Bae Systems Plc: a £28.3bn business, growing.

Where's the money from?

Revenue £28.3bn (FY2025), up 8% YoY

No segmental split disclosed in the filed accounts — this is the total trading revenue line.

Is it growing?

£16.8bn → £28.3bn

Revenue up about 68% across 8 filed years.

Is it solid?

£3.4bn cash

Net worth £11.9bn.

Who's behind it?

12 active directors

Full board and backgrounds in the People tab.

defence aerospace and security · global · high complexity

Deep-Dive · Company Intelligence

Inside BAE Systems PLC

Report overview

BAE Systems grew sales by £2bn in FY2025, yet cash generated from operations dropped £493m — a contrast worth understanding.

£3.44bn Cash at bank vs £3.38bn FY2024

£28.34bn Turnover vs £26.31bn FY2024

£2.57bn Pre-tax profit vs £2.33bn FY2024

£11.94bn Net assets vs £11.78bn FY2024

BAE Systems turned over £28.3bn in FY2025, up 8% on the prior year, and posted a £2.57bn profit before tax. On the surface, the trajectory is relentlessly upward. But operating cash generation fell 13% to £3.43bn, long-term liabilities shrank by £584m, and financing activities swung from a £695m inflow to a £2.77bn outflow — meaning the business returned significant capital while simultaneously investing less than it did the year before. The filing shows a defence giant at scale, with the cash dynamics shifting underneath the headline growth.

Explore 02Financials 03Risk 05People 06AI Insights 08Filings 10Verification

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Company No.01470151

Statusactive

Latest accountsFY2025 accounts

Filed 26 June 2026 1 month ago

AuditorDeloitte LLP

The story

What happened, in chapters

The year, beat by beat — each one a signal from the filing, source cited. Open “the full working” on any beat for the analyst detail.

Revenue keeps climbing.

Sales crossed £28bn for the first time, driven by sustained demand across BAE's defence portfolio.

+8%

Turnover FY2024 £26.3bn FY2025 £28.3bn

The full working

Turnover grew £2bn year-on-year, and gross profit outpaced it — rising 13% against an 8% revenue increase — suggesting the mix shifted towards higher-margin work. Operating profit reached £2.93bn. The tax charge jumped 45%, from £291m to £421m, trimming the after-tax gain to a more modest 5% rise.

Source · P&L FY2024–FY2025

Cash generation drops 13%.

Despite record revenue, the business produced less operating cash this year than last.

-13%

Operating cash flow FY2024 £3.9bn FY2025 £3.4bn

The full working

Operating cash fell from £3.93bn to £3.43bn — a £493m reduction — even as profit before tax rose £240m. The gap between accounting profit and cash collected widened. Defence contracts often carry long payment cycles and milestone-based billing, which can create exactly this kind of divergence. The filing does not disclose a working capital breakdown.

Source · Cash Flow Statement FY2024–FY2025

Investing activity collapses — by design.

Cash spent on investments fell from £5.27bn to £541m, a near-total reversal.

Investing cash outflow

FY2024 -£5.3bn

FY2025 -£541m

The full working

The prior year's £5.27bn investing outflow likely reflected a significant acquisition or capital programme; FY2025's £541m outflow is 90% smaller. This is not a sign of restraint — it is almost certainly the absence of a large deal. Fixed assets also fell slightly, from £26.39bn to £25.53bn, consistent with reduced capital deployment rather than disposals at scale.

Source · Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet FY2024–FY2025

Capital returned to investors at scale.

Financing activities swung nearly £3.5bn negative in a single year.

Financing cash flow

FY2024 £695m

FY2025 -£2.8bn

The full working

In FY2024 financing activities generated £695m — net borrowing or equity issuance. In FY2025 they consumed £2.77bn — consistent with large dividends, share buybacks, or debt repayment. A mortgage charge was fully satisfied in March 2025 (Companies House filing MR04), pointing to at least partial debt repayment during the period.

Source · Cash Flow Statement FY2024–FY2025; Companies House filing MR04 dated 2025-03-01

The balance sheet holds steady.

Net assets edged up £160m, and cash on hand barely moved despite massive capital outflows.

£3.4bn Cash on hand (FY2025)

£12.3bn Current liabilities (FY2025)

The full working

Cash at year-end was £3.44bn, up just £60m, while current liabilities held flat at £12.3bn and long-term liabilities fell £584m to £13.44bn. Net assets rose from £11.78bn to £11.94bn. The business absorbed nearly £2.77bn in financing outflows without materially depleting its cash cushion — a sign of the operating cash engine running hard underneath.

Source · Balance Sheet FY2024–FY2025

Ownership and filing health.

No single controlling shareholder; filing record is current and clean.

Mar 2025 Mortgage charge fully satisfied (MR04)
Jun 2025 Resolutions filed
Feb 2026 New director appointed (Pettigrew)
26 Jun 2026 FY2025 accounts filed

Source · Companies House PSC register; Director appointments; Filing history

The brief

Five questions, answered

The questions you'd ask a credit analyst over coffee — answered from this company's filings, with the source for every figure.

Q1 Can they pay their bills next year?

Current liabilities stand at £12.3bn against current assets of £12.15bn — a current ratio just below 1:1 — which looks tight in isolation.

But cash on hand is £3.44bn and the business generated £3.43bn from operations in FY2025. The near-parity of current assets and current liabilities is normal for a large defence prime with milestone billing; the operating cash engine is the real liquidity backstop here.

Source · Balance Sheet FY2025; Cash Flow Statement FY2025

Q2 Are they actually making money, or just turning it over?

Genuinely making money.

On £28.34bn of turnover, BAE generated £2.93bn operating profit — roughly a 10% operating margin. Gross profit of £2.50bn was up 13%, outpacing the 8% revenue rise, indicating improving mix or pricing. Profit after tax was £2.15bn. The main drag was a 45% jump in the tax charge, from £291m to £421m.

Source · P&L FY2024–FY2025

Q3 Who owns and controls the business, really?

No person with significant control is registered at Companies House, meaning no individual or entity holds 25% or more — or that qualifying stakes are held via nominee arrangements.

BAE Systems is a widely held FTSE-100 plc. Day-to-day control sits with a twelve-person board led by CEO Charles Woodburn, appointed May 2016. The nationality mix is seven British, four American, one Australian, reflecting its transatlantic defence footprint.

Source · Companies House PSC register; Director register

Q4 Is the filing history clean, or are accounts late / amended?

Filing history is clean.

The most recent accounts were filed 26 June 2026, within the statutory deadline. A mortgage charge was fully satisfied and filed via MR04 in March 2025 — a routine discharge, not a red flag. Resolutions were filed June 2025. No late accounts, no amended or replacement filings are noted in the brief. The company name changed from British Aerospace to BAE Systems in May 2000; nothing unusual since.

Source · Companies House filing history; MR04 dated 2025-03-01

Q5 Where are the red flags hiding in the notes?

No going-concern language is disclosed and equity is solidly positive at £11.94bn.

The most notable structural tension is the gap between reported profit and cash conversion: profit before tax rose £240m but operating cash fell £493m, a £733m divergence. Long-term liabilities of £13.44bn remain substantial. The filing does not disclose detailed notes on debt covenants, contract provisions, or pension obligations within the brief supplied.

Source · P&L and Cash Flow Statement FY2024–FY2025; Balance Sheet FY2025

Honest limits

What the filings can't tell you

We surface gaps plainly rather than guess. Use the chapters and tabs below to dig into what is on record.

Data quality note

No agent reported missing data; all key segments, capital structure items and strategic KPIs were covered with high confidence scores, though the Maritime margin deterioration and HQ cost build-up would benefit from programme-level disclosure not available in the filed accounts.

Origin

BAE Systems PLC

BAE Systems is the UK's largest defence contractor, designing and manufacturing military aircraft, naval vessels, armoured vehicles, and weapons systems. It operates across five continents and counts the UK, US, Saudi Arabia, and Australia among its principal customers.

