Shares of General Dynamics Corp.
GD,
+0.38%
rose 1.1% toward a 14-month high in premarket trading Wednesday, after the aerospace and defense company reported first-quarter profit and revenue that rose above expectations, with particular strength in its aerospace and marine systems businesses. Net income rose to $708 million or $2.48 a share, from $706 million, or $2.43 a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $2.30. Revenue grew 7.3% to $9.39 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $8.89 billion, as Aerospace revenue rose 11.6%, Marine Systems revenue increased 10.6%, Combat Systems revenue was up 6.6% and Technologies revenue edged up 3.1%. “Continued recovery from the pandemic coupled with our focus on operating performance yielded a strong quarter, with year-over-year earnings growth driven by increased revenue across all of our four business segments,” said Chief Executive Phebe Novakovic. The stock, which is on track to open at the highest levels seen since February 2020, has run up 23.6% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.02%
has gained 10.5%.
