GD Preview: Stability Expected

General Dynamics (GD - commentary - Cramer's Take) will continue the parade of defense stocks reporting earnings this week, and analysts are expecting strong -- and more importantly -- stable results.

Raytheon (RTN - commentary - Cramer's Take) has gotten the Street in a lather, but investors will need to be circumspect on General Dynamics after the supposedly stable private jet business succumbed during the quarter, blowing up management's backlog management story.

Analysts are looking for first-quarter earnings of $1.46 a share on revenue of $7.82 billion.

Business jets are still a cultural no-no right now, dampening demand. Analysts are expecting a 21% decline in production in the midsize business. Electric Boat also will be a focus on the company's conference call, especially after the news of the swap deal with Northrop Grumman (NOC - commentary - Cramer's Take) for the next-generation destroyer. Investors also will key in on the bread-and-butter maintenance, repair and operations business.

The conference call begins at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

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Know What You Own: Dvorchak mentioned defense contractor General Dynamics. Related companies are Lockheed Martin (LMT - commentary - Cramer's Take), Boeing (BA - commentary - Cramer's Take), Ceradyne (CRDN - commentary - Cramer's Take) and AAR Corp. (AIR - commentary - Cramer's Take)

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At the time of publication, Dvorchak had no positions in the stocks mentioned, although positions can change at any time.

Gary Dvorchak is a managing partner of Aviance Capital Management, a Sarasota, Fla.-based institutional asset manager that manages $200 million in growth and value equities and fixed income. Dvorchak holds a master's degree in business administration from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Iowa.