Northrop Grumman’s stock rises as earnings beat estimates

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) rose 1.3% in premarket trading Thursday after the aerospace and defense company reported earnings that beat the average estimate among Wall Street analysts.

Its profit rose 9% to $1.03 billion, or $7 a share, in the third quarter from $937 million, or $6.18 a share, a year earlier.

The consensus estimate was $6.06 a share.

Sales advanced 2% to $10 billion, missing the consensus forecast for $10.19 billion.

Northrop’s (NOC) aeronautics, defense and missions systems segments posted single-digit percentage gains in sales, while its space systems business slipped 3%.

Management increased its adjusted earnings guidance by $0.75 to a range of $25.65 to $26.05 a share.

“Sales remain on target for 5% growth this year and the deliberate actions we are taking to improve margin rates have resulted in further expansion this quarter,” Kathy Warden, chair, chief executive and president of Northrop (NOC), said in a statement. “With our investments to create capacity and focus on performance, we continue to deliver value for our customers and our shareholders.”

Looking ahead to 2025, “our outlook includes continued top line growth, margin rate expansion and greater than 20% free cash flow growth,” she said.