V2X Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Guidance was raised after a strong quarter: 2026 revenue is now expected at $4.875–$5.025 billion, adjusted EBITDA at $347.5–$362.5 million, and adjusted diluted EPS at $5.90–$6.30.
  • Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue increased 17% to $1.26 billion, while adjusted EBITDA rose 9% to $89.8 million and adjusted diluted EPS climbed 23% to $1.64. Adjusted operating cash flow improved 23% year over year to $71.8 million.
  • Positive Sentiment: V2X reported approximately $1 billion in recent awards spanning modernization, training, aerospace, and mission readiness, with management saying the awards should improve the margin profile of its backlog. The awards were received after quarter-end and therefore were not included in second-quarter bookings.
  • Positive Sentiment: Funded backlog increased 10% sequentially to $2.5 billion, and management expects adjusted operating cash flow of $160–$180 million for 2026, driving net leverage to approximately 2 times or below by year-end. The company also reduced borrowing costs through a term-loan repricing.
  • Negative Sentiment: The Kuwait logistics activity is expected to fall sharply in the second half, from approximately $180 million of first-half revenue to $20–$30 million, creating an estimated $150 million sequential headwind. Middle East revenue is consequently expected to be flat to down for the full year, although other programs and national-security activity are expected to offset much of the decline.
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Earnings Conference Call
V2X Q2 2026
00:00 / 00:00

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Operator

Thank you for joining us for the V2X second quarter 2026 earnings conference call and webcast. Today's call is being recorded. My name is Gary, and I'll be the operator for today's call. At this time, all participants have been placed in a listen-only mode. Following management's presentation, I will open up the call for a Q&A session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. And now I'll pass the call over to your host, Mike Smith, Vice President of Treasury, Investor Relations, and Corporate Development at V2X. Please go ahead.

Mike Smith
Mike Smith
VP of Treasury, Corporate Development, and Investor Relations at V2X

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the V2X second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Joining us today are Jeremy Wensinger, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Shawn Mural, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Slides for today's presentation are available on the Investor Relations section of our website, gov2x.com. Please turn to slide two. During today's presentation, management will be making forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Federal Securities Laws. Please view our safe harbor statements in our press release and presentation materials for a description of some of the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements. In addition, in today's remarks, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures because management believes such measures are useful to investors.

Mike Smith
Mike Smith
VP of Treasury, Corporate Development, and Investor Relations at V2X

You can find a reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP on our slide presentation and in our earnings release filed with the SEC, both of which are available on the Investor Relations section of our website. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Jeremy.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Thank you, Mike, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Please turn to slide three. Today, I'll be providing a recap of our second quarter results for 2026 and sharing more of our outlook for the rest of the year. Before I go through some of the highlights, I want to thank our team at V2X for their continued focus and dedication to delivering our customers' mission. In the second quarter and first half, our consistent execution, recent contract wins, and continued alignment to national security priorities drove double-digit revenue growth. The value of our end-to-end solutions was reinforced by approximately $1 billion in recent awards across modernization, global training, aerospace, and mission readiness. These awards are expected to improve the composite margin of our backlog as we continue to prioritize profitable growth.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

We continued to pursue new bids throughout the quarter, leveraging our AI solutions that deliver differentiated customer outcomes. With more than $8 billion in bids submitted that incorporate these solutions, our focus remains on margin-accretive opportunities that further enhance the quality of our backlog. Supported by our strong cash generation and healthy balance sheet, we also continue to evaluate growth opportunities that allow us to further our Go Towards Tomorrow strategy. As we enter the second half of 2026, we are confident in our market position and are increasing our full year guidance for revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted diluted EPS. We expect revenue and Adjusted EBITDA to increase approximately 10% year-over-year at the midpoint and adjusted diluted EPS to increase 16% at the midpoint. Our results to date and momentum underway underscores our continued ability to deliver for our customers and shareholders.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Let's move to slide four, which summarizes the financial operating highlights of the second quarter and the first half of 2026. In the second quarter, revenue increased 17% year-over-year to $1.26 billion. Adjusted net income was $51.6 million, representing an increase of 22% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA was $89.8 million, with a margin of 7.1%. Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.64, representing an increase of 23% compared to the same period last year. Our solid financial and operating performance reflects the progress we've made delivering on our strategic priorities and our position as a leading provider of mission capabilities. Turning now to slide five. We have received approximately $1 billion in recent awards, demonstrating the breadth of our portfolio and its close alignment with our customers' priorities.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

