General review of the financial and economic operations of Huntington Ingalls Industries

Abstract

The paper covers operations features of Huntington Ingalls Industries, one of the leading contractors of the US Department of Defense (DoD), in terms of financial performance and business outlook. In general, taking into account the increase in the DoD budget and the increase in appropriations for the procurement of military equipment and weapon systems, as well as R&D, we can say that this had a positive impact on companies of the US military–industrial complex as a whole (both larger and smaller) and led to improved financial performance and level of investment attractiveness. At the same time, it is quite obvious that the high growth rates of the DoD budget cannot be maintained for a while, which in the long run presents significant risks for the companies, as it can lead to a decrease in funding and the volumes of government contracts. Since there are a significant number of studies and publications for large companies in the sector, the author puts emphasis on smaller companies, the number of papers on which is small, but analysis on which is important because of their role and functions in the US military–industrial complex. These include Huntington Ingalls Industries, which specializes in the implementation of the US Navy's shipbuilding program. The analysis showed that the dynamics of its financial and economic operations, in general, can be characterized positively, despite the observed moderate decrease in values of some financial ratios. The outlook for its business in the long run can be assessed as sustainable, but for the period after 2025, attention should be paid to a number of risks that are primarily associated with a reduction of the US Navy shipbuilding program.