RTX Stock: What to Know Before the U.S. Market Opens on Dec. 26, 2025

U.S. equities return from the Christmas Day closure with a full session on Friday, Dec. 26, 2025—and RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX) is entering the post-holiday open near the top of its one-year range after a steady flow of defense wins, ongoing Pratt & Whitney operational headlines, and a policy backdrop that’s becoming a bigger variable for the entire contractor group.

RTX closed the most recent session (Christmas Eve) at $186.38, within striking distance of its 52-week high near $187.

Below is what investors, traders, and long-term holders should have on their radar before the opening bell.

Stock market schedule: why Dec. 26 matters for premarket positioning

The U.S. stock market was closed Thursday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) and reopens Friday, Dec. 26 with normal trading hours—after an early close at 1:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 24. ^[1]

There was also added confusion this year because a federal government closure directive for Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 made headlines—but major U.S. exchanges said they would stick to their regular schedules. ^[2]

For RTX specifically, the calendar matters because liquidity and headline sensitivity often increase in the first session after a market holiday—especially for large-cap industrial/defense names that trade heavily on contract news and Washington signals.

RTX stock snapshot heading into the Dec. 26 open

RTX enters the session with momentum:

Last close (Dec. 24): $186.38
52-week range: roughly $100.08 to $187.14

In plain English: the stock is near its one-year highs, which can be bullish (strength begets strength) but also raises the bar for “good news” to push shares materially higher. Any disappointment—guidance nuance, program risk, or policy shifts—can hit harder when a stock is priced for continued execution.

The biggest near-term driver: a fresh $1.7B Patriot deal for Spain

The most market-relevant headline in the days immediately before the Dec. 26 open is Raytheon’s $1.7 billion award to deliver four Patriot air and missile defense systems to Spain. ^[3]

Why it matters:

Patriot demand is global and sustained, tied to real-world air defense needs and replenishment cycles.
Large orders can reinforce confidence in backlog durability and multi-year production visibility.
RTX often benefits from “follow-on” implications: training, spares, sustainment, and upgrades can extend the economic tail beyond the initial delivery.

This contract also fits a broader pattern: Reuters noted additional Patriot demand this year from countries including Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania. ^[4]

Defense contract momentum remains a core part of the RTX bull case

The Spain Patriot award didn’t arrive in isolation. RTX has had a string of defense-related announcements that support the narrative of strong demand across missiles, sensors, and sustainment:

Iron Dome missile deal: RTX’s joint venture Raytheon-Rafael Protection Systems won a $1.25 billion contract to supply missiles and related items for Israel’s Iron Dome, alongside investment in an Arkansas production facility. ^[5]
F-35 engine sustainment: RTX secured a $1.6 billion contract for sustainment of F135 engines used on Lockheed Martin’s F-35, covering depot-level maintenance, repair, engineering support, and spares. ^[6]
Coyote program scale: The Pentagon awarded Raytheon a $5.04 billion contract tied to the Coyote missile system. ^[7]

For investors, these are not just “one-off” headlines. They help shape expectations for segment revenue stability, margin resilience, and cash generation—especially if commercial aerospace volatility persists.

Next-gen positioning: autonomy, sensors, and space cloud partnerships

RTX is also continuing to signal where it wants to be in the next defense cycle—particularly around autonomy, advanced sensors, and space systems modernization.

Two items to watch:

Autonomous aircraft sensor work: Raytheon announced a U.S. Air Force contract to equip the autonomous X-62A VISTA test aircraft with PhantomStrike radar—an angle that plays directly into autonomy testing and future air combat technology direction. ^[8]
AWS collaboration for space customers: Raytheon also announced a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to advance satellite data processing and mission control operations using cloud-based tools, including AI/ML services. ^[9]

Even if these don’t move near-term revenue the way a Patriot order does, they can matter for multiple expansion—the idea that markets may assign higher valuation to primes showing credible exposure to “software-defined,” data-driven defense architectures.

Commercial aerospace swing factor: Pratt & Whitney GTF progress vs. disruption

While defense is providing clear tailwinds, Pratt & Whitney’s GTF (geared turbofan) inspection and maintenance cycle remains one of the most important moving pieces for RTX sentiment.

A recent industry update raised the estimate of stored GTF-powered aircraft to 835 at the end of October, underscoring how significant the disruption remains for airlines and the supply chain. ^[10]

The key investor question is not whether the issue exists—it does—but how quickly Pratt & Whitney can work down the maintenance queue and stabilize operational impacts.

RTX has highlighted tangible progress on capacity:

Pratt & Whitney said MRO output for the PW1100G-JM engine is up 21% year-to-date and expected to reach about 30% for the full year, supported by improved material flow and a record number of overhauls in 2025. ^[11]

What to watch into 2026:

The pace of shop visits and turnaround time improvements
Any revisions to “stored aircraft” expectations
Cash flow implications tied to operational support and compensation dynamics

In short: defense may set the floor for RTX’s story, but Pratt execution can still determine the ceiling.

