Northrop Grumman Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Northrop Grumman (NYS: NOC) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Northrop Grumman beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue was unchanged. GAAP earnings per share grew.


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
 Northrop Grumman reported revenue of $6.29 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for revenue of $5.96 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $2.05. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $1.71 per share. GAAP EPS of $2.05 for Q2 were 9.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.88 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 22.1%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.8%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.8%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $5.95 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.73.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $24.02 billion. The average EPS estimate is $7.18.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 806 members out of 870 rating the stock outperform, and 64 members rating it underperform. Among 263 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 256 give Northrop Grumman a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Northrop Grumman is hold, with an average price target of $79.59.

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The article Northrop Grumman Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Northrop Grumman. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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