GE Aerospace Is Spending $12 Billion on an Acquisition. Is It Still the Best Aerospace Stock to Own?

On Sept. 8, 2026, GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) announced plans to acquire Consolidated Precision Products for nearly $12 billion. This pending purchase represents GE Aerospace's largest acquisition since it became an independent company in 2024.

That said, while there is an element of uncertainty when it comes to any mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, this deal appears to be one that will bode quite well for this diversified aerospace products company. Even as GE Aerospace stock has pulled back by around 4.5% since the deal announcement, in time, this purchase will likely help create shareholder value.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why GE Aerospace is buying Consolidated Precision Products

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Consolidated Precision Products, or CPP, has specialized in aerospace and defense castings, and sub-assemblies for over 35 years. Owned by private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners, what has made CPP an appealing company for financial and now strategic buyers to own is that it operates in what is effectively an oligopoly.

That is, just four companies -- CPP, Berkshire Hathaway-owned Precision Castparts, Howmet Aerospace, and U.K.-based DPC Holdings -- dominate the casting space. These specialized products are in high demand not just for aerospace operations, but also for other industries such as power generation. For instance, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently remarked that he wanted his company to get into the turbine blade casting space, due to supply bottlenecke

Following this transaction, such bottlenecks could worsen for companies like SpaceX, not to mention other companies in the aerospace and defense industries. But for GE Aerospace? Already a major CPP customer, buying this company brings precision casting in-house, creating the potential for not just cost synergies, but improved operational efficiencies as well. As GE Aerospace CEO Lawrence Culp, Jr. noted in the CPP acquisition press release, the company expects to "expand capacity, improve performance and accelerate new engine technologies for the current fleet and next-generation platforms."

What this means for GE's standing among aerospace stocks

As also noted in the press release, GE Aerospace expects the CPP purchase to be immediately accretive to earnings. The company is mostly using cash on hand to finance the transaction, with around $4.75 billion coming from debt financing. GE Aerospace may be paying up for CPP, with the transaction valued at 26x CPP's estimated 2027 EBITDA, but with cost synergies taken into account, the effective valuation is around 18 times estimated 2027 EBITDA.

Furthermore, GE Aerospace already commands a premium valuation. Shares trade at 35 times forward earnings and have an Enterprise Value/EBITDA ratio of 27. Assuming GE Aerospace sustains its current valuation, this deal could provide a modest net boost for the stock. In turn, given the net positive upside potential from the deal and how it could help the company gain a supply chain edge over the competition, it perhaps helps justify the stock's forward multiple as well.

Yes, any sort of hiccup could not only mean a lack of realized cost synergies, but it also could weigh on GE Aerospace's rich valuation. Still, until results and announcements say otherwise, there's still valid reason to believe that the company, executing well and firing on all cylinders, will remain one of the hottest names among aerospace stocks and industrial stocks.

Thomas Niel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, GE Aerospace, and Howmet Aerospace. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.