Northrop Grumman Stock Rises After Earnings Beat Estimates

B-2 Stealth bombers were used in America’s June strikes against Iran’s nuclear development program. (Jose Luis Magana / AFP / Getty Images)

Northrop Grumman second-quarter earnings topped Wall Street estimates. Shares of the defense contractor rose in Tuesday trading.

Northrop, on Tuesday, reported quarterly earnings per share of $8.15 on sales of $10.4 billion. Wall Street had expected earnings per share of $6.84 on sales of $10.1 billion, according to FactSet. In the year-ago second quarter, Northrop reported earnings per share of $6.36 on sales of $10.2 billion.

It’s an earnings beat. Included in the $8.15 earnings-per-share figure was a gain of $1.04 from the sale of a training business. Still, even without that benefit, quarterly earnings looked strong.

“The Northrop Grumman team delivered a strong second quarter, with increased sales and outstanding operating performance,” said CEO Kathy Warden in a news release. “We are working with our customers to accelerate capability delivery to enable their vision of peace through strength. We continue to see growing demand globally for our broad range of product offerings, which resulted in 18% international sales growth in the quarter.”

Northrop stock closed up 9.2% at $563.70, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. Coming into Tuesday trading, Northrop stock was up about 10% this year.

Management also raised their guidance by a hair. Northrop now expects 2025 earnings per share of $25 to $25.40. In April, Northrop’s earnings-per-share guidance ranged from $24.95 to $25.35; that range was a cut from prior guidance due to some B-21 bomber charges and other provisions.

In April, after Northrop reduced guidance, shares dove nearly 13%. The latest quarter wasn’t that dramatic, to the relief of investors.

Options markets implied Northrop shares would move about 4% up or down following earnings. They moved an average of about 5% over the past four quarterly reports, rising three times and falling once over that span.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com