Textron Inc. (TXT) Earnings Underwhelm

Its performance so far notwithstanding, Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) continues to promise investors that it will reverse its cash-burning ways in the second half of this year, and end 2013 with positive manufacturing free cash flow (before deducting cash injections to the pension fund) of $400 million — in essence, management is saying that it will do about $1.187 billion better in the second half of the year than it’s done in the first half.

Personally, I’d prefer to see performance. With Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) shares costing upwards of 14 times earnings today, and with Textron earnings growth estimated at 10% over the next five years, the stock simply costs too much to take management’s promises at face value.

The article Textron Earnings Underwhelm originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Textron.

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