As it relates to modernization, we were selected to provide multi-year production of carriage equipment, enabling next-generation weapons for the strategic bomber fleet. In global training, we captured awards to deliver solutions for enhanced UAS maintenance and operator training. This reflects the sustained demand we are seeing for training solutions that improve readiness and operational effectiveness. With respect to aerospace, we continue to support essential requirements, securing a five-year recompete to continue delivering proven readiness for the U.S. Air Force C-12 fleet. In mission readiness, we received awards to support operations for U.S. Marine Corps assets and enhanced electronic security capabilities for a foreign military customer in the Middle East. With an aggregate margin that is accretive to our current portfolio, these recent awards reinforce our continued pursuit of high-quality, profitable growth opportunities and our team's focus on disciplined execution.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

It underscores the diversity of our offerings across markets and capabilities. This is a great sample of differentiated, high-value work that our team is pursuing. While we recognize that not all our awards will have this margin profile, these awards exemplify the progress we have made in our strategic focus looking towards future opportunities. As an end-to-end mission provider, we are proud of our proven ability to support our customers wherever and however they need. Moving to slide six. Our robust backlog, funding, and pipeline of high-quality awards support our positioning and outlook for the remainder of this year. Bookings were $600 million in the quarter, yielding a quarterly book-to-bill ratio of 0.5x and a trailing 12-month book-to-bill of 1.4x. I'd like to note that our bookings do not reflect approximately $1 billion in recent awards as they came in shortly after the quarter.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Total backlog for the quarter was $12.7 billion, which includes the modified scope of our LOGCAP work in Kuwait. Importantly, funded backlog increased 10% sequentially and 8% year-over-year to $2.5 billion. This further supports the confidence we have in our 2026 outlook and demonstrates the strong funding environment for the solutions we provide. We are also continuing to see increased activity and funding in the Asia-Pacific region and are optimistic about the growth prospects. Altogether, our diverse portfolio, strong backlog, and continued demand position us well to drive value and deliver for our customers over the long term. Turning to slide seven. As we highlighted in the first quarter, we continue to advance our Go Towards Tomorrow strategy, including expanding our AI capabilities. We are currently operating three AI platforms across our enterprise IT infrastructure, and we see strong adoption across the business.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

To further employee education, productivity, and operational efficiency, we're investing in ongoing training and continuing to expand internal use cases. At the same time, our AI capabilities are embedded into our pursuit of new bids. Last quarter, we introduced early customer-facing applications focused on predictive readiness and operational efficiency.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

We are expanding our AI opportunities across a wide range of customer solutions, further diversifying our bid portfolio. This is reflected in more than $8 billion of margin-accretive new bids we recently submitted that include V2X's AI solutions. By investing in AI capabilities that enhance both internal operations and customer solutions, we are strengthening our ability to deliver more efficient, innovative, and mission-relevant outcomes for our customers while driving more value for our shareholders. I look forward to sharing more on these strategic pursuits in the coming quarter. I will now turn the call over to Shawn for a more detailed review of our financials.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Thank you, Jeremy, and good afternoon, everyone. Please turn to slide eight. We reported exceptional second quarter financial performance across the business. Revenue in the second quarter increased 17% year-over-year to $1,257,000,000. Revenue growth was driven primarily by the ramp-up of training and aerospace programs and continued support for national security activities. Our ability to rapidly scale and support customer requirements by leveraging capabilities, contracts, and global presence remains a key differentiator of our business. We are seeing continued demand to support discrete national security activities, which contributed approximately $100 million of revenue in the second quarter. Based on the demand signals from our customers, we currently see these requirements continuing through 2026 and into the early part of 2027. From a geographic perspective, I'd like to note the growth we're seeing in Asia-Pacific, which increased 13% year-over-year in the second quarter.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

As Jeremy discussed, we are seeing a step-up in activities and funding in the region as compared to last year. Our revenue associated with the U.S. also continues to grow, increasing 26% year-over-year, driven primarily by new program starts and national security support. As it relates to the Middle East, revenue was up slightly year-over-year, reflecting contributions from foreign military sales. For the year, we expect revenue in the region to be flat to down as support for logistics-related contracts shift within the region. Overall, we are well-positioned with differentiated solutions across multiple geographies with our diversified portfolio, global presence, and operational excellence, we have the flexibility necessary to ramp our presence to adjust to our customers' needs in real time.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

