Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the developer of the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems, on Thursday published its 2025 financial results, reporting another record year: a 21.5% increase in sales to about 21.7 billion shekels, with 54% to the IDF and 46% to international customers.
Rafael’s sales grew 30% in 2025, outpacing fellow defense contractors Israel Aerospace Industries (21%) and Elbit Systems (16%), marking a second consecutive year of growth at roughly double the rate of its peers.
Amid Western rearmament, Rafael’s order backlog reached an unprecedented 74.37 billion shekels (about $25 billion), a 15% increase from 2024 in shekel terms and equivalent to roughly 3.3 years of work. The company also surpassed IAI and Elbit in order growth. Net profit crossed the 1 billion shekels mark for the first time, reaching about 1.35 billion shekels, up 42% from 2024.
In 2025, the company distributed employee bonuses totaling about 500 million shekels. Rafael has yet to announce a dividend, though its policy is to distribute half of its profits to its shareholder — the state.
In 2025, the annual order intake grew despite boycotts against Israel, totaling 33.04 billion shekels, a 16% increase year over year. By category, the air defense division received the largest number of orders, while the air and intelligence division led in sales, followed closely by air defense.
Rafael delivered the Iron Beam laser system to the IDF late last year, marking the completion of its development ahead of operational use. In response to reports that the system is not yet in use, the company said that, as with previous systems, time is required for training and integration, and that it is expected to become fully operational soon.
The fourth quarter of 2025 was particularly strong, with record sales of 7.13 billion shekels, up more than 30% compared with the same quarter in 2024. Quarterly orders totaled about 10.1 billion shekels, and net profit reached 427 million shekels.
The state is considering an initial public offering of Rafael at an estimated valuation of about 60 billion shekels, but a key obstacle is the company’s highly classified national security information, which complicates full disclosure requirements set by the Israel Securities Authority.
One alternative under review by the Government Companies Authority is a private offering of about 20% of shares to Israeli institutional investors, though such a move would require government approval.
“Rafael is the largest and most central supplier to the defense establishment, and we are working around the clock to deliver the solutions needed for combat and to protect the country’s citizens,” CEO Yoav Tourgeman said in response to the results.
“This year, we expanded development and production, and deepened investment in research and development of technologies and combat systems that will ensure battlefield superiority in the future. Rafael hired about 2,000 employees during the year and recorded a new sales record — reflecting the strong confidence in the systems and capabilities it develops.”
The company added that both David’s Sling and Iron Dome completed successful testing series this year against advanced threats and scenarios. At the same time, the Defense Ministry signed a multi-billion-dollar contract with Rafael to expand the serial production of Iron Dome.
First published: 19:32, 03.26.26