Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. AJRD reported third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 30 cents by 40%.Barring one-time adjustments, the company reported GAAP earnings of 82 cents per share, reflecting a massive growth from 17 cents registered in the year-ago quarter. This upside can be attributed to robust sales growth and improved operating income in the reported quarter.Operational PerformanceIn the quarter under review, the company’s revenues of $498.8 million witnessed a 3% year-over-year growth. The reported figure also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $478 million by 4.4%.Aerojet Rocketdyne’s total backlog at the end of the third quarter was $3.7 billion, which came slightly lowerthan $3.9 billion at the end of second quarter. Of this, funded backlog totaled $1.6 billion compared with $1.5 billion at second-quarter end.Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. QuoteTotal operating expenses declined 11.4% to $390.5 million in the third quarter. Operating income of $108.3 million improved a solid 148.4% from $43.6 million a year ago.Segmental PerformanceAerospace &Defense: The segment’s revenues were up 3% year over year to $497.2 million.The upside was driven by increased deliveries in terms of the Standard Missile, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 programs.The segment margin too expanded 1220 basis points (bps) to 21.7%, on account of risk retirements derived from RS-68 and RL-10 programs.Retail Estate: The segment’s revenues of $1.6 million came in line with the year-ago quarter’s top-line figure.Financial UpdateAerojet Rocketdyne exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $608.6 million, up from $535 million as of Dec 31, 2017.Long-term debt amounted to $356.4 million, down from $591.4 million as of Dec 31, 2017.Operating cash flow from continuing operations was $97 million as of Sep 30, 2018 compared with cash flow of $25.9 million in the year-ago period.Free cash inflow at the end of the third quarter was $63.8 million compared to the year-ago quarter’s free cash outflow of $16.2 million.Zacks RankAerojet Rocketdyne currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Recent Defense ReleasesSpirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. 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.FLIR Systems’ FLIR third-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of 57 cents per share came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Its revenues declined 6.4% year over year to $434.9 million.Wall Street’s Next AmazonZacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius.Click for details >>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 Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc. (SPR): Free Stock Analysis Report Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (AJRD): Free Stock Analysis Report Curtiss-Wright Corporation (CW): Free Stock Analysis Report FLIR Systems, Inc. (FLIR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research