Curtiss-Wright Corporation

Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a Davidson, North Carolina-based aerospace and defense technology group founded in 1929. Group sales reached $3.5 billion in 2025 with about 9,100 employees, and its Surface Technologies division runs 70+ accredited processing centers worldwide. Listed on the NYSE (CW), it is the global standard-setter in metal fatigue-life enhancement.

Business Overview

Curtiss-Wright Surface Technologies provides controlled shot peening, laser peening, peen forming, engineered coatings, and materials testing as qualified services embedded in aerospace, defense, and power-generation supply chains. Its processes are specified by engine OEMs and the US Navy for components where fatigue failure is not an option.

The 2025 fiscal year was outstanding: record orders of $4.1 billion, surging A&D surface-treatment and sensor demand, and 111% free-cash-flow conversion. The company continues to expand accredited capacity in India and China to track global aerospace production, while its naval nuclear franchise provides decades-long revenue visibility.

Key Strengths

Dominance of the extreme-condition surface-strengthening niche; dual FAA and NADCAP accreditation across a 70+ facility network; deeply embedded qualifications with engine OEMs and the US Navy; record backlog and elite cash generation; century-old brand equity in aviation engineering.

Challenges & Outlook

Dependence on A&D build rates and the absence of a consumables annuity temper the model, and surface services compete for capital inside a diversified group. With commercial aerospace ramping and defense budgets rising, demand for fatigue-life enhancement is structurally strong. Curtiss-Wright earns a VerityRank Score of 85/100.