For example, we are ramping up to support additional activities in Israel, as well as national security requirements in the U.S. while responding to evolving customer requirements in Kuwait. This demonstrates our strategy in action, supporting critical mission requirements across multiple fronts and meeting our customers wherever they are. We are proud of our team's accomplishments in the second quarter, which reflect our ability to deliver integrated solutions across geographies by leveraging capabilities, technology, past performance, and access to the right contracts. Turning back to our performance for the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was $89.8 million, increasing 9% from the same period in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 7.1%. Interest expense in the second quarter was $16.7 million. Cash interest expense was $15.1 million, reflecting a 21% improvement year-over-year. Net income for the quarter was $25.5 million.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Adjusted net income was $51.6 million, up 22% year-over-year. Second quarter diluted EPS was $0.81, based on 31.5 million weighted average shares. Adjusted diluted EPS in the quarter increased approximately 23% year-over-year to $1.64. Adjusted Operating Cash Flow improved 23% year-over-year and was $71.8 million in the quarter. Please turn to slide nine, where I'll discuss our year-to-date results. Year-to-date revenue was $2,511 million, up 20% year-over-year, driven by new programs and on-contract growth. This growth was partially offset by lower volume on certain logistics programs. Adjusted EBITDA for the first half of the year was $175.4 million, increasing approximately 17% year-over-year, with a margin of 7%. Interest expense through June was $34.8 million. Cash interest expense was $31.6 million, improving approximately 15% compared to the first half of 2025.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Year-to-date net income was $44.5 million. Adjusted net income was $99.7 million, increasing 35% year-over-year. Diluted EPS in the first half was $1.41. Adjusted diluted EPS was $3.16, up 37% compared to prior year. Year-to-date net cash used by operating activities was $108.4 million. Adjusted net cash from operating activities was $49.7 million, reflecting a $109.5 million year-over-year improvement. As discussed last quarter, we expected our cash flow in the first half of 2026 to track more favorably relative to our historical profile, and our first half results demonstrate that performance. Please turn to slide 10, where I will further discuss our cash flow profile and strengthening balance sheet. The ability to generate significant durable cash flow with low CapEx remains a hallmark of our business, and this quarter was no exception.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Our capital expenditure requirements remain disciplined, averaging approximately 0.4% of revenue over the past three years. The positive cash flow attributes of our business are evident in the balance sheet, with a net debt improving approximately $71.4 million year-over-year. The progress we've made strengthening the financial and operational aspects of the business presented us with the opportunity to reprice our first lien term loan, immediately lowering our borrowing costs and creating additional interest savings. This progress was also acknowledged by Moody's, which recently revised its credit ratings outlook to positive. Putting it all together, we expect 2026 to be a year of solid Adjusted Operating Cash Flow generation, which we anticipate will drive our net leverage ratio to approximately 2x or below by the end of 2026.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Please turn to slide 11, where I'll discuss how the combination of high operating cash flow and low CapEx, combined with our focused capital allocation strategy, creates significant flexibility to pursue growth and value-creating opportunities. Looking ahead, our capital allocation strategy remains unchanged. We are focused on, one, generating strong, predictable cash flow and targeting at or above 100% adjusted net income conversion on average over time. Two, maintaining a low CapEx profile. Three, strategically deploying capital to pursue growth and margin expansion via organic and inorganic opportunities. As it relates to margin-accretive M&A, our focus is on opportunities that reinforce our value proposition and expand our capabilities, customer access, and domains. We continue to prioritize M&A that is strategically complementary to our business and the missions we support today, some of which are represented on the slide.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

From an organic growth perspective, we will continue to invest in our innovation strategy, which includes deploying internal R&D to support opportunities we are seeing in engineering and modernization. Key recent success here was the carriage equipment production award for the strategic bomber fleet, which went from a development program to full rate production, expected to continue for years until the fleet is built out. Additionally, as Jeremy discussed, we will continue to invest in AI to advance business processes, customer solutions, and profitability. We believe that in aggregate, these investments strengthen our ability to generate recurring cash flow and further compound the growth and value creation flywheel. Overall, we have established clear criteria as we actively evaluate opportunities to invest for growth and value. Please turn to slide 12.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

We are pleased with our performance through the second quarter as our team continued to bring the best of V2X to meet our customers' critical mission requirements. Given our momentum and current trends, we are increasing our guidance ranges for revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted diluted EPS. Revenue is now expected to be between $4.875 billion and $5.025 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $347.5 million and $362.5 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share is expected to be between $5.90 and $6.30. Adjusted net cash from operating activities is expected to be between $160 million and $180 million. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Jeremy for some closing remarks.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Thank you, Shawn. As outlined on slide 13, we have a solid momentum heading into the second half of the year. We continue to innovate and expand our capabilities across the enterprise, making V2X a stronger, more integral national security partner. As we advance our Go Towards Tomorrow strategy, I want to again recognize the dedication and talent of our global team. Their continued hard work and commitment to our company and our customers' mission drive our success. Their unwavering focus is what allows us to pursue growth opportunities and support the critical missions of tomorrow. With that, I'll open it up to questions.