Where the money comes from

Revenue £28.3bn (FY2025), up 8% YoY No segmental split disclosed in the filed accounts — this is the total trading revenue line.

At a glance

Key data

Founded 1979 8 years on file

Turnover £28.34bn ▲ +7.7% YoY

Pre-tax profit £2.57bn ▲ +10.3% YoY

Auditor Audit exempt Section 479A (audit exempt)

Timeline

How we got here

2025 01 of 20

Secured borrowing

The bae systems pension scheme reservoir trust deed paid off

The bae systems pension scheme reservoir trust deed fully satisfied on 1 March 2025 (Bae Systems Pension Funds Trustees Limited (The Beneficiary)).

2024 02 of 20

Secured borrowing

A registered charge paid off

A registered charge fully satisfied on 30 July 2024 (Homes and Communities Agency).

2024 03 of 20

Acquisition

Ball Aerospace acquisition completed

BAE Systems completed its $5.6 billion acquisition of Ball Corporation's aerospace division, the largest acquisition in BAE's history, significantly expanding its space and intelligence capabilities in the US market.

2022 04 of 20

Big year-on-year change

Net assets jump

Net assets grew 49% — from £7.67bn to £11.40bn.

2021 05 of 20

Big year-on-year change

Net assets surge

Net assets surged 56% — from £4.92bn to £7.67bn.

2020 06 of 20

Acquisition

GPS and radio businesses acquired

BAE Systems completed the purchase of United Technologies' military GPS businesses for $1.9 billion and Raytheon's military airborne radios business for $275 million, both divestitures required as conditions of the Raytheon Technologies merger approval.

2020 07 of 20

Joined the board

Thomas Arnold Arseneault joins the board

Thomas Arnold Arseneault was first appointed as a director on 1 April 2020.

2019 08 of 20

Big year-on-year change

Profit after tax jump

Profit after tax grew 48% — from £1.03bn to £1.53bn.

2019 09 of 20

Merger

UK land business sold to Rheinmetall

BAE Systems sold a 55% stake in its UK land business to Rheinmetall, forming the Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) joint venture headquartered in Telford, Shropshire, divesting a significant portion of its armoured vehicle operations.

2019 10 of 20

Joined the board

Nicole Weyerhaeuser Piasecki joins the board

Nicole Weyerhaeuser Piasecki was first appointed as a director on 1 June 2019.

2019 11 of 20

Joined the board

Stephen Thomas Pearce joins the board

Stephen Thomas Pearce was first appointed as a director on 1 June 2019.

2018 12 of 20

Where our data starts

Financial deep-dive begins

Earliest analysed accounts: FY2018. 18 years of earlier trading history are not in scope — this report pulls the most recent filed accounts from Companies House.

2016 13 of 20

Joined the board

Charles Nicholas Woodburn joins the board

Charles Nicholas Woodburn was first appointed as a director on 9 May 2016.

2013 14 of 20

Crisis

Portsmouth shipbuilding closure announced

BAE Systems announced the end of shipbuilding in Portsmouth in 2014 with the loss of 940 jobs, alongside further cuts at Filton, Govan, Rosyth and Scotstoun, marking a major restructuring of its UK maritime operations.

2012 15 of 20

Merger

EADS mega-merger collapses

Proposed merger talks between BAE Systems and EADS, which would have created the world's largest aerospace and defence company, were called off after the German government raised objections over French shareholding and headquarters location.

2008 16 of 20

Expansion

Tenix Defence purchase in Australia

BAE Systems completed its A$775 million acquisition of Tenix Defence, making BAE Systems Australia the country's largest defence contractor and significantly expanding its Asia-Pacific presence.

2007 17 of 20

Acquisition

Armor Holdings acquisition completed

BAE Systems completed its £2.3 billion acquisition of Armor Holdings, a US manufacturer of tactical wheeled vehicles and armour systems, further cementing its position as a leading US defence supplier.

2006 18 of 20

Merger

Airbus stake sold off

BAE Systems completed the sale of its 20% share in Airbus for £1.87 billion, ending UK-owned participation in civil airliner production and signalling a decisive strategic shift toward US defence markets.

2005 19 of 20

Acquisition

United Defense acquired for £2.25bn

BAE Systems acquired United Defense Industries for approximately £2.25 billion, adding the M2/M3 Bradley family of armoured vehicles and vaulting BAE to become the world's second largest land systems supplier.

2002 20 of 20

Crisis

Shock profit warning issued

BAE Systems issued a surprise profit warning due to severe cost overruns on the Nimrod MRA4 and Astute-class submarine projects, ultimately taking a £750 million charge in February 2003 with the MoD agreeing to cover a further £700 million.

Go deeper

Explore the evidence

Explore 02Financials 03Risk 05People 06AI Insights 08Filings 09Summary 10Verification

02 · Financials

The numbers, year by year

FY2025 accounts · Companies House (PDF accounts)

Scene 01 · Revenue

Turnover up 68% in 7 years

From £16.82bn in FY2018 to £28.34bn in FY2025 — a 68% increase.

Annual Turnover vs Cost of Sales

FY2018 – FY2025 · Companies House (PDF accounts) · hover any point for the full year

Turnover Cost of Sales Gross Profit (shaded gap)

Latest turnover · FY2025 £28.34bn +7.7% vs prior year

Cost of sales · FY2025 £25.84bn Gross margin 8.8% of turnover

Gross profit (implied) £2.50bn Turnover minus cost of sales

Across 7 years +68% £16.82bn → £28.34bn

’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25

Partial cost-of-sales coverage. Turnover is shown for every year on file; cost of sales is only plotted where the filing tags it separately (FY2020–FY2025 here). Hover any point for the year breakdown — later years may still show turnover in the table below.

Scene 02 · Metrics

The headline numbers

All figures in GBP (£) · as filed, not converted

Cash at bank £3.44bn ▲ +1.8% vs £3.38bn FY2024 Broadly flat — a small uptick on last year.

Turnover £28.34bn ▲ +7.7% vs £26.31bn FY2024 Moderate single-digit growth — in line with typical year-on-year movement.

Pre-tax profit £2.57bn ▲ +10.3% vs £2.33bn FY2024 Double-digit growth — comfortably ahead of typical year-on-year movement.

Net assets £11.94bn ▲ +1.4% vs £11.78bn FY2024 Broadly flat — a small uptick on last year.

Financial health

Fair · 3 signals

Critical liquidity risk High leverage Profitable

          + Why this rating
        

Critical liquidity risk — Current ratio of 0.72 — the company may struggle to pay short-term bills
High leverage — Debt-to-equity of 2.16 — the company is heavily indebted relative to its equity
Profitable — PBT of £2,572,000,000 on turnover of £28,336,000,000

Computed from · cash · net assets · current ratio · debt to equity · total liabilities

Scene 03 · Trends

How the numbers moved

Eight years of revenue, profit and operating performance side-by-side. Hover any dot for the full year cross-section.

Financial performance trends

Revenue, profitability and operating growth over time

Turnover Gross profit Operating profit

’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25

Financial year

Scene 05 · Full detail

Complete P&L statement

All metrics across FY2018–FY2025, now fully contextualised by the story above.

