Why did Honeywell's profit fall 63.6% when its operations earned more?

Honeywell, the US industrial group, reported net profit of USD 664m for Q3 2026, down from USD 1.8bn a year earlier. Revenue barely moved: USD 5.0bn, up 1.3%. Operating profit rose 22.6% to USD 1.1bn, so the operating margin widened to 21.3% from 17.6%. The net margin went the other way and narrowed by 23.7 pp to 13.3%. All figures are consolidated and in US dollars, for the third quarter of 2026. The business itself earned more on each dollar of sales. The bottom line says the opposite.

The gap sits below operating profit. Net profit also includes interest, tax and any gains or losses outside day-to-day operations. A year ago net profit of USD 1.8bn was far above operating profit of USD 866m, so something outside operations lifted it. The accounts do not say what. The balance sheet also changed: total assets are USD 53.1bn against USD 80.9bn, cash is USD 5.7bn against USD 12.9bn, and the equity ratio rose to 42.2% from 20.7%. I would judge this quarter by operating profit, not net profit. The odd quarter is the one a year ago.