Embraer backlog hits record US$35.7 billion at end of third quarter, up 14% year over year

Embraer's backlog reached a record US$35.7 billion at the close of the third quarter, 3% above the previous quarter's US$34.5 billion and 14% above US$31.3 billion a year earlier. The company reported the figures on Friday (23), broken down by business unit.

Commercial Aviation closed at US$15.8 billion, up 5% quarter over quarter and 4% year over year. Between July and September it received 36 firm orders and 30 purchase rights or options for the E2 family. The largest contract came from Abra Group, a new customer and controlling shareholder of Avianca, GOL and Wamos Air: 20 E195-E2s plus 10 options and 15 purchase rights, which could take the order to 45 aircraft. It was announced on July 21 at the Farnborough Airshow, with first delivery planned for the fourth quarter of 2027. Binter added five E195-E2s and four purchase rights.

Executive Aviation reached a record US$8.2 billion, up 5% and 12%. The period included the launch of the Phenom 300EV, which carries the Garmin Emergency Autoland system and, with ANAC, FAA and EASA certification, became the first light jet certified with that technology. The first Praetor 600E was delivered to Flexjet. The unit's 12-month book-to-bill was 1.4x.

Services & Support also set a record, at US$5.6 billion, up 2% and 14%. Long-term agreements were signed for the E190 fleets of Portugália (19 aircraft) and Alliance Airlines (40), the Pool Program covering the nine ERJ 145s of Western Air was extended, and 69 Executive Care contracts were closed for around US$53 million.

Defence & Security ended at US$6.1 billion, flat against the previous quarter and 56% above a year earlier. The Colombian Air Force bought two KC-390 Millenniums in a contract signed on August 4 for more than US$300 million, with deliveries projected for 2029 and 2030; Colombia is the second South American country to acquire the model after Brazil. The unit holds 43 firm KC-390 orders and 25 for the A-29 Super Tucano, with a 12-month book-to-bill of 2.9x.

Embraer delivered 66 aircraft in the third quarter, up 2% from the previous quarter and 6% year over year, which the company describes as its best third quarter. It delivered 52 commercial aircraft in the first nine months, and the floor of its annual guidance requires 28 deliveries in the fourth quarter, six more than in the third.

A backlog is a statement of future revenue, not current revenue, and its quality depends on how much of it is firm and how soon it converts. Embraer's total mixes very different timelines: Abra's first E195-E2 is not due until the fourth quarter of 2027, and the Colombian KC-390s are projected for 2029 and 2030. For a manufacturer, that spread gives multi-year visibility but also ties earnings to production ramp-up and supplier performance over a long stretch.

The unit breakdown shows how an airframer's economics are split. Services & Support and Executive Aviation both posted records, and long-term fleet-support agreements such as the Portugália and Alliance Airlines E190 deals convert an aircraft sale into a recurring relationship. Defence & Security is the lumpiest segment: it was flat on the quarter yet 56% above a year earlier, the pattern of a unit that moves in contract-sized steps rather than gradually.

The nearest test is the fourth quarter, since the floor of the annual guidance requires 28 commercial deliveries against 22 in the third quarter. Whether Embraer reaches that figure will show if the order book is being converted into delivered aircraft at the pace the guidance assumes. Abra's conversion of its options and purchase rights beyond the 20 firm E195-E2s would be the other number to track.