit Systems' biggest competitor?

Domestically, state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are Elbit's closest peers, competing for the same wartime demand pool rather than taking share from Elbit; Rafael's 2025 sales reportedly grew about 30% versus Elbit's 16%, per an April 2026 industry report.

What is Elbit Systems' order backlog as of 2026?

Elbit's order backlog reached a record $30.2 billion at the end of Q1 2026 (up from $28.1 billion at end-2025), with 71% originating from outside Israel, according to results published 2026-05-26.

Is Elbit Systems under legal or political pressure?

Yes. Elbit and subsidiary Orion Advanced Systems have been suspended from NATO NSPA procurement since July 2025 amid a bribery probe, freezing roughly 13 to 15 contracts worth about 100 million euros; Elbit disputes the suspension, per reporting dated 2026-05-11.

Space, defense and state enterprises · Israel

Elbit Systems

elbitsystems.com ↗

Israeli maker of defense electronics, sensors, and weapons systems for militaries worldwide.

Hard to displace

Assessed 24 July 2026 · Evidence as of 24 July 2026

Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.

On the recordSince 24 July 2026 · Checkable from August 11, 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Q2 2026 earnings report, key read on backlog burn and demand trajectory

The call

Elbit's backlog and export-locked contracts run years ahead of any AI or rival threat, leaving politics and ceasefires, not competition, as the real swing factors.

Elbit Systems makes weapons systems, sensors, and helmets for militaries around the world. It is extremely hard to replace because governments require security clearances, local factories, and years of testing before they will buy, and Elbit has already done all that work for dozens of countries. The one thing that could hurt the company is not a rival or new technology, but political pressure: a corruption investigation into NATO purchases or successful divestment campaigns by groups opposed to Israeli companies could force customers to walk away from existing contracts.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. Elbit builds its own AI/autonomy stack (Dominion-X, SkyStriker) inside classified systems; no outside model wraps around lethal targeting here. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: IAI and Rafael (Israeli state-owned peers). Both compete for the same wartime budgets and export deals as Elbit today, but that's rivalry for demand, not Elbit losing contracts to them. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. Security clearances, export controls, and sovereign-offset production deals (Germany, Australia, Brazil) that new entrants and AI tools cannot copy.

What would change this call

Outcome of NATO/NSPA corruption probe (formal debarment or EU-wide procurement freeze). Would show political/regulatory risk translating into real contract loss, not just headline risk.
Q2 2026 earnings release on August 11, 2026, especially backlog trend and Aerospace segment. Would reveal whether record backlog and revenue growth are continuing or stalling.
Refinancing outcome of the $545M syndicated loan that matured April 2026. Would indicate whether financing costs are rising due to reputational or political pressure.

Key numbers

Order backlog hit $30.2B, about 4x annual revenue (2026-03-31)
FY2025 revenue $7.9B, up 16% year over year (2025-12-31)
71% of backlog comes from outside Israel (2026-03-31)

Named risks

NATO/NSPA corruption probe could escalate to formal debarment or EU-wide procurement freeze. Severity: high
BDS divestment and boycott campaigns causing contract cancellations (Brazil ATMOS, Japan Itochu) and insurer withdrawals. Severity: medium
Revenue and backlog growth tied to continued active conflicts; ceasefire in Gaza or Ukraine could reduce demand. Severity: medium
Refinancing uncertainty after $545M syndicated loan matured April 2026 amid bank divestment pressure. Severity: medium
Reputational exclusion from European trade venues (Paris Air Show 2025) signaling diplomatic friction. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries)	contesting	State-owned peer with ~$6.5B 2025 revenue, up 21% YoY, per April 2026 report
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems	losing to	Rafael sales up ~30% in 2025 vs Elbit's 16%, per April 2026 industry report
Anduril	contesting	Formed teaming agreement rather than pure rivalry for US 10x10 vehicle program, June 2026
Thales Group	contesting	Competes in naval, avionics, and C4ISR segments per April 2026 competitive landscape report
Lockheed Martin	gaining on	Elbit supplies F-35 helmet-mounted display as component partner, not head-to-head platform rival

Questions people ask

Is Elbit Systems profitable in 2025?: Yes. Elbit Systems reported FY2025 revenue of $7.9 billion (up 16% YoY), GAAP net income of $534 million, non-GAAP net income of $598 million, and free cash flow over $550 million at 100% cash conversion, per its results dated 2026-03-17 for the year ended 2025-12-31.
Who owns Elbit Systems?: Elbit Systems is an independent public company, dual-listed as NASDAQ: ESLT and TASE: ESLT, not a subsidiary of any parent. Chairman Michael Federmann is the largest shareholder following the 2000 El-Op merger; CEO is Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis, as of 2026.
Could AI replace Elbit Systems' defense products?: Unlikely near-term. Elbit builds its own AI/autonomy stack in-house (Dominion-X, Magni-X, SkyStriker) rather than relying on third-party models, and frontier AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic structurally avoid lethal-targeting integration due to liability and policy barriers, as of 2026.
Who is Elbit Systems' biggest competitor?: Domestically, state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are Elbit's closest peers, competing for the same wartime demand pool rather than taking share from Elbit; Rafael's 2025 sales reportedly grew about 30% versus Elbit's 16%, per an April 2026 industry report.
What is Elbit Systems' order backlog as of 2026?: Elbit's order backlog reached a record $30.2 billion at the end of Q1 2026 (up from $28.1 billion at end-2025), with 71% originating from outside Israel, according to results published 2026-05-26.
Is Elbit Systems under legal or political pressure?: Yes. Elbit and subsidiary Orion Advanced Systems have been suspended from NATO NSPA procurement since July 2025 amid a bribery probe, freezing roughly 13 to 15 contracts worth about 100 million euros; Elbit disputes the suspension, per reporting dated 2026-05-11.

Timeline

2026-07-04CEO Machlis says Elbit will end 2026 with 4,000 new employees hired
2026-06-30Elbit Systems of America signs teaming agreement with Anduril and Oshkosh Defense
2026-06-10Elbit and Diehl Defence form partnership to offer SkyStriker to Bundeswehr
2026-05-26Q1 2026 results: revenue $2.19B, backlog hits record $30.2B
2026-04-24$545M syndicated loan including $90M from Capital One matures amid BDS pressure
2026-03-17FY2025 results reported: revenue $7.9B, up 16% YoY
2026-02-17Scotiabank completes full divestment of its Elbit stake
2025-07NATO NSPA suspends Elbit and subsidiary Orion amid bribery probe
2025-06Paris Air Show organizers exclude Israeli company stands including Elbit
2025-02Germany selects Elbit's PULS rocket launcher in $57M order

Revision history

24 July 2026

First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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