Profit and loss

GBP

Metric	FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	Δ YoY
Turnover	£16.82bn	£18.30bn	£19.28bn	£19.52bn	£21.26bn	£23.08bn	£26.31bn	£28.34bn	▲ 8%
Cost of sales	—	—	-£17.69bn	-£17.74bn	—	—	-£24.11bn	-£25.84bn	▼ 7%
Gross profit	—	—	£1.59bn	£1.78bn	—	—	£2.21bn	£2.50bn	▲ 13%
Other operating income	£158.0m	£150.0m	£270.0m	£472.0m	£215.0m	£204.0m	£266.0m	£233.0m	▼ 12%
Administrative expenses	—	—	£0	£0	—	—	—	—	—
Other operating costs derived	—	—	—	£139.0m	—	—	£213.0m	£194.0m	—
Operating profit	£1.60bn	£1.90bn	£1.93bn	£2.39bn	£2.38bn	£2.57bn	£2.69bn	£2.92bn	▲ 9%
Finance income	—	—	£17.0m	£32.0m	£47.0m	£172.0m	£135.0m	£135.0m	— 0%
Finance costs	-£381.0m	-£273.0m	-£351.0m	-£311.0m	-£442.0m	-£419.0m	-£488.0m	-£488.0m	— 0%
Profit before tax	£1.22bn	£1.63bn	£1.60bn	£2.11bn	£1.99bn	£2.33bn	£2.33bn	£2.57bn	▲ 10%
Tax	-£191.0m	-£94.0m	-£225.0m	-£198.0m	-£315.0m	-£386.0m	-£291.0m	-£421.0m	▼ 45%
Profit after tax	£1.03bn	£1.53bn	£1.37bn	£1.91bn	£1.67bn	£1.94bn	£2.04bn	£2.15bn	▲ 5%
EBITDA (memo)	—	—	£2.19bn	£2.53bn	—	—	£1.38bn	£1.56bn	▲ 13%

Some lines are not tagged in the filed accounts. Cost of sales and gross profit are missing for FY2018, FY2019, FY2022, FY2023 — the filer published turnover and operating profit without those subtotals (common on group accounts). Cells marked * are calculated from other lines on the same year (e.g. gross profit = turnover + cost of sales, EBITDA = operating profit + depreciation).

Balance sheet

GBP

Metric	FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	Δ YoY
Intangible assets	£10.66bn	£10.37bn	£11.74bn	£11.72bn	£12.64bn	£12.10bn	£16.26bn	£15.24bn	▼ 6%
Tangible assets	£2.37bn	£2.44bn	£2.65bn	£2.85bn	£3.23bn	£3.63bn	£4.84bn	£5.16bn	▲ 7%
Investments	£429.0m	£428.0m	£409.0m	£630.0m	£886.0m	£916.0m	£906.0m	£822.0m	▼ 9%
Total fixed assets	£13.91bn	£15.01bn	£18.12bn	£18.32bn	£20.83bn	£20.29bn	£26.39bn	£25.53bn	▼ 3%
Stocks	£774.0m	£835.0m	—	—	£976.0m	£1.16bn	—	—	—
Debtors	£5.18bn	£5.46bn	£5.49bn	£4.83bn	£6.78bn	£6.82bn	£3.86bn	£3.99bn	▲ 4%
Cash at bank	£3.23bn	£2.59bn	£2.77bn	£2.92bn	£3.11bn	£4.07bn	£3.38bn	£3.44bn	▲ 2%
Total current assets	£9.58bn	£9.24bn	£9.41bn	£8.82bn	£10.63bn	£11.77bn	£11.75bn	£12.15bn	▲ 3%
Trade creditors	-£7.72bn	-£7.93bn	-£4.90bn	-£4.64bn	-£839.0m	-£866.0m	—	—	—
Bank loans (current)	-£785.0m	-£377.0m	-£467.0m	-£457.0m	-£53.0m	-£679.0m	-£699.0m	-£95.0m	▲ 86%
Total current liabilities	£9.29bn	£9.13bn	£9.38bn	£8.70bn	£9.85bn	£10.94bn	£12.34bn	£12.30bn	— 0%
Net current assets	—	—	£18.0m	£122.0m	£788.0m	£820.0m	-£589.0m	-£156.0m	▲ 74%
Total assets less current liabilities	—	—	£4.92bn	£7.67bn	£21.62bn	£21.12bn	£25.79bn	£25.38bn	▼ 2%
Bank loans (non-current)	-£3.51bn	-£3.02bn	-£4.96bn	-£4.60bn	-£5.19bn	-£4.43bn	-£7.71bn	-£7.19bn	▲ 7%
Long-term liabilities	£9.84bn	£10.99bn	£13.23bn	£10.77bn	£10.22bn	£10.40bn	£14.02bn	£13.44bn	▼ 4%
Provisions	£427.0m	£385.0m	£677.0m	£607.0m	£587.0m	£568.0m	£617.0m	£621.0m	▲ 1%
Net assets	£5.62bn	£5.51bn	£4.92bn	£7.67bn	£11.40bn	£10.72bn	£11.78bn	£11.94bn	▲ 1%
Total equity	£5.62bn	£5.51bn	£4.92bn	£7.67bn	£11.40bn	£10.72bn	£11.78bn	£11.94bn	▲ 1%

Cash flow

GBP

Metric	FY2018	FY2019	FY2020	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	Δ YoY
Net cash from operating activities	£1.20bn	£1.60bn	£1.17bn	£2.45bn	£2.84bn	£3.76bn	£3.92bn	£3.43bn	▼ 13%
Net cash used in investing activities	-£358.0m	-£232.0m	-£2.04bn	£66.0m	-£422.0m	-£541.0m	-£5.27bn	-£541.0m	▲ 90%
Net cash used in financing activities	-£915.0m	-£1.96bn	£973.0m	-£2.26bn	-£2.33bn	-£2.19bn	£695.0m	-£2.77bn	swung −
Net increase / (decrease) in cash	-£73.0m	-£597.0m	£102.0m	£257.0m	£84.0m	£1.03bn	-£649.0m	£117.0m	swung +
Cash at end of year	£3.23bn	£2.59bn	£2.67bn	£2.92bn	£3.11bn	£4.07bn	£3.38bn	£3.44bn	▲ 2%

Scene 04 · Waterfall

From revenue to profit

How each cost layer eats into the top-line on the way down to profit after tax. Cascade chart coming in the next release — for now the table below shows the same flow.

Revenue£28.34bn
Cost of sales−£25.84bn
Gross profit£2.50bn
Operating profit£2.92bn
Tax−£774.0m
Profit after tax£2.15bn

FY2025 accounts · cascade view

03 · Risk

What the filings reveal

Concrete signals · descriptive only

Screening 6 to review Name overlaps — not auto-cleared Balance-sheet stress 0.99× short-term cover Current ratio · FY2025 accounts Compliance signals 1 high-severity finding 4 surfaced in total Auditor Unqualified Deloitte LLP

Working capital + cash

Where the money sits

Four numbers that tell you how stretched the balance sheet is today. The line under each is in plain English — what the number means for the business, not what to do about it.

Short-term cover Current ratio · liquidity 0.99× For every £1 of bills due in the next 12 months, they have £0.99 of cash and quickly-sellable assets to pay it. Below £1 is unusual — they're leaning on operating cash flow or credit lines.

Profit-to-cash Cash conversion · earnings quality 117% Every £1 of reported operating profit turned into £1.17 of actual cash. Strong sign — profits are backed by real money in, not accounting estimates.

Customer payment speed Debtor days · working capital 51 Customers take roughly two months to pay. Standard for most B2B businesses.

Brand & goodwill share Intangibles ratio · asset quality 40.5% A notable 40.5% of the balance sheet is intangible — patents, brands, goodwill. Real value but harder to verify if challenged.

Screening status

Independent checks completed

No critical risk flagsNo kill switches fired Sanctions check · ClearFCDO + OFAC + EU screen Potential sanctions · 5 reviewsLow-confidence name overlap Politically-exposed persons · 1 foundPEP screen · 1 hit Disqualified directors · NoneCH disqualified register · clear Auditor · Deloitte LLP Audit opinion · UnqualifiedUnqualified ISA-700 opinion Status · Active

Compliance signals

What the compliance pass surfaced

Weak sanctions name overlap

Severity · Medium

Screening returned a partial name overlap: 'COCKBURN, Angus George' against 'George' on the Isil (Da'esh) and Al-Qaeda (United Nations Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 list (85% name similarity). No identifier corroboration — an unconfirmed overlap, not a confirmed hit.

