Here's Why You Should Retain Honeywell Stock in Your Portfolio

Honeywell International Inc. HON is witnessing solid momentum in its commercial aviation aftermarket business, driven by solid demand in the air transport market and supply-chain improvements. Organic sales from its commercial aviation aftermarket business increased 13% year over year in fourth-quarter 2025.

Strength in its defense and space business, owing to stable U.S. and international defense spending volumes and sustained demand from the current geopolitical climate, has also been proving beneficial. In the fourth quarter, organic sales from its defense and space business surged 10% on a year-over-year basis.

For 2026, HON expects organic sales in the Aerospace Technologies segment to be up in the high-single-digit range, driven by continued momentum in both commercial aviation and defense and space businesses.

The company intends to strengthen and expand its businesses through acquisitions. In August 2025, Honeywell acquired three utility platforms from SparkMeter, Inc. The utility platforms acquired are Praxis for data and analytics, GridScan for tracking grid performance and GridFin for managing energy costs and customer rates. The integration of SparkMeter’s grid intelligence technologies with Honeywell Forge Performance+ for utilities will strengthen its smart energy product portfolio.

Also, HON’s acquisition of Nexceris’ Li-ion Tamer business in July 2025 enhanced its fire life safety portfolio under the Building Automation business and expanded its presence across the energy storage and data centers markets. Acquisitions had a contribution of 4% to the company’s sales in 2025.

HON remains focused on rewarding its shareholders through dividend payouts and share repurchases. In 2025, it paid out dividends of $2.98 billion and repurchased shares worth $3.8 billion.

HON’s Price Performance

In the past year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s shares have gained 14.9% compared with the industry’s 12.2% growth.

Despite signs of recovery, Honeywell has been dealing with the adverse impacts of the high cost of sales and operating expenses. In 2025, the company’s cost of sales was up 10.5% year over year. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 4.1% year over year. Escalating expenses, if not controlled, are likely to hurt the company’s bottom line in the quarters ahead.

High debt levels have also been a concern for HON. It exited 2025 with a long-term debt of about $27.1 billion, higher than $25.4 billion at 2024-end. The increase in its debt level was primarily attributable to the funds raised for acquisitions. Considering its high debt level, its cash and cash equivalents of $12.5 billion do not look impressive.

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