Global diversified technology and manufacturing firm Honeywell International Inc. (HON - Free Report) has a balanced mix of long and short-cycle businesses. With a flexible yet disciplined focus on cost and productivity, HON remains focused on increasing its presence in high-growth regions.

However, despite HON's proactive restructuring initiatives, it is yet to witness signs of stabilization in a number of its major end markets. As the extent of competition is increasing over time, investors have been eagerly waiting for the company's latest earnings report. In the last four trailing quarters, HON has reported a positive average earnings surprise of 1.49%, beating estimates in all the four seasons.

Currently, HON carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), but that could definitely change following the second-quarter 2018 earnings report which was just released.

We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:

Earnings: Beats Earnings. HON, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.01 per share.

Revenue: Beats Revenues. HON posted revenues of $10,919 million, higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10,776 million.

Key Stats to Note: HON aims to boost its near-term results on the back of strategic investments, greater operational efficacy and stronger demand for its diversified products. Organically, revenues grew 6% year over year in the reported quarter. The company has raised its 2018 earnings guidance to the $8.05-$8.15 per share range, higher than the prior view of $7.85-$8.05 per share.   

Stock Price: At the time of writing, the stock price of HON was up nearly 1.00% ($1.47) in the pre-market trade on Nasdaq. Clearly, the initial reaction to the release is optimistic. We view the company’s better-than-expected second-quarter 2018 result as the primary reason behind the positive sentiment.

As of Jul 19, 2018, HON’s stock closed the trading session at $147.54 per share.