RTX Corporation (RTX) has climbed onto the list of most searched stocks, drawing renewed investor attention to the aerospace and defense giant.
Shares of RTX have returned 10.6% over the past month, significantly outpacing the Zacks S&P 500 composite, which gained just 1.6% over the same period.
The broader Zacks Aerospace – Defense industry, of which RTX is a member, posted a 4.4% gain during that same stretch, meaning RTX outperformed even its own sector peers.
RTX currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), a rating driven by earnings estimate revisions and three additional factors tied to the company’s earnings outlook.
For the current quarter, RTX is expected to post earnings of $1.66 per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 6.4%, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate holding unchanged over the last 30 days.
The full-year consensus earnings estimate stands at $6.91 per share, pointing to growth of 9.9% compared to the prior fiscal year, also unchanged over the past month.
Looking further ahead, the consensus estimate for the next fiscal year sits at $7.53 per share, representing an anticipated 9% increase from what RTX is expected to report in the current year.
On the revenue side, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter is $22.89 billion, implying year-over-year growth of 6.1%, while full-year estimates of $93.91 billion and $100.45 billion suggest 6% and 7% growth for the current and next fiscal years, respectively.
RTX’s most recent quarterly results showed revenues of $22.08 billion, a year-over-year increase of 8.7%, while EPS of $1.78 compared favorably to $1.47 reported in the same period a year earlier.
Those results also beat Wall Street expectations convincingly, with reported revenues coming in 2.43% above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $21.55 billion and EPS delivering a substantial surprise of 17.11%.
The company has now beaten consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, and has topped consensus revenue estimates across all four of those same periods.
On valuation, RTX receives a C grade under the Zacks Value Style Score system, suggesting the stock is currently trading at par with its industry peers rather than at a meaningful discount or premium.
While the valuation grade is neutral, the combination of consistent earnings beats, steady upward revenue trajectory, and a Buy-rated Zacks Rank makes RTX a stock worth watching closely in the near term.
