General Dynamics Corporation GD reported fourth-quarter 2021 earnings from continuing operations of $3.39 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.37 by 0.6%. Quarterly earnings declined 2.9% from $3.49 per share in the year-ago quarter.General Dynamics’ 2021 earnings were $11.55 per share, up 5% year over year due to strong performance of defense segments.Total RevenuesGeneral Dynamics’ fourth-quarter revenues of $10,292 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10,701 million by 3.8%. Revenues also declined 1.8% from $10,481 million in the year-ago quarter.General Dynamics Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise General Dynamics Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | General Dynamics Corporation QuoteSegmental PerformanceAerospace: The segment reported revenues of $2,560 million, up 5.1% year over year. Yet, operating earnings of $354 million deteriorated 11.7% from the prior-year quarter’s $401 million.Marine Systems: Segment revenues rose 0.5% from the prior-year quarter to $2,870 million. Yet, operating earnings were down 4.9% from the year-ago quarter to $235 million.Technologies: The segment reported revenues of $2,975 million, which decreased 7.9% year over year. Operating earnings of $334 million dropped 5.1% from the prior-year quarter’s $352 million.Combat Systems: The segment’s revenues of $1,887 million were down 3.7% from the year-ago quarter’s $1,960 million. Operating earnings also declined 9.1% year over year to $281 million.Operational HighlightsFor the reported quarter, General Dynamics’ operating margin declined 80 basis points (bps) from the year-ago reported figure to 11.5%.For the quarter under review, General Dynamics’ operating costs and expenses decreased 0.9% from the year-ago period to $9,106 million.Interest expenses for the reported quarter declined 22.5% year over year to $93 million.BacklogGeneral Dynamics recorded a total backlog of $87.6 billion, down 2.1% year over year. The funded backlog at fourth quarter-end was $61.1 billion.Financial ConditionAs of Dec 31, 2021, General Dynamics’ cash and cash equivalents were $1,603 million compared with $2,824 million in the corresponding period of 2020.Long-term debt as of Dec 31, 2021 was $10,490 million, which escalated from the 2020-end level of $9,995 million.In 2021, the company generated cash from operating activities of $4,271 million compared with $3,858 million generated in the year-ago period.Zacks RankGeneral Dynamics currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Recent Defense ReleasesRaytheon Technologies Corporation’s RTX fourth-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of $1.08 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.01 by 6.9%.Raytheon Technologies’ long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is projected at 13.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RTX’s 2022 earnings per share indicates year-over-year growth of 14.5%.Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT reported fourth-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of $7.24 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.23 by 0.1%.Lockheed Martin’s long-term earnings growth is projected at 3.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LMT’s 2022 earnings per share indicates year-over-year growth of 16.3%.The Boeing Company BA reported fourth-quarter 2021 loss of $7.69 per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 9 cents.Boeing’s long-term earnings growth is projected at 4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BA’s 2022 earnings per share indicates year-over-year growth of 352.7%. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. As one investor put it, “curing and preventing hundreds of diseases…what should that market be worth?” This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>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 The Boeing Company (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report General Dynamics Corporation (GD): Free Stock Analysis Report Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research