Shares of Israeli defense major Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) are on the rise today after the company posted better-than-anticipated numbers for the fourth quarter. Revenue increased by 7.9% year-over-year to $1.63 billion, exceeding estimates by $100 million. Similarly, EPS of $1.56 comfortably outpaced consensus by $0.24.
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Robust Revenue Gains
During the quarter, Aerospace revenue increased by 3%, primarily driven by higher UAS revenues in Asia Pacific and Europe. Robust Electronic Warfare and Electro-Optic Systems sales in Europe contributed to a 15% gain in ISTAR and EW revenues. Moreover, increased artillery and weapon station sales in Europe and ammunition sales in Israel led to a 30% jump in land revenues. This uptick in its top line helped Elbit increase its gross profit to $411.4 million from $388 million in the year-ago period.
Healthy Backlog Levels
The company had a healthy order backlog of $17.8 billion at the end of December 2023. Importantly, nearly 72% of Elbit’s current backlog comes from orders from outside Israel. The company noted that it is increasing its capacity to transform its rising backlog into revenues.
Separately, Elbit has announced a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ESLT dividend is payable on May 6 to investors of record on April 24.
Is Elbit Systems a Good Stock to Buy?
Today’s price gains come on top of a nearly 15.6% rise in Elbit’s share price over the past year. While analyst coverage on Elbit is scant at present, a price-to-sales ratio of 1.63 indicates the stock is attractively priced at current levels.
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