NEW YORK, Feb 23, 2026, 16:53 (ET) — After-hours
- GE Aerospace slipped roughly 1.2% in after-hours trading, with shares last quoted near $339.
- The company landed a $12.4 million award from the U.S. Air Force, teaming up with Kratos to work on a small jet engine design for collaborative combat aircraft.
- Tariff swings remain in focus for investors, along with GE Aerospace’s upcoming earnings set for April 21.
Shares of GE Aerospace slipped roughly 1.2% in after-hours action Monday, landing near $339. The drop came after the jet-engine company disclosed it had secured a fresh U.S. Air Force deal with Kratos Defense & Security Solutions.
The award arrives just as markets churn with new U.S. trade jitters. When sentiment flips to risk-off, investors haven’t hesitated to shrug off even strong company headlines.
There’s an active push in defense these days for affordable, disposable hardware built at scale. The Air Force wants propulsion systems that are low-cost and mass-producible, moving away from one-off engines made for just a few planes.
GE Aerospace and Kratos secured a $12.4 million contract from the Air Force to move forward with the GEK1500 — a 1,500-pound-thrust engine meant for small “Collaborative Combat Aircraft,” the unmanned flyers that operate alongside piloted jets. The deal includes an option for extra funding covering further risk reduction and performance tests. According to Kratos Turbine Technologies President Stacey Rock, this effort follows on the heels of the GEK800 project. GE Aerospace Edison Works’ Steve “Doogie” Russell noted that insights from altitude tests on the earlier GEK800 are carrying over, targeting improvements in thrust, power generation, and lifecycle costs for the GEK1500. GE Aerospace
Sentiment stayed negative. Stocks slid across Wall Street, gold edged higher, and investors tried to sort out fresh winners and losers after the U.S. rolled out its latest tariff rules. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed with steep losses, according to Reuters. “Investors are giving up roughly half of Friday’s gain,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, pointing to the tariff rate’s move to 15% as “reminding us that uncertainty remains high.” Reuters
Kratos slipped around 1.8% in late trading. RTX lost about 1.4%, while Boeing dropped close to 0.7% as other aerospace stocks also headed lower.
Defense news is helping GE Aerospace, but only marginally right now. The contract covers design, not production—actual manufacturing hinges on future funding and whatever the Air Force decides to order.
That’s the risk in play. Programs like this can stall out, get trimmed back, or see their specs change—and “affordable mass” only means something if the Pentagon places large orders and sticks with them.
Near term, traders aren’t zeroed in on any single defense award. Instead, industrial margins—specifically, the impact of tariffs and supply-chain churn—are getting more attention. The risk-off tone? Traders are watching to see if it sticks around for the next session.
GE Aerospace has its first-quarter 2026 earnings webcast coming up on April 21, marking the next key date on the schedule.
