Huntington Ingalls (NYSE: HII) shares surged 5.21% in pre-market trading Thursday, as investors reacted to a stellar second-quarter earnings report that handily beat Wall Street expectations.

The defense contractor reported earnings per share of $5.27, blowing past the analyst consensus estimate of $3.80 by a 38.68% margin. Revenue also exceeded forecasts, coming in at $3.418 billion versus the $3.164 billion estimate, a beat of 8.04%. Both figures represented significant year-over-year growth, with earnings up 36.53% from $3.86 per share and sales rising 10.90% from $3.082 billion in the same period last year.

The strong results underscore Huntington Ingalls' robust operational execution and sustained demand in the defense sector, sending the stock sharply higher in early trading.