Operator

We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question today is from Jon Siegmann with Stifel. Please go ahead.

Jon Siegmann
Jon Siegmann
Analyst at Stifel

Good afternoon, Jeremy, Shawn, Mike, thanks for taking my question.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Hey, Jon. How are you?

Jon Siegmann
Jon Siegmann
Analyst at Stifel

Real good. Hey, so nice news about that recompete you won on the C-12. You had talked about previously how this year was light for recompetes. Do you mind taking a forward look at 2027? Is there anything to think about as potential things that we should be tracking? I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

I mean, Jon, we don't talk specifically about programs. What I've been saying from the better part of the 18 months is we're in a nice recompete holiday. That recompete holiday, even though we had C-12 come at us, and we're thrilled with the outcome there, obviously we'll have other recompetes that we'll pursue in the same vein. If you look at the majority of the capital allocation for our new business, it's on growth. It's on new business that is not in the portfolio today. I think that's why you're seeing, not only on the win rates, but also on our ability to drive top-line growth. Those investment dollars, the strategy we've put in place, are all benefiting us as it stands right now. Again, we're highly focused on recompetes. I'm thrilled with our recompete win rate.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Again, we don't talk about specifics, but we've benefited from the fact that we've had a smaller portfolio, the part of the portfolio in the recompete world, which has enabled us to spend the money we have on new growth.

Jon Siegmann
Jon Siegmann
Analyst at Stifel

Great. Maybe just given the level of tempo for the war fighters is pretty high the last couple of months, is there any way to think about what that's meant for your business and how that may or may not taper off in the months ahead? Thank you.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

No. I think because it's a global business, we respond on a global basis. We are very enabled to spin up and spin down capabilities within a region or on a global basis. I think that's the advantage of the portfolio. Regardless of where we're at, we're enabling our customers to deliver their mission, and I think that serves well for the portfolio and also for our customers. One thing I will say is that item in the Middle East, I am so proud of our team. They stood shoulder to shoulder with our customer and continue to do so, and it's a testament to the leadership, but it's also a testament to the people in that region. That they deliver on their mission every day, and unwaveringly.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

My heart goes out to them in everything they do, because they have done everything that the customers ask, and I'm just so very proud of them.

Jon Siegmann
Jon Siegmann
Analyst at Stifel

Thank you.

Operator

The next question is from Trevor Walsh with Citizens. Please go ahead.

Trevor Walsh
Trevor Walsh
Analyst at Citizens

Great. Hey team, thanks for taking the questions. Jeremy, maybe for you, just piggybacking a little bit off the win rate. Can you just give us a sense of, for that new business, it sounds like you, both in the $1 billion or so that you've won across several opportunities and then the $8 billion plus that you've just submitted in pipeline. How are you assessing the win rates there in terms of what you're expecting? I guess, is it by nature of what you're actually bidding for? Do you feel like you have maybe better chances than what V2X may have had in the past? Maybe just give a sense of just how the team is just sort of seeing what the prospects are for kind of the things that you've submitted and kind of what your chances are there.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

It's a really good question. That's why I spent so much time on the call talking about what Greg Lundy's doing as our CTO, doing to help us create differentiation with AI. I look at what we're doing in terms of the bid submittal. Now, look, there's a very rigid process to get something to the point where you submit a bid, and it's a very disciplined process. Because we wouldn't bid something if we didn't feel like we had a better-than-most chance of winning it. I do appreciate what the team has done to put us in a position to put things on the table that are compelling to the customer, and I think that they are seeing that.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

When I look at what we have on the table, I view that as one differentiated solution, great customer intimacy, and also the ability for us to look at the requirements from what we do on a global basis and meet their needs.

Trevor Walsh
Trevor Walsh
Analyst at Citizens

Fantastic. Thank you, Jeremy. Appreciate it. Shawn, maybe just a quick follow-up for you around your comments for Middle East revenues being flat to maybe even down for the year. Obviously, everyone would like to have a crystal ball and a lot of moving kind of dynamics there as far as conflict with Iran, et cetera.

