Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN ) early Thursday posted better than expected first quarter earnings results and boosted its full-year outlook, although its 2017 EPS guidance would still likely fall short of expectations.

Written by StockNews.com

The Waltham, MA-based defense contractor reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $1.73, which was $0.13 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.60,
• revenues rose 3.4% from last year to $6 billion, also topping analysts’ view for $5.83 billion.

Looking ahead, RTN:

• forecast full-year 2017 EPS of $7.25 to $7.40, which would likely miss Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $7.40.
• forecasts full-year revenues of between $24.9 and $25.4 billion, in-line with analysts’ view for $25.07 billion. These estimates are up from a prior outlook of $7.20 to $7.35 in profit on revenues of $24.8 to $25.3 billion.

Said Thomas A. Kennedy, Raytheon Chairman and CEO:

“Solid revenue growth and margin expansion drove strong earnings per share performance in the first quarter, with all of our businesses meeting or exceeding expectations.

Our focus on global growth and operational excellence, combined with our balanced capital deployment strategy, continues to create value for our customers and shareholders.”

...Year-to-date, RTN has gained 9.92%, versus a 7.12% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

RTN currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #5 of 73 stocks in the Air/Defense Services category.