Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index closed lower at $4,938.26 (-0.60%) on Friday, although it had enough buffer to post another winning week (+1.91%). However, all the main indexes on Wall Street had a losing week. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite retreated from their all-time highs, while the Dow Jones drifted lower.
The index that tracks the stock performances of 30 major government contractors snapped its four-day winning streak Friday. However, there were notable breakouts during the week.
On Tuesday, AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV) soared 27.94% to $167.15, and V2X (NYSE: VVX) popped 12.6% to $43.51. AI stock Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) rose 9.87% mid-week to lead 24 advancers on the strongest day of the week.
AeroVironment reported impressive revenue and profit growth in the third quarter of fiscal 2024. Wahid Nawabi, CEO of AeroVironment, said there is strong demand for the defense contractor’s unmanned aerial vehicles. The stock gained 29.13% in the last five trading sessions.
V2X, the next-best performer for the week (+16.07%), reported a record $1.04 billion revenue in Q4 2023 and a $13 billion backlog at year-end. Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) gained 1.88% on Friday. The engineering and construction company won a $45 billion, ten-year Hanford Integrated Tank Disposition Contract with the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics capped the week with the February job report, which showed better-than-expected results. The economy added 275,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate climbed to 3.9% compared to January. Economists say the Feds won’t rush rate cuts if the strong pace of job creation continues.