Trevor Walsh
Trevor Walsh
Analyst at Citizens

Any just thoughts as far as the way you've got the guidance now kind of set up for the back half of the year, whether things that could move in the Middle East are pretty much more to the upside, or could there be any surprises kind of more on the negative? Do you think most of kind of the, I guess, the disruption has been washed out of the system for the most part, and you guys are sort of kind of know at least what's happening there? As much as you can understand what's going on in a pretty dynamic environment.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Perfect. Yeah. Thanks, Trevor. I appreciate that. Let me give you some context. I'll start with as we sit here today, 98% of our revenue for the total year is in backlog. That's a testament to exactly what Jeremy was saying before with having the right strategy, the right contracts, the right capabilities around the globe consistently. This team does a remarkable job of doing that, and that's what we would say is our strategy in action. Relative to the Middle East. In the assumptions, we do have the activity that we were performing in Kuwait significantly contracting in the second half of the year. That's baked into the guide that we issued today. That's down probably about $150 million sequentially from what it did in the first half of the year.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

There's a ramp on some other activities there that we know of today, but I'll say that they're modest, Trevor. You exactly nail it. It's dynamic, to say the least. Our teams respond in a timely manner. As we see things today, hence the comments that you saw, flat to perhaps down in light of activities in that region. It can change very quickly, and you saw that happen since the last time we talked at the end of Q1 versus today.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

I just would add to that is as we look at Kuwait, when I think about regional stuff, I think the diversity of the portfolio is really important to understand. As we look at Kuwait, look at Israel, an award we announced, right? As that spools up, we'll continue to look at how we can support the customer in Kuwait. Again, I think the diversity of the portfolio and our ability to be present in region or present, as Shawn said, with contracts that are accessible is what differentiates us from many other companies.

Trevor Walsh
Trevor Walsh
Analyst at Citizens

Great. Thanks, gentlemen. Appreciate the questions.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Thanks, Trevor.

Operator

The next question is from Tobey Sommer with Truist. Please go ahead.

Tobey Sommer
Tobey Sommer
Analyst at Truist

Thank you. I was wondering if you could speak to the M&A market, what you're seeing out in the market for opportunities for acquisitions, and whether you had any call-outs of professional fees in the quarter as you were looking for opportunities. Thanks.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

It's a good question. I think I've said in previous quarters, we have a capital allocation strategy that we've talked about before. In terms of the market and what we continue to have the opportunity to look at opportunities that would augment either platform modernization, Counter-UAS, base domain awareness, electronic warfare, Integrated Air and Missile Defense, C6ISR. All those things that we do today and would augment the overall portfolio. We're very disciplined in the way we look at things, and I think that has bode very well for us. Again, I think as we look at the market, it has to fit within the strategy for which we put forward. I think that disciplined approach has proven well served for us. Again, when someone comes to the market or doesn't come to the market, I don't get to make that call.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Again, I think the capital allocation strategy and being patient is probably the best thing that I would say that we have to date.

Tobey Sommer
Tobey Sommer
Analyst at Truist

Were there any notable investments to pursue acquisitions in the quarter, or nothing to call out like in 1Q?

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

I'd say, Tobey, there was a modest amount of spend in the quarter, down from what we had spent previously. I'll amplify what Jeremy said. Listen, we won't comment on any specifics.

Tobey Sommer
Tobey Sommer
Analyst at Truist

Sure

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

about any M&A activities, as you would expect. We do have a solid pipeline, and the team goes through a disciplined approach, just as Jeremy said, to evaluate those opportunities.

Tobey Sommer
Tobey Sommer
Analyst at Truist

Great. If I could, on your recent wins that are coming in at a higher margin, and you said the bid pipeline, superior margin as well. How would you characterize that and sort of define it? Is it the contract type is varying, favoring higher margin forms like Fixed Price or Time and Materials? How would you sort of break that down and provide us a basis for understanding it further?

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

I think it comes down to, I don't think it's a contract type issue as much as I think it is, we have really looked at what we do for a living and use differentiation to create separation between us and maybe others. Like I said, whether it's the AI tool or whether it's past performance or whether it's the readiness rates that we provide, I think those things are things that the customer is recognizing, and recognize the fact that that differentiation gives them better mission outcomes. That has been an opportunity for us to work with them, to give them what they want and where they want it and when they want it. I'm excited about this strategy coming together and actually starting to see benefits of it, for lack of a better term.

Tobey Sommer
Tobey Sommer
Analyst at Truist

Thank you.

Operator

The next question is from Peter Arment with Baird. Please go ahead.

Peter Arment
Peter Arment
Analyst at Baird

Yeah, good afternoon, Jeremy, Shawn, Mike. Nice results. Hey, Jeremy, 98% already in backlog. A CR to you, I guess, is more noise. Maybe you could just describe what you kind of baked in or assumed for kind of the budget process.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Yeah. It's a good question. I think where we sit, Peter, obviously CRs always can potentially impact you. Even in the last CR, most of what we do in terms of the world, in terms of readiness, those tend to be mission critical environments. That doesn't tend to impact us that much. We went through the last CR, and it was a rather protracted CR. We were really not impacted by it. You have to still keep aircraft in the air. I still need to do the things we're doing. I still need to deliver on the production programs that we have. These are all time-based programs. Again, I really didn't see much of an impact. Look, do I hope that they can not go through a continuing resolution?

