Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of aircraft and defense conglomerate Textron (NYSE: TXT) soared today, gaining as much as 12% in intraday trading on heavy volume.

So what: Before the market opened, Textron delivered its second-quarter numbers, and investors liked what they saw. Total revenue came in at $2.7 billion, up less than 1% from last year and short of Wall Street's $2.8 billion projection. However, earnings per share clocked in at $0.29, which solidly beat the $0.24 that analysts were looking for.

Now what: Obviously, investors are excited about Textron's report, but I have to say that I'm not totally clear why. Don't get me wrong -- it's a good enough report that delivered a nice-sized bottom-line beat. Cessna's return to an operating profit is also exciting news, since that segment has been struggling badly since the recession hit. Management also reaffirmed its full-year outlook for profit per share of $1.00 to $1.15. However, I'm not quite sure all of that adds up to justify quite the reaction that the stock is having today.

All of that said, I think Textron is a fine company. Investors with their eye on this one may just want to keep watching and wait for today's excitement to wear off a bit.

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