⚠ Two Billion Dollars a Year of AmortizationLow threat

RTX (RTX) — threat to the moat

RTX's acquisitions cost it about $2 billion of reported operating profit every year, which its adjusted earnings leave out.

The acquisitions leave a permanent mark on RTX's income statement. Acquisition accounting adjustments were $2,203 million in 2021 and $2,005 million in 202512. They are the amortization of intangible assets recorded when the businesses were bought, and they shrink slowly.

Reported and adjusted EPS, 2025 ($)4.96Reported6.29AdjustedRTX Q4 2025 earnings release; gap 1.33, of which 1.15 acquisition accounting
A fifth of adjusted earnings is amortization.

They are non-cash, and RTX excludes them from adjusted earnings. In 2025 they explained $1.15 of the $1.33 gap between reported and adjusted earnings per share3. That is legitimate, but it makes the adjusted figure flattering: an investor paying on adjusted earnings of $6.29 is paying on profits that exclude the cost of acquiring them.

The risk is one of perception. When reported and adjusted earnings diverge by a fifth, the market can re-rate either way.

The charge is barely falling. Acquisition accounting adjustments were $2,203 million in 2021, $1,998 million in 2023, $2,058 million in 2024 and $2,005 million in 202545. At that pace the gap between reported and adjusted earnings will remain large for years.

The amortization falls as older intangibles run off. Watch the gap between reported and adjusted EPS; at $1.33 in 20256 it is about a fifth of adjusted earnings, and it should shrink each year if RTX makes no large new purchase.

References
  1. ReportedAcquisition accounting adjustments were $2,203 million in 2021 and $2,005 million in 2025.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - the three-segment recast of 2021-2022, the GTF family powering more than 1,700 aircraft for 70 operators, backlog of $196 billion, the Carrier and Otis separation and Chinese sanctions on Raytheon Missiles & Defense. — FY2023 · publ. February 2024 · source ↗
  2. ReportedAcquisition accounting adjustments were $2,203 million in 2021 and $2,005 million in 2025.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 segment review and Note 20: net sales and operating profit by segment for 2023-2025, organic sales drivers (commercial aftermarket, OEM, military), sales by customer type, products and services, segment assets, capital expenditure and research and development - totals across segments: segment sales and profit, eliminations, acquisition accounting and FAS/CAS adjustments. — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIn 2025 they explained $1.15 of the $1.33 gap between reported and adjusted earnings per share.
    RTX fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99 - adjusted EPS of $6.29, free cash flow of $7,940 million, adjusted segment results and the January 2026 outlook. — FY2025 · publ. 27 January 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedAcquisition accounting adjustments were $2,203 million in 2021, $1,998 million in 2023, $2,058 million in 2024 and $2,005 million in 2025.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - the three-segment recast of 2021-2022, the GTF family powering more than 1,700 aircraft for 70 operators, backlog of $196 billion, the Carrier and Otis separation and Chinese sanctions on Raytheon Missiles & Defense. — FY2023 · publ. February 2024 · source ↗
  5. ReportedAcquisition accounting adjustments were $2,203 million in 2021, $1,998 million in 2023, $2,058 million in 2024 and $2,005 million in 2025.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 segment review and Note 20: net sales and operating profit by segment for 2023-2025, organic sales drivers (commercial aftermarket, OEM, military), sales by customer type, products and services, segment assets, capital expenditure and research and development - totals across segments: segment sales and profit, eliminations, acquisition accounting and FAS/CAS adjustments. — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. Moat Explorer calcWatch the gap between reported and adjusted EPS; at $1.33 in 2025 it is about a fifth of adjusted earnings, and it should shrink each year if RTX makes no large new purchase.
    Moat Explorer calculation from RTX's Form 10-K FY2025, Q2 2026 earnings release and market data ($ millions unless stated). Goodwill plus intangibles 53,343 + 31,845 = 85,188; 85,188 / 171,079 = 49.8% of total assets; other assets 171,079 - 85,188 = 85,891. Reported against adjusted EPS 2025: 6.29 - 4.96 = 1.33, of which 1.15 acquisition accounting. Return on equity 6,732 / ((65,245 + 60,156) / 2) = 10.7%. Net debt: 37,700 + 204 - 7,435 = 30,469 (December 2025); 31,858 + 5,296 + 229 - 8,305 = 29,078 (June 2026). Net interest 1,749 / operating profit 9,300 = 18.8%. Dividends paid 3,574 / free cash flow 7,940 = 45%; free cash flow covers dividends 7,940 / 3,574 = 2.2 times. Pension items 753 + 1,182 = 1,935; 1,935 / net income 6,732 = 29%. Trailing twelve months to June 2026: revenue 88,603 + 46,784 - 41,887 = 93,500; net income 6,732 + 4,198 - 3,192 = 7,738. P/E 255.27 / 7.738 = 33.0; P/S 255.27 / 93.50 = 2.73. Year-end P/E = market value / net income and P/S = market value / revenue: 2021 128.81 / 3.864 = 33.3 and 128.81 / 64.388 = 2.00; 2022 148.36 / 5.197 = 28.5 and 2.21; 2023 120.99 / 3.195 = 37.9 and 120.99 / 68.920 = 1.76; 2024 154.03 / 4.774 = 32.3 and 1.91; 2025 245.90 / 6.732 = 36.5 and 2.78; 2020 108.60 / 56.587 = 1.92 (loss year). Revenue growth since 2023: 93.50 / 68.92 - 1 = 36%; market value 255.27 / 120.99 = 2.1 times. Share price against 52-week high 189.40 / 226.88 - 1 = -16.5%. Peers: Lockheed Martin plus General Dynamics 121.09 + 92.75 = 213.84 (below RTX's 255.27); RTX / Northrop Grumman 255.27 / 73.08 = 3.5 times. Q2 2026 operating margin 2,811 / 24,708 = 11.4%. Price over 2025 adjusted EPS 189.40 / 6.29 = 30 times. 2024 legal and termination cash 1.5 / free cash flow 4.534 = 33%. Pension sensitivity about 1.0 billion per 25 basis points, so about 4 billion per point; 4,000 / equity 65,245 = 6%. Enterprise value over trailing sales 285.82 / 93.50 = 3.1 times; price over 2026 consensus adjusted EPS 189.40 / 7.24 = 26 times. Purchase obligations after 2026 about 47 - 29 = 18 billion. Forecast extension: 2028 revenue 103.18 x 1.07 = 110.40 and EPS 7.85 x 1.084 = 8.51, extending 2027 consensus growth (not consensus). — 2020-2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in RTX's Forms 10-K and 10-Q, earnings releases, earnings call and market data; operands shown in the source line.
Sources
Generated September 28, 2026