Defense stalwart Northrop Grumman
Why, you ask?
Because while it's true that when the Pentagon wants to buy a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), former General Dynamics
Sure, historically, Boeing
How can you tell the Global Hawk is succeeding? Well, there are the company's periodic press releases for one thing. Mid-last year, Northrop confirmed that its bird had already flown 31,000 hours in U.S. service -- and that number's likely to have gone up since. A few months later, we learned that Global Hawk has gone international, when Northrop announced that both it, and partner Raytheon
All of this is resulting in increasing profitability for Northrop's Aerospace business, as well. While the beleaguered Shipbuilding biz grabbed headlines yesterday for biggest gains in revenues and profits, Aerospace grew its sales 10%, and its profits even faster -- up 15% year over year. Taken together, this suggests that UAVs are fast becoming a big revenue driver for Northrop, and an even bigger profits generator.
Foolish takeaway
Between its Global Hawk, Fire Scout robotic helicopter, and "Bat" flying wing, this company is fast becoming the go-to UAV-maker for Foolish investors. Time to change the ticker, Northrop.
Is there such a thing as a growth stock selling for an attractive price? There is. There are. They're here.