General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Sets New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $395.43 and last traded at $393.8460, with a volume of 1702549 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $389.14.

The aerospace company reported $4.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.28. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $14.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.80%.

Trending Headlines about General Dynamics

Here are the key news stories impacting General Dynamics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. General Dynamics reported Q2 EPS of $4.24 versus the $3.96 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $14.1 billion, beating estimates of approximately $13.5 billion. All four business segments grew, operating margin expanded to 10.4%, and operating cash flow reached $1.9 billion. General Dynamics Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and new orders support future revenue. Q2 orders totaled $20 billion, producing a 1.4-to-1 book-to-bill ratio and a record $136.5 billion backlog. Management also raised or reaffirmed 2026 guidance at $16.80-$16.90 in EPS and approximately $55.7 billion in revenue, above current analyst expectations. General Dynamics Q2 revenue rises 8.1% to $14.1 billion
• Positive Sentiment: A $76.6 billion Navy award strengthens the long-term outlook. Electric Boat received contracts for five Columbia-class and nine Virginia-class submarines, plus shipyard infrastructure support. The award should improve visibility and capacity utilization for General Dynamics’ Marine Systems business for years. General Dynamics Electric Boat submarine award
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets following the results. Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $465 and assigned an overweight rating; Susquehanna raised its target to $455 with a positive rating; and BNP Paribas Exane increased its target to $430 with an outperform rating.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious because visibility into future U.S. defense spending is limited, despite strong fundamentals. Balanced View on General Dynamics
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation-related downgrades could limit further gains. Seeking Alpha commentators argued that strong contract tailwinds may already be reflected in the share price and that the stock’s valuation is expensive. General Dynamics: Strong Tailwinds, But The Valuation Is Pricey

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 target price on General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $435.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $406.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 118.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $567,372,000 after acquiring an additional 901,679 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,136,525,000 after purchasing an additional 863,392 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 831.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 737,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,405,000 after purchasing an additional 658,081 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 613.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 613,732 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $206,619,000 after purchasing an additional 527,651 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $103.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $359.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.