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Again, I don't think the type of work we do is really at risk a lot of times in that, unless something happens that we can't proceed.

Peter Arment
Peter Arment
Analyst at Baird

Got it. That's good color. Regarding the T-6 program, would you just give us an update there how the second half ramp is scheduled to go? Thanks.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Sure. Hey, Peter. Program's off doing exactly what it should be doing. I'll give a little bit of color and provide some numbers around it roughly. The program delivered about $40 million of revenue in the first half of the year. Consistent with what we said previously, the program's tracking exactly that, we expect it to be about $100 million in the second half of the year. Right in that range of what we said when we established the guide. Team's doing an exceptional job. It's ramped exactly as expected. We have regular program check-ins with the team and very happy with the progress the team's made.

Peter Arment
Peter Arment
Analyst at Baird

Appreciate the details. Thanks, Shawn.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Sure.

Operator

The next question is from Joe Gomes with Noble Capital. Please go ahead.

Joe Gomes
Joe Gomes
Analyst at Noble Capital

Good afternoon, thanks for taking the questions.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Hey, Joe.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Hey, Joe.

Joe Gomes
Joe Gomes
Analyst at Noble Capital

Can you either from a high level, kind of break down the recent revenue growth into new program wins, expansion on existing contracts, and maybe higher volume on recompetes?

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Yeah, sure. I think, the growth, at least on a year-to-date basis, is existing contracts and contract vehicles that the company has had. I'll go back to the strategy that we talked about previously. The right contracts, the right capabilities around the globe. A significant driver, in our growth in the first half and for the total year, will be the support for the national security mission that we talked about previously. That's an activity set that we've had. It's at a much higher ops tempo than it was, and that's the largest set of activities contributing to growth beyond what we had in last year, meaning from a material standpoint, Joe.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

I would say the other programs around the globe that we ramped the beginning of the year include our activities in the Middle East and Balad, as well as WTRS. Those programs are performing exactly as we would've thought. That's really the, I'll say a significant contributor, Joe, but not necessarily distinguishing between new wins or something like that. It's part of what the core capability has been.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

I think sometimes people underestimate having the right contract vehicle and you being in the right location yields growth. I think the team does, universally, does an exceptional job at new requirements being added to an existing program or new requirements being added to a vehicle. The team does a great job at that. Again, we'll do a T-6 win, we'll do a Balad win, we'll do an Israeli win, all that. I will tell you, on a global basis, this team does an exceptional job of being available to deliver mission outcomes for the customer in a timely way, just because of the presence and the contract vehicles that we have.

Joe Gomes
Joe Gomes
Analyst at Noble Capital

Okay. Jeremy, you've got a lot of wins here, a lot of high-profile, large wins. If you look at the recent awards, which one do you view as most strategically important rather than simply just the largest one for going forward for the company?

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

It's interesting because I kind of think they fall in two buckets. One, I think C-12 falls in the bucket of it's a proof of strategy. I also think the bomber fleet, having a large production program that came out of, like Shawn said in his, where it was a development item and moving that into a long-term production program for a strategic program. I think, again, demonstrates not only the engineering prowess, but also the ability to move something from design all the way through into production, and that is a production run that kind of goes for a long term. I'm pretty excited about that, and I'm excited candidly about a lot of the programs that are kind of tailing that have similar characteristics.

Joe Gomes
Joe Gomes
Analyst at Noble Capital

Okay. Shawn, just one real quick one here. I'm trying to find it in my notes here. On the guide, you're guiding the revenue up roughly about $50 million, Adjusted EBITDA only up by about $2.5 million, which would be below that kind of first half, 7% margin. Just maybe you could talk a little bit as to what is causing the lower projected margin on the guide for the second half of the year.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Yeah, just some modest mix changes. Nothing more than that, Joe. Based on how we see it. I'll say the guide contemplates about 49% of the Adjusted EBITDA in the first half, 51% in the second half. That will imply, in fact, a higher margin contribution in the second half of the year versus the first half, consistent with the profile that we have seen. Those are productivity improvements that we tend to see in the back half of the year, contract actions, that sort of stuff. There is a margin expansion in the back half of the year, consistent with what we've seen and delivered previously.

Joe Gomes
Joe Gomes
Analyst at Noble Capital

Okay, great. Thank you very much. I'll get back in queue.

Operator

The next question is from Andre Madrid with BTIG. Please go ahead.