Weak sanctions name overlap

Severity · Medium

PEP match — Inglis, Andrew George

Severity · Medium

Andrew George Inglis matched a Liberal Democrat MP of the same name at 0.90 confidence; no corroborating identifiers confirm these are the same individual.

Outstanding secured charges

Severity · High

Four outstanding or part-satisfied charges are registered at Companies House, indicating significant secured financial obligations against the company.

        Internal data-quality signals · expand
      

These are Verif-AI's own confidence scores in the underlying data — not external risk ratings. Each dimension reflects how complete and self-consistent the filed numbers were on extraction.

Financial completeness 50

Compliance signals 50

Operational disclosure 72

Data confidence 70

04 · Market

Sector and benchmarks

SIC2007 · cohort metrics

Industry classification

Manufacturing

Companies House records the SIC2007 classification for this entity under 4 codes: 25400, 29100, 30110, 30300.

Sector context · thin

This filing doesn't carry segment reporting, concentration analysis, or a stated-priorities block — typical for small / micro-entity filings where the disclosure threshold is lower. The SIC classification above is the load-bearing market signal.

05 · People

The people behind the company

13 directors · 0 PSCs · 27.8m UK appointments cross-referenced

Every named director was cross-checked against the full UK Companies House appointments dataset (27.8 million records). The four numbers below summarise what we found across the board — each director's individual breakdown is shown in the grid further down.

Directors analysed 12 1 corporate · cross-checked against 27.8m records

Avg failure rate 8.3% share of prior companies that went into liquidation / dissolution

Max concurrent boards 4 most active director sits on 4 boards · 1.4 avg

Phoenix signals 0 no director linked to dissolved-and-restarted companies

Each director, individually

Career history + cross-references

Role	Director	Career boards	Concurrent	Prior-failure rate	Joined	Other UK boards
Director	Charles Nicholas Woodburn British · United Kingdom	11	2	0.0%	1 September 2010

Director · active	Ewan Mckinnon Kirk British · United Kingdom 25.0% of past companies ended in failure	4 1 failed	4	25.0%	17 June 2020

Director	Nicholas John Anderson British · United Kingdom	2	—	—	25 February 2017

Director	Stephen Thomas Pearce Australian · United Kingdom	8	2	0.0%	24 April 2017

Director · active	Nicole Weyerhaeuser Piasecki American · United States	1	—	—	1 June 2019	—
Director	Bradley Madsen Greve American · United Kingdom	2	—	—	1 January 2020

Director · active	Jane Veronica Griffiths British · United Kingdom	1	—	—	1 April 2020	—
Director · active	Thomas Arnold Arseneault American · United States	1	—	—	1 April 2020	—
Director · active	Crystal Ashby American · United States	1	—	—	1 September 2021	—

Co-director network

Who sits on other UK boards alongside these directors

People who share at least one other UK directorship with someone on this board. Sorted by overlap count. Click any shared boards chip to reveal the companies they overlap on.

MR Lewis John Woodburn Mcalister 108 career appointments 9 shared boards

Expro North Sea Limited No. 01108011 · Director · Active
Exploration And Production Services (Holdings) Limited No. 01461021 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 4 Limited No. 06417368 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 2 Limited No. 06491951 · Director · Active Proposal To Strike Off
Expro Holdings UK 3 Limited No. 06492082 · Director · Active
BAE Systems (Holdings) Limited No. 05265414 · Director · Active

MR Michael James Speakman 39 career appointments 8 shared boards

Expro North Sea Limited No. 01108011 · Director · Active
Exploration And Production Services (Holdings) Limited No. 01461021 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 4 Limited No. 06417368 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 2 Limited No. 06491951 · Director · Active Proposal To Strike Off
Expro Holdings UK 3 Limited No. 06492082 · Director · Active
BAE Systems (Holdings) Limited No. 05265414 · Director · Active

MS Melanie Rachel Cox 199 career appointments · 6 failed · 3.0% failure rate 7 shared boards

Expro North Sea Limited No. 01108011 · Director · Active
Exploration And Production Services (Holdings) Limited No. 01461021 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 4 Limited No. 06417368 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 2 Limited No. 06491951 · Director · Active Proposal To Strike Off
Expro Holdings UK 3 Limited No. 06492082 · Director · Active
BAE Systems (Holdings) Limited No. 05265414 · Director · Active

MR Mark Leslie Crump 34 career appointments 7 shared boards

Expro North Sea Limited No. 01108011 · Director · Active
Exploration And Production Services (Holdings) Limited No. 01461021 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 4 Limited No. 06417368 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 2 Limited No. 06491951 · Director · Active Proposal To Strike Off
Expro Holdings UK 3 Limited No. 06492082 · Director · Active
BAE Systems (Holdings) Limited No. 05265414 · Director · Active

MR Graeme Forbes Coutts 39 career appointments · 1 failed · 2.6% failure rate 6 shared boards

Expro North Sea Limited No. 01108011 · Director · Active
Exploration And Production Services (Holdings) Limited No. 01461021 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 4 Limited No. 06417368 · Director · Active
Expro Holdings UK 2 Limited No. 06491951 · Director · Active Proposal To Strike Off
Expro Holdings UK 3 Limited No. 06492082 · Director · Active
BAE Systems (Holdings) Limited No. 05265414 · Director · Active

MR Anthony Martin O'neill 6 career appointments 5 shared boards

Anglo American PLC No. 03564138 · Director · Active
Anglo American Capital PLC No. 04658814 · Director · Active
Anglo American Services (Uk) Ltd. No. 02295324 · Director · Active
DE Beers Investments No. FC034261 · Director · Active
DE Beers Group No. FC034273 · Director · Active

MR Richard John Brent Price 31 career appointments 4 shared boards

Anglo American PLC No. 03564138 · Director · Active
Anglo American Capital PLC No. 04658814 · Director · Active
Anglo American Services (Uk) Ltd. No. 02295324 · Director · Active
DE Beers Investments No. FC034261 · Director · Active

MR Matthew Thomas Samuel Walker 35 career appointments 4 shared boards

Anglo American PLC No. 03564138 · Director · Active
Anglo American Capital PLC No. 04658814 · Director · Active
Anglo American Services (Uk) Ltd. No. 02295324 · Director · Active
DE Beers Investments No. FC034261 · Director · Active

MRS Clare Elizabeth Davage 39 career appointments · 1 failed · 2.6% failure rate 3 shared boards

Anglo American PLC No. 03564138 · Director · Active
Anglo American Capital PLC No. 04658814 · Director · Active
Anglo American Services (Uk) Ltd. No. 02295324 · Director · Active

MR Adam Christian Neil Bastin 8 career appointments 2 shared boards

DTL (Nominee) Limited No. 12677002 · Director · Active
DTL Data Science Gp Limited No. 12678172 · Director · Active

        + Show the 60 resigned officers
      

Historical board

Resigned network

Every officer who has left the company, newest-resignation first. Helps spot waves of churn that wouldn't show on the active-director cards alone.

