Shares of General Dynamics (GD), one of the world's largest aerospace/defense equipment makers, just hit an all-time high. Its stock rose to 310.85 Monday, an intraday high. General Dynamics will hold a news conference Wednesday to announce third quarter earnings.

Amid the war in Ukraine and escalating combat in the Mideast, military gear makers' stocks are rising. Behemoth General Dynamics, with $45 billion annual revenue, is among the leaders in the hot defense sector. On Tuesday, the company's IBD Relative Strength (RS) Rating rose to 71, up from 68 the day before.

General Dynamics Boasts Outstanding Overall Ratings

The upgraded 71 score means General Dynamics beat 71% of all stocks in IBD's database for price performance this past year. It's a welcome improvement reflecting its strong sales and profit growth. History shows that the best stocks typically have an RS Rating north of 80 as they begin their biggest price moves. See if General Dynamics can continue to show renewed price strength and hit that benchmark.

General Dynamics' other ratings are even better. It has a an 83 EPS Rating out of 99. It also boasts a superb 95 Composite Rating, putting it in the top 5% of stocks overall. Further, General Dynamics' A- Accumulation/Distribution Rating on an A+ to E scale shows heavy buying by mutual funds, ETFs and the like.

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Additionally, General Dynamics earnings and revenue growth rate has increased every quarter for the past year. EPS went from a 7% dip to 2% growth, then 9% and 21% last quarter to $3.26 per share. Revenue grew 6%, 8%, 9% and 18% in its most recent quarter, to a record $12 billion.

Analyst consensus is for EPS to rise 15% this quarter on a 10% hike in revenue.

Comprehensive Aerospace/Defense Products Portfolio

Reston, Va.-based General Dynamics makes a wide variety of aerospace, marine systems, combat systems and technologies. Its varied products include the M1 Abrams tank, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and other ships, Gulfstream private jets and a host of other products.

GD stock rose from a 202.35 low on May 30, 2023 to around 305 Tuesday afternoon, down fractionally for the day and about 50% higher in the past 17 months. While it is not near an ideal buying range right now, see if it manages to form and break out from a proper base.

General Dynamics holds the No. 9 rank among its peers in the 72-stock Aerospace/Defense industry group. Heico (HEI) and MtronPTI Industries (MPTI) are among the top 5 highly rated stocks in the group.

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