Teledyne Technologies Inc. TDY reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of $3.48 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.16 by 10.1%. The bottom line also improved 20% from the year-ago quarter’s $2.90 per share.Including one-time items, the company reported GAAP earnings of $3.48 per share, which improved 13.7% from the year-ago quarter’s $3.06.The company’s 2020 adjusted earnings came in at $10.62 per share compared with $10.73 in 2019. The full-year figure exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.30.Operational HighlightsTotal sales in the fourth quarter amounted to $809.3 million, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $800 million by 1.1%. The top line, however, declined 3% from $834.2 million reported a year ago. Notably, all segments, except Engineered Systems, recorded lower year-over-year sales in the quarter.For the full year, Teledyne reported sales of $3.09 billion, down 2.4% from $3.16 billion in the year-ago period.The full-year top-line figure, however, exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a mere 0.3%.Segmental PerformanceInstrumentation: Sales in this segment declined 6.2% year over year to $282.8 million in the fourth quarter. Lower sales of marine instrumentation and environmental instrumentation led to the downside.The segment’s operating income improved 6.2% year over year to $63.2 million.Digital Imaging: Quarterly sales in this division fell 2.3% year over year to $262 million. The decline can be attributed to lower sales of X-ray products for dental and medical imaging applications.However, the segment’s operating income rose 20.4% year over year to $56.7 million due to a favorable product mix.Aerospace and Defense Electronics: In this segment, sales of $145.2 million dropped 14.8% from the prior-year quarter due to reduced sales of aerospace electronics, and defense and space electronics.Operating income also plunged 29.3% year over year to $23.2 million on lower sales.Engineered Systems: Sales in this division grew 26.8% year over year to $119.3 million in the fourth quarter on higher sales of engineered products and services, and turbine engines.Operating income rose 46.7% to $15.4 million on account of higher sales and a greater mix of high-margin fixed-price manufacturing programs.Financial ConditionTeledyne’s cash totaled $673.1 million as of Jan 3, 2021, compared with $199.5 million at the end of 2019. Total long-term debt was $680.9 million compared with $750 million at 2019-end.Cash provided by operating activities was $236.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with $167.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2019.In the reported quarter, capital expenditures amounted to $19.4 million compared with $23.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Moreover, the company generated free cash flow of $217 million in the fourth quarter, reflecting 50.7% year-over-year growth.Teledyne Technologies Incorporated Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Teledyne Technologies Incorporated price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Teledyne Technologies Incorporated QuoteGuidanceTeledyne expects to generate GAAP earnings of $2.55-$2.60 per share in the first quarter of 2021.For 2021, the company expects earnings of $11.25-$11.45 per share, which does not reflect the pending buyout of FLIR and related acquisition and financing costs. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Teledyne’s full-year earnings stands at $11.60 per share, higher than the company’s expectations.Zacks RankTeledyne currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Recent Defense ReleasesLockheed Martin Corp. LMT reported fourth-quarter 2020 earnings from continuing operations of $6.38 per share, which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.Hexcel Corporation HXL reported fourth-quarter 2020 loss of 18 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.An Upcoming Defense ReleaseNorthrop Grumman NOC, a Zacks Rank #3 company, is set to release results on Jan 28.Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for TodayExperts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.4% per year.These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.See these time-sensitive tickers now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC): Free Stock Analysis Report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report Hexcel Corporation (HXL): Free Stock Analysis Report Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (TDY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research