
A benefit from a cost claim combined with a pension tailwind drove Northrop Grumman’s [NOC] net income higher in the second quarter and the company’s sales also rose, driven in large part by development work on the Air Force’s new B-21 stealth bomber.Net income increased 7 percent to $552 million, $3.15 earnings per share (EPS), from $517 million ($2.85 EPS), easily beating analysts’ expectations by 28 cents per share. The cost recovery action added $54 million to operating income. The…