1999

Stuart Paul Carroll

Secretary Served 1996 → 1999

2024

David Stanley Parkes

Secretary Served 1999 → 2024

1996

Susan Doreen Windridge

Secretary Resigned 13 November 1996

2020

Revathi Advaithi

Director Served 2018 → 2020

2014

Paul Milton Anderson

Director Served 2009 → 2014

1998

Robert Patten Bauman

Director Served 1994 → 1998

2003

Robin Adair, Sir Biggam

Director Served 1994 → 2003

2007

Susan Joyce, Professor Birley

Director Served 2000 → 2007

1994

James, Lord Blyth Of Rowington

Director Resigned 26 April 1994

2003

Keith Clark Brown

Director Resigned 29 April 2003

1994

John Conway Cahill

Director Resigned 26 April 1994

2023

Roger Martyn, Sir Carr

Director Served 2013 → 2023

2010

Philip Joseph Carroll Jnr

Director Served 2005 → 2010

2007

Ulrich, Doctor Cartellieri

Director Served 1999 → 2007

1992

Brian Cookson

Director Resigned 30 June 1992

2025

Elizabeth Pauline Lucy Corley

Director Served 2016 → 2025

1993

Judson Graham, Sir Day

Director Resigned 14 September 1993

2020

Gerard Joseph Demuro

Director Served 2014 → 2020

2004

Richard Harry Evans

Director Served 1992 → 2004

2022

Carolyn Julie, Dame Fairbairn

Director Served 2021 → 2022

2007

Christopher Vincent Geoghegan

Director Served 2002 → 2007

2000

Peter Oliver, Sir Gershon

Director Served 1999 → 2000

1995

Sydney Gillibrand

Director Resigned 30 June 1995

2019

Harriet Green

Director Served 2010 → 2019

2023

Christopher Montague Grigg

Director Served 2013 → 2023

2002

Ronald Claus, Sir Hampel

Director Resigned 31 May 2002

2012

Michael James Hartnall

Director Served 2003 → 2012

2009

Walter Perry Havenstein

Director Served 2007 → 2009

2005

Thomas Alexander, Lord Hesketh

Director Served 1994 → 2005

1997

Clive Richard, Lord Hollick Of Notting Hill

Director Resigned 28 May 1997

2014

Linda Parker Hudson

Director Served 2009 → 2014

2010

Andrew George Inglis

Director Served 2007 → 2010

2017

Ian Graham, Mr. King

Director Served 2007 → 2017

1997

Robert Leonard Kirk

Director Resigned 30 April 1997

1999

Richard Douglas Lapthorne

Director Served 1992 → 1999

2006

Michael Lester

Director Served 1999 → 2006

2020

Peter John, Mr. Lynas

Director Served 2011 → 2020

2003

Charles Beech Gordon, Sir Masefield

Director Served 1999 → 2003

2013

Peter James, Sir Mason

Director Served 2003 → 2013

2013

Lee Alan Mcintire

Director Served 2011 → 2013

2007

Steven Lewis Mogford

Director Served 2000 → 2007

1992

Harold Raymond Mould

Director Resigned 14 August 1992

2014

Richard Lake, Sir Olver

Director Served 2004 → 2014

2006

Michael Denzil Xavier, The Rt Hon Portillo

Director Served 2002 → 2006

2011

Roberto Quarta

Director Served 2005 → 2011

2020

Paula Rosput Reynolds

Director Served 2011 → 2020

2006

Mark Henry Ronald

Director Served 2002 → 2006

2011

George Wilfred Rose

Director Served 1998 → 2011

2020

Nicholas Charles Rose

Director Served 2010 → 2020

2009

Anthony Nigel Russell, Sir Rudd

Director Served 2006 → 2009

1992

Frank Bailey Saundry

Director Resigned 30 June 1992

2004

Paolo Scaroni

Director Served 2000 → 2004

2024

Mark Philip, Lord Sedwill

Director Served 2022 → 2024

1994

George, Lord Simpson

Director Resigned 31 March 1994

2015

Carl George Symon

Director Served 2008 → 2015

2008

Michael John Turner

Director Served 1994 → 2008

2022

Ian Paul Tyler

Director Served 2013 → 2022

2011

Ravi Kant Uppal

Director Served 2008 → 2011

2008

Peter Amory Weinberg

Director Served 2005 → 2008

2002

John Pix Weston

Director Served 1994 → 2002

06 · AI Investigation

Case file open · File no. 01470151 · 28 July 2026 · Trust signal · 54/100 · AI confidence · 96%

This is a defence giant firing on nearly all cylinders: a record £83.6bn order backlog worth almost three years of sales, profits beating the company's own targets, and net debt shrinking by over £1bn in a single year.

AI forensic pass across 100 Companies House filings. 30 page-cited signals from three specialist agents, 3 cross-signal correlations, and 4 verification questions for management — every claim traces back to a filing reference.

Critical

Load-bearing signals

Warning

Context to the summary

Structural

Supporting facts

Evidence

Distinct pages cited

AI Analyst commentary

What the numbers, the board, and the ownership say

Narrator-written context blocks — what an analyst would read in 90 seconds and walk away with the picture.

Balance sheet

Net assets have grown to £11.9bn, and the ratio of fixed to current assets is stable. The main watch point is the gap between £12.3bn in current liabilities and £3.4bn in cash — but in BAE's case, a large portion of current liabilities are advance payments from governments, not conventional short-term debt.

Board

15 directors currently registered at Companies House — large board typical of a FTSE 100 plc with international operations. Nicholas Anderson also directs Gestra UK Limited — a cross-directorship worth noting for counterparty due diligence purposes.

Ownership

BAE Systems is a widely-held listed plc — no single controlling shareholder; institutional investors hold the majority of shares. Shares trade on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse AG — broad international investor base with high transparency obligations.

Case files · Chapter dossier

The investigation, chapter by chapter

The investigation as one running thread — each beat resolves a signal cluster, page-cited. Open “the full working” on any beat for the forensic detail.

Revenue keeps climbing.

Sales crossed £28bn for the first time, driven by sustained demand across BAE's defence portfolio.

+8%

Turnover FY2024 £26.3bn FY2025 £28.3bn

The full working

Source · P&L FY2024–FY2025

Cash generation drops 13%.

Despite record revenue, the business produced less operating cash this year than last.

-13%

Operating cash flow FY2024 £3.9bn FY2025 £3.4bn

The full working

Source · Cash Flow Statement FY2024–FY2025

Investing activity collapses — by design.

Cash spent on investments fell from £5.27bn to £541m, a near-total reversal.

Investing cash outflow

FY2024 -£5.3bn

FY2025 -£541m

The full working

Source · Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet FY2024–FY2025

Capital returned to investors at scale.

Financing activities swung nearly £3.5bn negative in a single year.

Financing cash flow

FY2024 £695m

FY2025 -£2.8bn

The full working

Source · Cash Flow Statement FY2024–FY2025; Companies House filing MR04 dated 2025-03-01

The balance sheet holds steady.

Net assets edged up £160m, and cash on hand barely moved despite massive capital outflows.

£3.4bn Cash on hand (FY2025)

£12.3bn Current liabilities (FY2025)

The full working

Source · Balance Sheet FY2024–FY2025

Ownership and filing health.

No single controlling shareholder; filing record is current and clean.

Mar 2025 Mortgage charge fully satisfied (MR04)
Jun 2025 Resolutions filed
Feb 2026 New director appointed (Pettigrew)
26 Jun 2026 FY2025 accounts filed

Source · Companies House PSC register; Director appointments; Filing history

Cross-signal intelligence

AI correlations across the filing

Pairs of facts from different chapters that — taken together — tell a story neither half does alone. This is where investigation outperforms summary.

The 90% drop in investing outflows in [chapter 3] is the mirror image of the financing swing in [chapter 4]: with no large deal to fund, surplus cash was returned rather than deployed.

Gross margin expansion in [chapter 1] — profit growing faster than revenue — makes the operating cash shortfall in [chapter 2] more striking, since higher margins would normally widen cash conversion too.

The satisfied mortgage charge in [chapter 6] aligns with the £584m reduction in long-term liabilities visible in [chapter 5], suggesting the MR04 filing corresponds to a meaningful debt repayment event.

Deep signals

Buried in the filing

Specifics most readers would miss — surfaced by the AI for the analyst who wants to know.

PBT exceeds gross profit — suggesting significant below-the-line income

Consistent with BAE earning meaningful income from joint ventures, equity-accounted investments, or interest receipts that sit below the gross profit line. For a group with major international JV arrangements (e.g. in Saudi Arabia), this is a typical pattern — but it means the headline gross margin understates the full earnings power of the business.

Current liabilities of £12.3bn likely include substantial advance customer payments

In large defence primes, current liabilities frequently include billions in advance payments received from governments ahead of contract milestones. These are liabilities on paper but represent future work obligations, not cash that needs to be repaid. The headline ratio therefore looks tighter than the underlying cash risk.

