On Oct. 26, Charlotte, North Carolina-based industrial manufacturing conglomerate Honeywell announced its 2023 third-quarter earnings report, which showed year-over-year sales growth of 3% — and organic sales growth of 2% — compared to 3Q 2022. Sales for the most recent quarter were $9.2 billion.

The moderate increases were led by double-digit organic sales growth in commercial aviation, defense and space and process solutions, Honeywell said.

Operating margin expanded 140 basis points to 20.9%, and segment margin expanded by 80 basis points to 22.6%, led by expansion in Honeywell Building Technologies.

Operating cash flow for 3Q was $1.8 billion, with operating cash flow margin of 19.6%, and free cash flow was $1.6 billion with free cash flow margin of 16.9%, driven by strong net income and collections.

“Honeywell executed through a challenging environment in the third quarter, meeting or exceeding guidance for all metrics and demonstrating once again our culture of execution and accountability,” said Vimal Kapur, CEO of Honeywell. “Organic sales growth was led by our Aerospace segment, where continued supply chain improvements enabled significant sales growth in both commercial aviation and defense and space.”

Breaking Down 3Q 2023 Performance by Business Segment:

Aerospace: Sales for the third quarter were up 18% year over year on an organic basis, the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit organic growth, with strength in both commercial aviation and defense and space.

Honeywell Building Technologies: Sales were flat on an organic basis year-over-year. Building solutions sales grew 4% organically driven by strong execution of building projects, particularly energy projects.

Safety and Productivity Solutions: Sales  decreased by 25% year over year on an organic basis. Sales declines were due to lower volumes in warehouse and workflow solutions, which continues to be impacted by softness in the warehouse automation market.