Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.’s HII third-quarter 2018 earnings of $5.29 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.14 by 27.8%. The bottom line also improved 61.8% from $3.27 a year ago, courtesy of solid revenue growth and operating income.Total RevenuesTotal revenues came in at $2.08 billion, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 billion by 8.3%. The top line also rose 11.8% from $1.86 billion registered a year ago. The upside can be attributed to higher sales volume at all the three business divisions of the company.Segment DetailsNewport News Shipbuilding: Revenues totaled $1,179 million, up 12% year over year backed by higher revenues in naval nuclear support services and aircraft carriers. Operating income improved 24% to $119 million owing to result of favorable changes in workers’ compensation expense.Ingalls Shipbuilding: Revenues at this segment came in at $694 million, up 17% year over year on account of higher revenues in amphibious assault ships and the Legend-class National Security Cutter (NSC) program. Operating income improved 10.8% to $82 million owing to higher volumes.Technical Solutions: Revenues at this segment summed $245 million, up 1.7% year over year. The upside was driven by higher oil and gas services and mission driven innovative solutions revenues. Operating income totaled $16 million compared with $22 million in the year-ago quarter.Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. QuoteBacklogHuntington Ingalls received new orders worth $2.8 billion in third quarter. As a result, the company’s total backlog reached $22 billion as of Sep 30, 2018.Financial UpdateCash and cash equivalents as of Sep 30, 2018, were $68 million, significantly down from $701 million as of Dec 31, 2017.Long-term debt, as of Sep 30, 2018, was $1,282 million compared with the 2017-end level of $1,279 million.Cash from operating activities, at the end of third-quarter 2018, grossed $266 million compared with $380 million at the end of 2017’s third quarter.Zacks RankHuntington Ingalls has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Recent Defense ReleasesSpirit AeroSystems Holdings SPR reported third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.70 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.63 by 4.3%. Total revenues of $1,814 million missed the consensus mark of $1,817 million by 0.2%.Curtiss-Wright CW reported third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.70 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.58 by 7.6%. The company’s revenues of $595.4 million increased 5% year over year.TransDigm Group Incorporated TDG reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 adjusted earnings of $4.44 per share, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.27 by 4%. Moreover, the bottom line improved 27.6% from $3.48 a year ago.Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.See the pot trades we're targeting>>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 Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII): Free Stock Analysis Report Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc. (SPR): Free Stock Analysis Report Curtiss-Wright Corporation (CW): Free Stock Analysis Report Transdigm Group Incorporated (TDG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.