 A new earnings season continued to dominate investors™ attention spans this week and those with keen interests in the aerospace, defense and government contracting sectors were no exception.
Eleven contractors listed in our GovCon Index and five in both the GCI and S&P 500 reported their latest quarterly financial results this week to market observers a barometer to examine industry™s health as global security and geopolitical dynamics continue to change. Two GovCon giants in particular stood out from the rest in the form of Raytheon and L-3 Communications, both of which increased their 2016 financial forecasts with second quarter œStreet Beats in earnings and sales. Both defense technology makers cited international business as a driver of their year-over-year revenue increases and described the global arms market as one they expect to see increased activity this year through foreign military sales initiatives or other means. Other notable beats and earnings outlook boosts this week came from General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, while Boeing held firm on its full-year overall revenue and defense sales guidance despite a 2Q net loss on writedowns in the tanker program and the commercial jet business. Lockheed Martin, another giant that defense-oriented investors watch closely, reported April-June results last week and said the company was subsidizing F-35 production with its own cash as the wait continues for a new contract to cover production lots nine and 10. As of this publication’s send, the GovCon Index is on pace for a nearly half-point weekly gain helped in part on two days of gains in L-3 and Raytheon shares as investors appear to be looking at this latest round of contractors’ earnings on a case-by-case basis. Financial reports next week from Harris Corp., Cubic Corp. and Huntington Ingalls Industries will help paint a greater picture of the overall GovCon industrial base’s health and performance. THE WEEK’S OTHER TOP 10 GOVCON STORIES | 