Earnings and guidance: what the last quarter told investors

RTX’s last major fundamental waypoint was its Q3 2025 report, which delivered a clear beat and supported the rally:

Q3 revenue:$22.48B, up about 12% year over year
Adjusted EPS:$1.70 ^[12]

Management also raised full-year 2025 guidance:

Revenue:$86.5B to $87.0B
Adjusted EPS:$6.10 to $6.20 ^[13]

Importantly, RTX framed that strength as strong enough to help absorb tariff-related headwinds that had been a major concern earlier in 2025. ^[14]

The tariff variable hasn’t disappeared

Earlier in the year, RTX cut its 2025 profit forecast in part due to tariff costs, with an estimated ~$500 million tariff impact in 2025. ^[15]

By October, RTX said robust demand helped offset that drag and supported the upward revision to guidance. ^[16]

For the Dec. 26 open, tariffs are unlikely to be an immediate stock-moving “headline catalyst,” but they remain relevant for:

Margin expectations (especially on metal-intensive manufacturing)
Investor confidence in management’s ability to mitigate policy-driven cost shocks

Next major catalyst: Q4 2025 earnings (late January 2026 window)

The market’s next scheduled “big” event is the Q4 earnings release.

Nasdaq’s earnings calendar currently shows RTX is estimated to report around Jan. 27, 2026 (the company may confirm later). ^[17]
A recent earnings-preview item cited Wall Street expectations around $1.45 EPS for Q4, down year over year, while still noting RTX’s recent pattern of outperforming consensus. ^[18]

Given the size of RTX’s move in 2025, guidance tone and any incremental detail on Pratt & Whitney will likely matter as much as the headline EPS number.

Pension buyout: a Q4 accounting item investors should not ignore

RTX also disclosed a notable pension de-risking action:

A $2.5 billion transfer of pension obligations to Prudential via an annuity buyout
Expected to close by Dec. 30, 2025
Expected to result in a non-cash pretax charge of about $300 million in Q4 ^[19]

This is not typically a day-to-day trading catalyst, but it becomes relevant when analysts adjust forward models.

Case in point: Jefferies lifted its price target to $190 while keeping a Hold rating, and noted a reduction in its 2026 adjusted EPS view to $6.60, citing expectations for lower pension income after de-risking. ^[20]

Analyst forecasts: where Wall Street is clustering on RTX stock

Going into the Dec. 26 session, recent analyst actions skew constructive but not unanimous:

JPMorgan: raised price target to $200, maintained Overweight ^[21]
Morgan Stanley: raised target to $215, kept Overweight and framed RTX as a top pick in aerospace ^[22]
Citi: initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $211 target (as part of broader aerospace/defense coverage) ^[23]
Jefferies: target $190, Hold, with EPS sensitivity tied to pension assumptions ^[24]

One compilation of analyst targets pegged an average one-year price target around $191 with a wide dispersion between low and high estimates—useful context given RTX’s move toward the upper end of its range. ^[25]

Takeaway: the Street is generally not fighting the uptrend, but the stock’s proximity to highs makes incremental upside more dependent on continued execution and avoiding negative surprises.

The policy headline that could matter more than investors expect

A major cross-current for the sector: Reuters reported the White House was preparing a draft executive order that could restrict contractor dividends, share buybacks, and executive pay for companies that deliver weapons late or over budget, and that industry groups have pushed back on elements of the proposal. ^[26]

Even if nothing changes immediately on Dec. 26, this is the kind of headline that can move defense primes as a group because it touches:

Capital return narratives (buybacks/dividends)
Margin expectations (through potential penalties or contract terms)
Governance risk perception

For RTX holders, it’s a reminder that defense stocks can trade on Washington risk just as much as they trade on contract wins.

What to watch specifically during the Dec. 26 session

If you’re following RTX into the open, here’s the practical checklist:

Any follow-on details around the Spain Patriot award
More detail can reinforce how quickly deliveries convert into revenue and whether there are additional European pipeline signals. ^[27]
Pratt & Whitney headlines
Any update on GTF shop capacity, stored aircraft, or supplier throughput can sway sentiment quickly. ^[28]
Policy headlines on contractor payouts
The market may reprice the whole group on even small incremental reporting. ^[29]
Pension buyout closing updates (into year-end)
This matters more for modeling than trading, but it can influence analyst commentary as January earnings approach. ^[30]
Holiday liquidity effects
Post-holiday sessions can be headline-driven with thinner volume—sometimes exaggerating moves in either direction.

Bottom line for RTX stock before the Dec. 26, 2025 open

RTX goes into the Dec. 26 reopen with three big narratives in play:

Defense demand remains robust, reinforced by a major Patriot win and other large awards. ^[31]
Commercial aerospace is improving operationally but still noisy, with GTF progress competing against the reality of substantial fleet disruption. ^[32]
Policy risk is rising and could become a bigger driver of sector valuation in 2026 than many investors are currently pricing. ^[33]

With RTX trading near its 52-week high, the market is effectively signaling confidence—so the near-term question is whether fresh contract momentum and operational execution can keep pace with an increasingly complex policy and cost backdrop.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Consider your risk tolerance and consult a qualified financial professional before making trading decisions.