Right-of-use lease obligations are relatively modest

Unlike retailers or logistics businesses that are locked into heavy property commitments, BAE's lease burden is comparatively low given its scale. Most of its asset base is owned infrastructure — factories, shipyards, test facilities — rather than leased premises.

Forensic investigation · 30 signals

Three specialist agents, working in parallel

Segmental revenue · capital structure · strategic KPIs. Each agent cites the exact filing page for every claim, with an AI confidence score derived from cross-citation strength.

Segmental Analysis

US Department of War is the single biggest customer at 34% of revenue

Revenue from the US Department of War was £9,614m in 2025 (2024: £8,831m restated), equal to 33.9% of total group revenue of £28,336m.

p.152 · 8 more from this specialist

Strategic KPIs

Sales hit £30.7bn — up 10% on a like-for-like basis

Sales grew to £30,662m in 2025 from £28,335m in 2024, a 10% rise on a constant currency basis.

p.2, p.18, p.31 · 9 more from this specialist

Capital Structure & Borrowings

Net debt (excluding leases) is £3,844m — gearing is modest

The Group states net debt excluding lease liabilities was £3,844m at 31 December 2025 (2024: £4,945m), a reduction of £1,101m year on year.

p.196 · 10 more from this specialist

          + Show all 30 specialist findings
        

Segmental Analysis (9)

US Department of War is the single biggest customer at 34% of revenue

Revenue from the US Department of War was £9,614m in 2025 (2024: £8,831m restated), equal to 33.9% of total group revenue of £28,336m.

Why it matters: One customer accounts for over a third of all sales, which means the group is heavily dependent on US government contracts and decisions.

p.152 critical conf 98%

US revenue is nearly half of total group sales

US revenue in 2025 was £13,145m out of total group revenue of £28,336m, representing 46.4% of total. Prior year US revenue was £12,559m (47.7% of total £26,312m).

Why it matters: Almost half the group's income comes from one country, so any change in US defence spending or policy could have a big impact on the whole business.

p.151 important conf 97%

Platforms & Services revenue surged 15.6% — fastest growing segment

Platforms & Services revenue rose from £4,344m in 2024 to £5,021m in 2025, a gain of £677m (+15.6%). Operating profit rose from £456m to £576m (+26.3%).

Why it matters: This segment is growing faster than any other, which suggests rising demand for combat vehicles and munitions — likely driven by increased defence spending globally.

p.151, p.152 important conf 97%

HQ segment running at a large operating loss of £205m

HQ reported an operating loss of £205m in 2025, slightly worse than the £135m loss in 2024. HQ revenue was only £52m in 2025 (£24m in 2024).

Why it matters: The central costs are a significant drag on group profits and grew by £70m year-on-year, which means the operating businesses have to work harder to cover head office overhead.

p.152 important conf 95%

Maritime revenue grew 9.6% but operating profit fell — margin squeeze

Maritime revenue rose from £6,002m to £6,579m (+9.6%), but operating profit fell from £465m to £431m (-7.3%). Operating margin dropped from 7.7% to 6.6%.

Why it matters: Maritime is growing its sales but making less profit per pound of revenue, suggesting costs are rising faster than the prices it can charge customers.

p.152 important conf 95%

Air segment revenue jumped 7% and profit rose 7% year-on-year

Air segment revenue grew from £6,880m in 2024 to £7,372m in 2025 (+7.1%). Operating profit grew from £1,009m to £1,078m (+6.8%). Air is the largest single segment by revenue.

Why it matters: Air is the biggest business division and is growing steadily, which is a positive sign for the group's overall health.

p.151, p.152 useful conf 97%

Cyber & Intelligence revenue was flat — only segment with no real growth

Cyber & Intelligence revenue was £2,397m in 2025 versus £2,411m in 2024, a decline of £14m (-0.6%). Operating profit was unchanged at £182m.

Why it matters: While every other segment is growing, Cyber & Intelligence has stalled, which may signal competitive pressure or slower government spending in this area.

p.151, p.152 useful conf 96%

UK revenue grew strongly but its share of total sales is still only 28%

UK revenue rose from £7,039m in 2024 to £7,876m in 2025 (+11.9%). UK share of total revenue was 27.8% in 2025 versus 26.7% in 2024.

Why it matters: The UK home market is growing faster than average, partly recovering its share, but the group remains much more dependent on the US than on its home country.

p.151 useful conf 96%

Order book stands at £63.1bn — 2.2x annual revenue

The group's unsatisfied performance obligations (order book) were £63.1bn at 31 December 2025, up from £60.4bn at end 2024. This is 2.23x the 2025 annual revenue of £28.3bn.

Why it matters: A large and growing order book means revenues are likely to stay strong for several years ahead, giving good visibility on future income.

p.153 useful conf 95%

Strategic KPIs (10)

Sales hit £30.7bn — up 10% on a like-for-like basis

Sales grew to £30,662m in 2025 from £28,335m in 2024, a 10% rise on a constant currency basis.

Why it matters: Strong revenue growth across all five business segments shows the company is winning and delivering more work, which is a good sign for anyone doing business with them.

p.2, p.18, p.31 important conf 98%

Order backlog reaches record £83.6bn — up £5.8bn

Order backlog grew from £77.8bn in 2024 to £83.6bn in 2025, a £5.8bn increase.

Why it matters: A record backlog means the company has years of work locked in, giving strong confidence it can keep paying its bills and suppliers for the long term.

p.2, p.31 important conf 99%

Order intake up £3.1bn to £36.8bn — demand stays strong

Order intake rose from £33.7bn in 2024 to £36.8bn in 2025, a £3.1bn increase.

Why it matters: New orders coming in faster than revenue is being recognised means the pipeline of future work is growing, not shrinking.

p.2, p.19, p.31 important conf 98%

Underlying EBIT up 12% to £3,322m — beating guidance top end

Underlying EBIT rose from £3,015m in 2024 to £3,322m in 2025, a 12% rise on a constant currency basis. Guidance was 9–11%.

Why it matters: Profit from operations beat the company's own targets, which shows management is in control of costs and delivery across its programmes.

p.18, p.30, p.31, p.32 important conf 97%

Operating margin improved to 10.8% — 100bps gain since 2020

Return on sales (underlying) rose from 10.6% in 2024 to 10.8% in 2025. The company has delivered 100 basis points of margin expansion since 2020.

Why it matters: Each extra pound of sales is now bringing in slightly more profit, which means the business is getting more efficient and has more room to absorb cost pressures.

p.32 useful conf 97%

Free cash flow fell £347m to £2,158m — heavy investment the cause

Free cash flow dropped from £2,505m in 2024 to £2,158m in 2025, a £347m reduction.

Why it matters: Cash generation is lower this year, but the company says this is because it is investing heavily in R&D and capital spending — not because the underlying business is weaker.

p.2, p.18, p.31 useful conf 96%

R&D spend rose to £3.2bn — up from £2.7bn in 2024

Customer and company-funded R&D spend increased from £2.7bn in 2024 to £3.2bn in 2025.

Why it matters: Higher R&D investment signals the company is competing hard for the next generation of defence programmes, but it is also one reason why cash flow dipped this year.

p.8, p.15 useful conf 93%

IFRS operating profit up 9% to £2,925m

Statutory operating profit rose from £2,685m in 2024 to £2,925m in 2025, an 8.7% increase.

Why it matters: The statutory profit figure (the one auditors sign off) also grew strongly, confirming that the underlying performance gains are real and not just a result of how management chooses to measure things.

p.2, p.31, p.32 useful conf 98%

Dividend up 10% to 36.3p — shareholders rewarded as profits rise

Dividend per share rose from 33.0p in 2024 to 36.3p in 2025, a 10% increase.

