Defense Contractors Stocks Q2 Recap: Benchmarking General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)
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The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) and the rest of the defense contractors stocks fared in Q2.
Defense contractors typically require technical expertise and government clearance. Companies in this sector can also enjoy long-term contracts with government bodies, leading to more predictable revenues. Combined, these factors create high barriers to entry and can lead to limited competition. Lately, geopolitical tensions–whether it be Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or China’s aggression towards Taiwan–highlight the need for defense spending. On the other hand, demand for these products can ebb and flow with defense budgets and even who is president, as different administrations can have vastly different ideas of how to allocate federal funds.
The 15 defense contractors stocks we track reported a very strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 4.7% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 6.7% below.
Big picture, the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of inflation and employment. The former had been running hot throughout 2021 and 2022 but cooled towards the central bank's 2% target as of late. This prompted the Fed to cut its policy rate by 50bps (half a percent) in September 2024. Given recent employment data that suggests the US economy could be wobbling, the markets will be assessing whether this rate and future cuts (the Fed signaled more to come in 2024 and 2025) are the right moves at the right time or whether they're too little, too late for a macro that has already cooled.
Luckily, defense contractors stocks have performed well with share prices up 11% on average since the latest earnings results.
Weakest Q2: General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)
Creator of the famous M1 Abrahms tank, General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) develops aerospace, marine systems, combat systems, and information technology products.
General Dynamics reported revenues of $11.98 billion, up 18% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 4.1%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ backlog sales estimates.
"This was a strong quarter overall, as reflected by solid growth in all key measures from a year ago. Our businesses continue to focus on disciplined execution of their programs, cost and schedule," said Phebe N. Novakovic, chairman and chief executive officer.
Interestingly, the stock is up 1.9% since reporting and currently trades at $300.15.