Newport News Shipbuilding’s parent company, Huntington Ingalls Industries, reported meaningful progress over the past year and is entering 2026 with strong momentum.
Chris Kastner, president and CEO of HII, the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, reported solid progress in the company’s operational initiatives, including hiring and investing over $400 million in capital improvements in 2025, during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday. He said the company is planning hundreds of millions in capital investment, including at the Newport News shipyard, again this year.
Those projects at Newport News include finishing a multipurpose carrier refueling and overhaul work center, making pier updates to support carrier inactivation, significant investments in manufacturing centers to support higher submarine throughput and completion of a new parking garage that began construction in 2025.
“With more than 40 ships at Ingalls and Newport News in active construction or modernization, our focus in 2026 is clear: We must build on this momentum and continue to increase our shipbuilding throughput,” Kastner said. “The U.S. Navy and all of our defense customers need our ships and technologies now more than ever.”
Tom Stiehle, executive vice president and chief financial officer, reported that Newport News Shipbuilding’s fourth-quarter revenues were $1.9 billion, an increase of $303 million or 19% from 2024. Its revenues in 2025 were $6.5 billion, an increase of $538 million or 9% compared with 2024.
The shipyard’s fourth-quarter operating income was $84 million, up from $38 million last year. In 2025, it was $331 million, up from $246 million in 2024.
The increases were mainly driven by higher volumes in submarines and aircraft carriers and contract adjustments in the Virginia-class submarine program, partially offset by 2024 contract adjustments and incentives in the aircraft carrier refueling and complex overhaul program, according to the report.
Looking ahead to 2026 and 2027, the company expects significant contract awards and plans to work through the majority of challenged pre-COVID contracts.
HII hired over 6,600 shipbuilders in 2025 and expects to hire at least that many this year, Kastner said. The company gained roughly 500 workers from its W International acquisition in South Carolina and also plans to increase outsourcing again this year after doubling it last year.
Key milestones in 2025 for Newport News Shipbuilding included launching its South Carolina operations, installing the first 3D-printed valve manifold assembly on a new aircraft carrier, and awarding contracts for construction of two additional Virginia-class submarines. The shipyard also marked the keel laying of Virginia-class attack submarine Barb, launched Virginia-class submarine Arkansas and delivered Virginia-class submarine Massachusetts to the U.S. Navy.
“The global security environment demands that we operate with a sense of urgency and purpose that matches the seriousness of the threats our nation faces,” Kastner said.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
