Genernal Dynamics stock rises toward 3-month high after earnings beat, amid record backlog and strong cash flow

Shares of General Dynamics Corp.
GD,
+0.17%
rallied 1.8% toward a three-month high in premarket trading Wednesday, after the aerospace and defense company beat second-quarter earnings expectations, amid a record backlog and strong cash flow. Net income slipped to $744 million, or $2.70 a share, from $766 million, or $2.75 a share, in the year-ago period. That beat the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of $2.56. Revenue grew 10.5% to $10.15 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $9.46 billion. Backlog increased 4.3% to $91.4 billion, while free cash flow improved to $519 million from $435 million to beat expectations of $447 million. The stock has dropped 12.1% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.28%
has advanced 19.0%.