Ned Morgan
Ned Morgan
Analyst at BTIG

Hey, good afternoon. This is actually Ned Morgan on for Andre. You guys highlighted recent awards are carrying margins above the current company average. I guess, how should we think about those high-quality awards impacting margins and when we can see the accretion?

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Well, okay, great question. As we've talked before, we're bleeding off backlog, and as we add new backlog to the portfolio on an accretive basis, it will work its way into the overall margin profile. Again, these are programs that will start relatively immediately, like C-12, where it was a recompete. I think when I look at it will be a progression as we continue to execute this strategy. As we win new work and add accretive margins to the portfolio, it'll work its way through. Again, these programs that we have in backlog, those were long-lived assets and as we work them down and we replace them with new wins or recompetes, the overall strategy is to continue to look at margin expansion.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

These are awards that are not in backlog today, important to note that we highlighted because they occurred post Q2. They'll be booked in the third quarter, and they are multi-year, think five-year type programs, Ned. You will see incremental improvements, of course, but they'll be modest when you think about what those contributions would be on an annual basis. That's all.

Ned Morgan
Ned Morgan
Analyst at BTIG

Okay. Could you guys just discuss the opportunity you're seeing in the Asia Pacific today? Where's demand the strongest, and how could we think about that region becoming a more meaningful contributor to growth over the next couple of years?

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Yeah. Thank you. We consider that to be our backyard. We are continuing to pursue not just the organic side of new business, but also with the contract vehicles we have in region, looking how we can support the customer to deliver on their mission requirements. We're highly focused on INDOPACOM, and I think the team does it very well on contract road. I think on the new business front, the team's doing well to look at opportunities to take advantage of what we do as a core company to deliver on mission requirements for our customer in that region.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

We're really happy with, we delivered 13% growth year-over-year in the quarter, and seeing strong demand signals with our incumbency, as Jeremy mentioned, in several of the places, and putting in proposals, white papers, that sort of stuff. Clearly strong demand signals. Now we'll have to see that turn into funded activities. That hasn't happened yet. Very strong performance in the second quarter, and we think the prospects are very good for that region writ large.

Ned Morgan
Ned Morgan
Analyst at BTIG

Great. Thank you.

Operator

The next question is from John Godden with Citi. Please go ahead.

Jeremy Jason
Jeremy Jason
Analyst at Citi

Hi, guys. This is Jeremy Jason on for John Godden. Congrats on the quarter. Just going back to Joe's question, I was kind of wondering if you could dive a bit deeper into the main sources of upside to the new guide on the back of what looks like already pretty solid business momentum.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Yeah, let me give you the assumptions that go into the guide. I'll use the same categories that we've used previously to paint that picture a bit. I mentioned the assumptions about Kuwait. The first half of the year, Kuwait activities delivered approximately $180 million in revenue. In the second half, we see that as $20 million-$30 million in revenue. Very modest. Think of that as a, call it $150 million-ish type headwind. Our national security support missions in the first half of the year delivered about $200 million in revenue. You'll see that spiked out specifically in the T&M line. In the second half of the year, we see it being slightly less, probably about $180 million.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

I mentioned that it delivered about $40 million in the first half, ramping to approximately $100 million in the second half. That's about $60 million incremental. When we think about what the growth is, those are major programs. To highlight a couple of the others that are performing exactly as expected, we had our support with Balad in Iraq, and we have our support with WTRS that are performing very much in line with plan. Those are some of the assumptions that are in there. At the midpoint of the guide, with 51% of the revenue in the first half, about 49% in the second half. You see that based on the walk that I just gave you and the assumptions that we have around Kuwait specifically, if that helps.

Jeremy Jason
Jeremy Jason
Analyst at Citi

Gotcha. That's really helpful. As a follow-up, just kind of wanted to go pick your brain on your thought process behind what to expect with a potential blue wave now that we're thinking about midterms and what you'd like investors to think about on that front.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Yeah. I don't really have much to say about what happens on Capitol Hill or in terms of who's elected, who's not elected. I view what we do as mission critical. I don't think the strategy's going to change that you need readiness around the globe. I think it's an imperative for the U.S. national security. I like being in the space of making sure that national security is in a position to deliver the readiness that is required. With regards to the blue wave, that's not something that keeps me up as much as it does what we do, how we do it, and making sure we do it in an excellent way for our customers.

Jeremy Jason
Jeremy Jason
Analyst at Citi

Gotcha. Well said. Appreciate the color.

Operator

The next question is from Greg Parrish with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Greg Parrish
Greg Parrish
Analyst at Morgan Stanley

Hey, guys. Good evening. Congrats on the result. Wanted to ask about the national security customer. I appreciate the color you gave, Shawn, about demand signals through the end of the year early next year, maybe just zooming out. Is there potential for this pace to continue, or is the work more one time in nature?

