Chart Industries (NYSE: GTLS) saw its stock price surge 5.20% in pre-market trading on Thursday following the release of its first-quarter 2025 financial results and reaffirmation of its full-year guidance.

The company reported Q1 earnings per share of $1.86, beating analyst estimates of $1.84. While revenue of $1.00 billion was slightly below expectations of $1.01 billion, it still represented a 5.3% year-over-year increase. Chart Industries demonstrated strong profitability improvements, with gross profit margin expanding 210 basis points to 33.9% and adjusted operating income margin increasing 190 basis points to 19.9%.

Investors were particularly encouraged by Chart's order momentum and backlog growth. Q1 orders reached $1.32 billion, up 17.3% compared to the same period last year. This strong order intake contributed to a record backlog of $5.14 billion, marking the first time the company's backlog has exceeded $5 billion. The robust backlog provides visibility into future revenue growth and supports management's optimistic outlook.

Chart Industries reaffirmed its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting sales between $4.65 billion and $4.85 billion, with associated adjusted EBITDA of $1.175 billion to $1.225 billion. The company also maintained its adjusted earnings per share forecast of $12.00 to $13.00. Importantly, management expressed confidence in generating free cash flow in excess of $550 million for the full year, which is expected to support debt reduction efforts.

CEO Jill Evanko commented on the results, stating, "We delivered strong order and organic sales growth of 17.3% and 6.6% in the first quarter of 2025. This marks our fourth consecutive quarter of reported gross profit margin above 33%, which contributed to a 190 basis points expansion in adjusted operating income margin."

The market's positive reaction to Chart Industries' earnings release reflects investor optimism about the company's ability to execute on its growth strategy and improve profitability in a challenging global environment. With a strong backlog and reaffirmed guidance, Chart appears well-positioned to deliver solid results throughout 2025.