Leonardo CEO expects more M&A as defense orders hit record 59B euros

Leonardo Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Mariani told CNBC on July 31, 2026, that the company will keep seeking acquisitions and strategic partnerships to accelerate its expansion. The Italian defense group is riding a wave of military spending triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and higher NATO targets, which are filling industry order books.

The group has already struck several transactions. It completed the 1.6-billion-euro purchase of Iveco Defence Vehicles in March 2026, agreed to buy British cybersecurity firm Becrypt earlier that year, and in the last week of July its U.S. subsidiary Leonardo DRS agreed to acquire software company Raft for $450 million.

“The ramping gap in how we fulfil the demand is really the key element to deliver to our customers what they need,” Mariani said.

On the same day, Leonardo reported its order backlog climbed 30% year-on-year to a record 59 billion euros by the end of June 2026. It raised its full-year new orders forecast to 28.2 billion euros from 25 billion and expects earnings before interest, tax, and amortization of 2.21 billion euros, up from a previous outlook of 2.03 billion.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri recently launched its own second M&A wave, with Chief Executive Pierroberto Folgiero telling CNBC the company took stakes in four underwater technology firms. German defense electronics maker Hensoldt this year bought Dutch optronics specialist Nedinsco to secure supply chains and expand production.

Defense stocks have come under pressure in 2026 after a long boom, with some investors questioning whether valuations have outpaced production capacity. Leonardo shares are up about 11% year-to-date, roughly in line with the Stoxx 600 index. Mariani said Leonardo is well-placed because of its multi-domain approach, as the wars in Ukraine and Iran highlight how modern warfare is shifting toward unmanned and artificial-intelligence-powered weapons.