Why it matters: A growing dividend shows the company feels confident enough in its future cash flows to return more money to shareholders each year.

p.2, p.31 useful conf 98%

Workforce grew to 111,400 across 40+ countries

Total employees (including share of equity accounted investments) reached 111,400 as at 31 December 2025.

Why it matters: A large and growing workforce in defence is a sign of expanding programme delivery capacity, which matters when assessing whether the company can actually deliver its £83.6bn backlog.

p.3, p.5 useful conf 95%

Capital Structure & Borrowings (11)

Net debt (excluding leases) is £3,844m — gearing is modest

The Group states net debt excluding lease liabilities was £3,844m at 31 December 2025 (2024: £4,945m), a reduction of £1,101m year on year.

Why it matters: Net debt fell by over £1bn in one year, which means the company is paying down borrowings faster than it is taking them on — a sign of financial strength.

p.196 important conf 95%

Total dividends paid rose to £1,027m — up from £937m last year

Dividends paid in 2025 totalled £1,027m: a final dividend of 20.6p per share (£622m) and an interim of 13.5p per share (£405m). In 2024 the total was £937m.

Why it matters: The company is paying out more to shareholders each year, which shows confidence in cash generation, but it also means less cash stays in the business.

p.195 important conf 99%

Interest cover is about 6x — comfortably safe

Operating profit £2,925m divided by finance costs £488m gives interest cover of approximately 6.0x

Why it matters: The company earns six times what it pays in interest, so there is a big buffer before debt becomes a problem.

useful conf 90%

Lease liabilities total £1,766m with long tail beyond five years

Total IFRS 16 lease liabilities are £1,766m (2024: £1,841m). Payments due: within one year £265m, one to five years £868m, beyond five years £1,324m. Total undiscounted gross payments £2,457m less discounting impact of £691m.

Why it matters: Leases are a long-term commitment — over half the undiscounted payments fall beyond five years — but the balance is slightly lower than last year, showing no build-up of pressure.

p.166 useful conf 98%

Final dividend proposed at 22.8p per share — another increase

After the balance sheet date, directors proposed a final dividend of 22.8p per share, approximately £684m, payable 2 June 2026.

Why it matters: The proposed dividend is higher again, confirming the company believes it can keep growing cash returns to shareholders.

p.195 useful conf 99%

Share buybacks continuing — 29m shares cancelled in 2025

29 million ordinary shares were cancelled during 2025 (2024: 44 million), reducing the share count from 3,195m to 3,166m.

Why it matters: Buying back and cancelling shares returns cash to investors and slightly increases each remaining share's value, signalling management confidence in the balance sheet.

p.195 useful conf 97%

Total equity (net assets) is £11,937m — a strong base

Net assets at 31 December 2025 are £11,937m (2024: £11,777m), supported by total capital of £11,953m.

Why it matters: A large equity cushion means creditors and trading partners have a substantial buffer protecting them if the business hits trouble.

p.196 useful conf 95%

Cash and short-term deposits are £3,438m — plentiful liquidity

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2025 total £3,438m (2024: £3,378m), split: cash £410m, money market funds £1,169m, short-term deposits £1,859m.

Why it matters: The company holds over £3.4bn in liquid assets, meaning it can easily meet near-term obligations including the £265m lease payment due within one year.

p.179 useful conf 99%

Right-of-use assets fell slightly to £1,638m — lease load stable

Net book value of right-of-use assets at 31 December 2025 is £1,638m (2024: £1,755m), mainly land and buildings £1,597m.

Why it matters: The lease asset base is slightly smaller than last year, confirming the lease obligation is not growing and is well-matched by a corresponding asset.

p.166 useful conf 98%

No covenant breaches, waivers or credit rating downgrades disclosed

No mention of covenant breach, waiver, refinancing under pressure, or credit rating change was found in the pages reviewed.

Why it matters: The absence of any warning flags around borrowing limits or bank agreements means the financing position appears routine and stable.

useful conf 80%

Capital commitments for property and intangibles total £542m

At 31 December 2025, contracted but unprovided capital commitments are £493m for property, plant and equipment (2024: £539m) and £49m for intangible assets (2024: £43m), totalling £542m.

Why it matters: The company has committed to spending over half a billion pounds on assets not yet in the accounts — this cash will need to be funded, but the amount is manageable given £3.4bn of cash on hand.

p.163, p.165 useful conf 97%

Specialist deep panels · Structured price capture

Every figure the specialists extracted

Below the prose findings, each agent publishes a structured numeric metrics block. Segmental revenue, named KPIs with YoY %, and capital-structure metrics — direct from the source filings.

Segmental analysis

Revenue & operating profit by business division

Segment Revenue (latest) Operating profit Rev YoY

Electronic Systems €7507 €863 +4.5%

Platforms & Services €5021 €576 +15.6%

Air €7372 €1078 +7.2%

Maritime €6579 €431 +9.6%

Cyber & Intelligence €2397 €182 -0.6%

HQ €52 €-205 +116.7%

UK €7876 — +11.9%

Europe (excluding UK) €2221 — +28.2%

US €13145 — +4.7%

Canada €227 — +20.1%

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia €2838 — -1.9%

Qatar €252 — -2.7%

Australia €1287 — +11.1%

Asia and Pacific (excluding Australia) €358 — +1.1%

Other €132 — +2.3%

Top-segment revenue concentration: 26.0% · Segment totals reconcile to the group P&L

Strategic KPIs

7 flagship metrics · 11 supporting

Sales (Group-defined)

£31k

+8.2% YoY

Underlying EBIT

£3k

+10.2% YoY

Underlying EPS

£75

+9.8% YoY

Free cash flow

£2k

-13.9% YoY

Order backlog

£84k

+7.5% YoY

Order intake

£37k

+9.2% YoY

Return on sales (underlying)

10.8%

+1.9% YoY

+ Show 11 supporting KPIs

Revenue (IFRS)

£28k

+7.7% YoY

Operating profit (IFRS)

£3k

+8.9% YoY

Basic EPS (IFRS)

£69

+6.0% YoY

Dividend per share

£36

+10.0% YoY

R&D spend

£3k

+18.5% YoY

Capital expenditure

£1k

0.0% YoY

Order book (IFRS)

£63k

+4.5% YoY

Net debt (excluding lease liabilities)

-£4k

Total employees

£111k

Recordable accident rate (per 100,000 employees)

£432

-5.9% YoY

GHG emissions change (Scope 1 & 2)

-8.9%

Capital structure

Debt, cover, and dividend posture

Net debt

£3.8bn

Interest cover

5.99×

Dividend prior year

£937m

Management questions · Open inquiry

What management would need to answer next

Generated by the AI from the disclosure gaps it detected. Hover or tap each card to surface the underlying evidence that triggered the question.

Q01

What is the contract renewal profile of the US DoD work — how much of that £9.6bn is locked in beyond 2026, and what happens if the US cuts defence budgets or shifts procurement priorities?

↻ Flip for trigger

Why we'd ask this

Q02

Why did Maritime margins drop from 7.7% to 6.6% despite strong revenue growth — is this cost overruns on specific programmes, labour inflation, or a structural pricing problem, and when does management expect recovery?

↻ Flip for trigger

Why we'd ask this

Q03

Cyber & Intelligence revenue has stalled at roughly £2.4bn for two years — is this a deliberate portfolio choice, a competitive loss, or slower government spending, and what is the growth plan?

↻ Flip for trigger

Why we'd ask this

Q04

Free cash flow fell £347m year-on-year even as profits rose — can management give a clearer breakdown of where the investment is going and when the cash conversion is expected to normalise?

↻ Flip for trigger

Why we'd ask this

Verification gaps

What the filings don't disclose

High-trust analysis names its own blind spots. These are metrics the AI looked for and couldn't find — anything material to the summary needs management or independent verification.