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Yeah. It's certainly evolved, right? So I think that speaks to the capability that the team has and what we're able to provide that customer. That ops tempo has continued. We do see capability being delivered into, call it, the first part of 2027 today. As I'm sure everyone can appreciate, it's dynamic and evolving. Hence, that's why I wanted to walk you through the assumptions that we've got today. We remain ready to support that customer as those needs evolve. Clearly, given the volume that we're seeing, that speaks to the capability that the company is able to offer this particular customer to deliver that mission.

Greg Parrish
Greg Parrish
Analyst at Morgan Stanley

Yeah. Great. Okay. Appreciate that color. I wanted to ask about AI, thank you for this AI slide. I think it's sort of a great way to frame what you're doing. You called out AI built into some of the bids that you're putting out there. Fantastic opportunity. Maybe could you just give us some flavor and maybe some examples of what those AI capabilities that are built into these bids look like? Thanks.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Sure. I think it's twofold on the AI. One is using it internally as a proof point to increase operational effectiveness. Two, it is in the bids. We've announced partnerships in the past. They're great partners. They have worked with us to enable our customer to see increased readiness rates, better training platforms, more predictive analytics, things like that I think increase readiness rates and overall mission performance. I think that has been a proof point that we have seen most recently with many of our bids. I've also seen it internally, the use of some of these tools internally to increase overall operational effectiveness. I'm excited about what our CIO, Mike Uster, is doing. I'm excited about what our CTO, Greg Lundy, is doing.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

These guys are delivering on this commitment, and it's manifesting itself not only in bids but also in internal operation.

Greg Parrish
Greg Parrish
Analyst at Morgan Stanley

Okay, great. Thanks for the color there, and congrats on a strong quarter.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Thank you.

Operator

The next question is from Ken Herbert with RBC. Please go ahead.

Mike Smith
Mike Smith
VP of Treasury, Corporate Development, and Investor Relations at V2X

Please go ahead.

Ken Herbert
Ken Herbert
Analyst at RBC

Yeah, hi, good afternoon. Again, congrats on the nice quarter. Maybe, Shawn, the guidance implies about 3% growth in the second half, and I know you're facing some more challenging comps than you were in the first half. Appreciate all the detail you just went through on the programmatic basis here. I'm just trying to get a sense as to the bookings outlook in the quarter and where maybe could we see some conservatism in the assumptions for the second half of the year?

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

Yeah. Great question, Ken. The bookings for the year, because there's always some timing of things, right? You heard us talk about some awards that happened after the quarter closed. Jeremy has been very clear. We talk about it in terms of the trailing 12 months. So we're looking at a book-to-bill for the total year between 1.3x and 1.5x for the total year. There could be some lumpiness to it.

Shawn Mural
Shawn Mural
SVP and CFO at V2X

is typical. If we were to play out the high side of the guide, what would be occurring? Well, there could be some change in ops tempo in the Middle East from the assumptions that I already laid out. That could have demand signals. Similarly with both T-6 and WTRS. Those could be things that might play out differently. That's how I think about it today. We think we've got it appropriately bracketed, of course, and wanted to make sure that we conveyed the most updated information that we know of. Feeling very good about 2026. With, like I said before, 98% of the revenue and backlog as we sit here at the midpoint of the year. Very strong position to be in.

Ken Herbert
Ken Herbert
Analyst at RBC

Yeah, that's helpful, Shawn. Thank you. You're going to exit this year, looks like, give or take 2 times levered. Is the goal as we think beyond this year to continue to push leverage down? Or how should we think about capital allocation post 2026, considering where the leverage should be?

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

Yeah, as I said, I think there was a previous question on it. We have a fairly healthy pipeline of things that we can look at from an M&A standpoint that are consistent with the six items I had referenced before to round out the portfolio or enhance the portfolio, create competitive posturing for us. We're looking at that. I think we've been clear about capital allocation in the past. Again, as we look at the business, the best thing that we can do is drive shareholder value by using that capital allocation in a way that's going to drive shareholder wealth.

Ken Herbert
Ken Herbert
Analyst at RBC

Perfect. Thanks, Jeremy.

Operator

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Jeremy Wensinger for any closing remarks.

Jeremy Wensinger
Jeremy Wensinger
President and CEO at V2X

I want to thank everyone for joining today. I also want to thank my team. They work tirelessly on a global basis, and I can't thank them enough for what they do. Thank you for joining the call. I appreciate the questions, and I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to participate today.

Operator

Conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

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