Chapter 1 · Growth

$209M — a Q1 record. Commercial aerospace +18% YoY.

Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A320 and A220 single-aisle ramps drove the growth alongside defense missile programs.

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✦ The bottom line

Ducommun's Q1 2026 revenue of $209.0 million was a record first quarter — up 9% from $192.5M. The split mattered: commercial aerospace +18% YoY (waiting-and-finally-arriving demand from Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus single-aisle ramps), and defense steady with strength in the Patriot missile and F-35/F-15 programs.

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✦ Teach me

What 'tier-2 aerospace supplier' actually means

Aerospace supply chains are layered. Tier-1 suppliers (like RTX, Lockheed) sell finished systems to Boeing or the Pentagon. Tier-2 (where Ducommun lives) makes the components that go into those tier-1 systems — electronic assemblies, structural parts, harnesses. Tier-2 work is more commoditized but steadier and tied to multi-year defense programs and aircraft production rates. The tier-2 business is harder to grow but harder to lose.

When Boeing makes 50 737 MAXes a month vs. 30, Ducommun's revenue moves with the ramp. The math is direct.

Ducommun runs two segments. Electronic Systems ($117.6M Q1) makes circuit cards and assemblies — the higher-margin business, with operating margin near 20%. Structural Systems ($91.4M Q1) makes airframe parts like wing-skin assemblies — lower margin (around 11%) but it's the unit that captures aircraft production-rate increases the most directly.

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