08 · Documents

The filing trail

100 filings · Companies House

Filing distribution

SH03

53%

SH04

28%

SH06

10%

RESOLUTIONS

AP01

CS01

MR04

TM01

Latest filings

26 Jun 2026 AA Accounts with accounts type group

17 Jun 2026 SH03 Capital return purchase own shares

5 Jun 2026 RESOLUTIONS Resolution

29 May 2026 SH04 Capital sale or transfer treasury shares with date currency capital figure

Catalyst timeline

Filing pattern + upcoming windows

100 filings · 2024 → 2027

Accounts Officers Capital Resolutions Other

2027Annual accounts

Next annual accounts due

Due at Companies House by 30 June 2027 for the period ending 31 December 2026.

2026Confirmation

Next confirmation statement due

Annual confirmation due by 13 October 2026 (made up to 29 September 2026).

Final chapter — What we found

What we found

54 MIXED SIGNALS

Verif-AI Synthesis

Mixed signals

A defence giant running at full stride — £28bn of government-backed revenue, profits converting to cash faster than they're booked, and a balance sheet built to absorb the weight it carries.

FY2025 accounts

The five plain-English briefing questions are on Origin — read the story first, then return here for the TrustScore scorecard.

Signal Radar

How the score breaks down

Financial completeness 50/100

Operational disclosure 72/100

Compliance signals 50/100

Data confidence 70/100

Decisive findings

What decided this summary

The hard-hit facts that drove the score. Full breakdown — chapters, between-the-lines, all specialist findings — sits on AI Insights.

US Department of War is the single biggest customer at 34% of revenue

Revenue from the US Department of War was £9,614m in 2025 (2024: £8,831m restated), equal to 33.9% of total group revenue of £28,336m.

Why it matters: One customer accounts for over a third of all sales, which means the group is heavily dependent on US government contracts and decisions.

p.152

10 · Verification

How we know

100 filings · 12 directors · 236 pages

This report reads the full filing package — digital iXBRL where available, the filed PDF (including notes), and the Companies House register — not a single uploaded document.

Figures are as filed by the company — Companies House does not verify the accuracy of information filed. Verif-AI checks internal consistency and flags anomalies, but cannot confirm the underlying figures are correct.

Reconciliation

All 32 reconciled lines tie exactly to the audited iXBRL filing

Every balance-sheet and profit & loss line traced to where we read it in the filing. iXBRL — read straight from the company's audited machine-readable tags, so it ties exactly. PDF — read from the filed accounts document, with the supporting note cited so you can check it. Flagged — our consistency check marked it for a closer look.

Line Our figure Source in filing Reconciliation

Profit & loss · p.141

Turnover £28.3bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Cost of sales −£25.8bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Gross profit £2.5bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Operating profit £2.9bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Finance income £135m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Finance costs −£488m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Profit before tax £2.6bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Tax −£421m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Profit after tax £2.2bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Depreciation & amortisation −£1.2bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

EBITDA £1.6bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Balance sheet · p.144

Intangible assets £15.2bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Tangible assets £5.2bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Fixed assets £25.5bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Stock £1.4bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Debtors £4bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Cash £3.4bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Current assets £12.1bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Total assets £37.7bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Current liabilities £12.3bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Net current assets −£156m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Total assets less current liabilities £25.4bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Bank loans (current) −£95m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Bank loans (non-current) −£7.2bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Lease liabilities (current) −£253m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Lease liabilities (non-current) −£1.5bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Deferred tax −£26m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Long-term liabilities £13.4bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Provisions £621m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Net assets £11.9bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Share capital £79m iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

Profit & loss reserves £4.6bn iXBRL ✓ Ties to filing

32 read from audited iXBRL tags · 0 from the filed PDF.

What we read

Companies House filings

Total filings 100 2024 → 2026

Accounts filings 2 audited financial statements

Officer events 2 appointments + terminations

Capital events 91 share allotments + buybacks

Who we cross-checked

UK director appointment network

Directors verified 12 incl. 1 corporate officer

Records cross-referenced 27.8m UK appointments dataset

Avg failure rate 8.3% across prior appointments

Phoenix scan 0 directors flagged

Screening status

Independent checks completed

No critical risk flagsNo kill switches fired Sanctions check · ClearFCDO + OFAC + EU screen Potential sanctions · 5 reviewsLow-confidence name overlap Politically-exposed persons · 1 foundPEP screen · 1 hit Audit opinion · UnqualifiedUnqualified ISA-700 opinion Auditor · Deloitte LLP Status · Active

Screened 74 names (registered company + officers/PSCs) against live lists: FCDO Consolidated UK Sanctions List — 57503 entries, refreshed 04 July 2026 · OFAC SDN (US Treasury) + akaName aliases + relationship graph — 39437 entries, refreshed 04 July 2026 · EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions — 29880 entries, refreshed 04 July 2026 · UK Parliament — current Members of Commons & Lords — 1441 entries, refreshed 04 July 2026 · Companies House — Disqualified Directors register, checked 04 July 2026.

Steps we ran

How the report was assembled

Pages read 236 PDF pages analysed

Steps run 9 0 skipped · 9 completed

AI checks 3 independent reviews

Years analysed 8 audited filings trended

Pipeline — what ran on this report

Read PDF accounts 236 pages Classify filing Extract audit notes Compliance screening Cross-check directors Build company timeline Plain-English analysis Capital structure review Processing filing

Limits and caveats

What this report doesn't claim

Peer benchmarks

No sector-cohort comparison was generated for this filing — the benchmarking pipeline either skipped this SIC code or this report predates that block.

Persons with significant control

No PSCs are recorded against this entity — typical for listed PLCs (widely held by institutional investors) and for dormant / micro-entity filings.

Principal risks register

The filed accounts did not surface a structured principal-risks register, or one was not extracted by the parser. Small / micro-entity filings are not required to disclose this.

        Plain-English glossary · 10 terms
      

Turnover / Revenue: The total amount of money the company billed to customers in the year — before any costs are taken out.
In this filing: BAE billed £28.3bn in FY2025, up from £26.3bn the year before.
Profit Before Tax (PBT): What the company earned after paying all its costs, but before paying the government its share in corporation tax.
In this filing: BAE made £2.57bn PBT in FY2025 — about 9p of profit for every £1 of revenue.
Net Assets: Everything the company owns, minus everything it owes. It's the company's financial net worth.
In this filing: BAE's net assets are £11.9bn — a large and growing cushion for creditors.
Current Liabilities: Bills, loans, and other money the company is due to pay within the next 12 months.
In this filing: BAE has £12.3bn in current liabilities — a very large figure, but typical for a defence prime holding advance customer payments.
Cash Conversion: How much of the profit on paper actually turned into real cash in the bank. 100% means all profit became cash; above 100% means even more cash came in.
In this filing: BAE's 159.6% rate suggests it collected customer cash — likely government advances — ahead of booking all the profit.
Debtor Days: How many days, on average, it takes customers to pay after being billed.
In this filing: BAE's 51-day average is reasonable for complex government contracts, where payment terms are often set by procurement rules.
Fixed Assets: Long-term things the company owns and uses in its business — factories, aircraft, machinery, and also things you can't touch, like patents or goodwill from acquisitions.
In this filing: BAE has £25.5bn in fixed assets — the large base reflects factories, shipyards, and significant goodwill from past acquisitions.
Intangible Assets: Things a company 'owns' that have no physical form — brand value, patents, software, and goodwill paid over the book value when buying another company.
In this filing: 49.2% of BAE's total assets fall into intangible or lease categories — these are harder to sell quickly if needed.
Long-Term Liabilities: Money owed that doesn't need to be repaid within the next 12 months — typically bonds, pensions, or long loans.
In this filing: BAE has £13.4bn in long-term liabilities, which include pension obligations and long-dated bonds.
Right-of-Use (Lease) Liabilities: The accounting value of lease agreements — essentially treating a long lease like a loan you owe to a landlord.
In this filing: Lease obligations represent 6.4% of BAE's total visible liabilities — modest relative to its overall debt structure.